Melesha Katrina O'Garro (born 15 December 1987), known professionally as Lady Leshurr (), is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. She is known for her ''Queen's Speech'' series of freestyles, the fourth of which became popular in 2016. Her subsequent freestyle, ''Queen's Speech 5'', was called "brilliant" and "2015's crowning freestyle" by ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

''. In 2021, she entered the Channel 4 series '' The Celebrity Circle'' for

Stand Up to Cancer Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable organization that was established as a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). In 2022, SU2C was separately incorporated and was recognized by the IRS as a Section 501(c)(3) public charit ...

, catfishing as

Big Narstie Tyrone Mark Lindo (born 16 November 1985), known by his stage name Big Narstie, is a British MC, author, rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian and television presenter. He started his career in 2002 as a member of grime crew "N Double A," thoug ...

, and won. She also competed in the thirteenth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

'', where she reached the semi-final.

Early life

Melesha Katrina O'Garro was born on 15 December 1987 to

Kittitian Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

parents. She became interested in poetry and writing at the age of six, but decided that writing music would bring her to a wider audience. She released her first

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

at the age of fourteen. In her words:

Career

Leshurr played one of the lead female roles in Vertigo Films' 2009 film '' 1 Day''. In 2010 Leshurr's first television music video appearance came in the music video Game Over Female Takeover''', featuring

Amplify Dot Ashley Charles (born 9 April 1988), also known as A.Dot or Dotty, is an English rapper, DJ, and radio and television presenter. She is best-known for presenting on BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2014 to 2020 and co-presenting the BBC One show '' Sounds L ...

, Mz Bratt, Ruff Diamondz and others. The music video was directed by

Nick Donnelly Nicholas James Donnelly (born 17 May 1988) is a British filmmaker, author, media platform founder and former music video producer. Career Music Videos In December 2010, Donnelly first gained national exposure when directing/producing the mus ...

and produced by Carla Marie Williams. Leshurr won second place in the Best Female category of the Official Mixtape Awards 2011. To complement the music releases, she has designed a range of merchandise, the "Friggin L" clothing line named after her 2011 mixtape ''Friggin L''. In 2016, she won the

MOBO Award The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Bant ...

, celebrating excellence in black music, for Best Female Act. In 2019, she won the award for "Best Rap / Grime Act" and in 2020 she won "Best Solo Female" at the Birmingham Music Awards. In 2019, Leshurr performed at The Nicki Wrld Tour in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

as a special guest for rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

. She was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

(BEM) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to music and charity. In 2020, she appeared in a commercial advertising for beauty brand

Olay Olay or Olaz, previously Oil of Olay, Oil of Olaz, Oil of Ulan, or Oil of Ulay, is an American skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble. For the 2009 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, Olay accounted for an estimated $2.8 billion of P&G's re ...

and became the first Black British woman to lead a campaign for the company. In late 2020, it was announced that Lady Leshurr would be joining the line-up at

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

with her own Saturday afternoon radio show. In February 2023, it was announced that she would be replaced by Joelah Noble as presenter of the Saturday afternoon show. In 2021, she appeared as a contestant on the thirteenth series of ''

'', partnered with Brendyn Hatfield. After surviving three skate-offs during the competition, Leshurr was eliminated in the semi-final, leaving her in fourth place. She also won '' The Celebrity Circle'' for

. In 2021, Leshurr announced a partnership with Kamo Premium Vodka, through which she became a co-owner. In April and August 2022, Leshurr appeared as a guest panellist on the ITV show

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...

Influences

Leshurr has named

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

Ms. Dynamite Naomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Early years She was born Naomi Arleen M ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

and

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

as her primary influences. Nia Kay, a competitor on '' The Rap Game'' season 2, stated that Leshurr was one of her influences due to her uniqueness and rap skill.

Personal life

Leshurr came out as

pansexual Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determ ...

in September 2018. In late 2019 Leshurr took time out from her music career following the death of her sister from breast cancer. On 22 October 2022, Leshurr and Sherelle Smith allegedly assaulted Leshurr's ex-girlfriend Sidnee Hussein and Hussein's new girlfriend Chante Boyea. She was charged with two counts of

assault occasioning actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and t ...

, and Smith was charged with one count of the same offence. Both women pleaded not guilty to their charges and were bailed. Twelve months later, the pair were found not guilty at

Snaresbrook Crown Court Snaresbrook Crown Court is a historic, Listed building, Grade II listed building situated in Snaresbrook, an area within the London Borough of Redbridge. It is one of 12 Crown Court centres serving Greater London and is designated as a third-tie ...

. The prosecution said that Leshurr had bitten Boyea's hand, while the defence said that Leshurr had been bitten by Boyea's

Belgian Shepherd The Belgian Shepherd (), also known as the Belgian Sheepdog () or the Chien de Berger Belge, is a Belgian breed of herding dog of medium size. It is bred in four distinct varieties based on coat type and colour: the long-haired black Groenen ...

dog. After her acquittal, Leshurr said that her career had been ruined due to loss of deals and income because of the charges.

Discography

Mixtapes

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leshurr 1987 births Black British women rappers British women rappers 21st-century Black British women singers 21st-century British women singers 21st-century English LGBTQ people British hip-hop singers English people of Saint Kitts and Nevis descent Grime music artists Living people English LGBTQ singers English LGBTQ rappers Recipients of the British Empire Medal Pansexual rappers Black British LGBTQ people People acquitted of assault