Nailah Thorbourne (born 27 November 1983), better known by her stage name Nyla, is a Jamaican singer from

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. Nyla was a member of the R&B and reggae duo

Brick & Lace Brick & Lace are a Jamaican-American dancehall/R&B (or reggae fusion) musical duo consisting of sisters Nyanda and Nailah Thorbourne. According to ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'', their name reflects both the tough and soft sides of femini ...

whose debut album, '' Love Is Wicked'', was released by Geffen and KonLive in 2007 and featured the chart topping single " Love Is Wicked". She is best known for being featured on

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

's " Light It Up". Today she writes and performs as a solo artist and is currently recording and releasing music with some of the biggest chart topping artists and producers.

Early life

Nyla Thorbourne was born to a Jamaican father and an African American mother in Kingston, Jamaica. She has 3 sisters, Tasha,

Nyanda Nyanda Janelle Thorbourne, better known by her stage name/mononym Nyanda, is a Jamaican-American singer and songwriter from Kingston, Jamaica. Nyanda is a member of the R&B/reggae duo Brick & Lace whose debut album, '' Love Is Wicked'', was re ...

and Candace Thorbourne. Nyla went to Campion College High School during which time her group

was formed. After graduating high school Nyla studied

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public university, public college located in Miami, Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade Count ...

Career

2006–2012: Brick & Lace and Bloodline

Nyla's career in music began as a member of the pop / reggae group

. In 2006 the group signed a record deal with

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

Konvict Muzik Konvict Kulture is a record label founded by R&B singer Akon, Melvin Brown (music manager), Melvin Brown and Bu Thiam in 2003 under the name Konvict Muzik. Artists including T-Pain, Kat DeLuna, Mali Music (singer), Mali Music, Red Café, Dolla ...

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

and released their debut album, '' Love Is Wicked'' in 2007. The album spawned four charting singles... "Never Never", "Get That Clear", "Bad to di Bone" and their biggest hit to date, " Love Is Wicked", which was listed for 97 weeks in 7 different charts worldwide. In 2010, Nyla and her sisters formed a songwriting team called: Bloodline. They have written songs for

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

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Leah Labelle Leah LaBelle Vladowski (September 8, 1986 – January 31, 2018) was an American singer. She rose to prominence in 2004 as a contestant on the third season of ''American Idol'', placing twelfth in the season finals. In 2007, LaBelle began reco ...

and

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. In 2012, she co-wrote the gold-certified, chart topping single " Follow the Leader", performed by

Wisin & Yandel Wisin & Yandel were a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo consisting of Wisin and Yandel. They started their career in 1998 and stayed together until 2023, winning several awards including a Grammy Award in 2009. They became the first and the only regga ...

featuring

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. "Follow the Leader" made strides all over the Latin charts and was one of the major releases in the Latin market the year it released.

2014–present: Solo debut

In 2015, Nyla was featured on the song " Light It Up" by

, a track from their album ''

Peace Is the Mission ''Peace Is the Mission'' is the third studio album by American electronic dance music project Major Lazer. It was released on June 1, 2015. The album was preceded by the international hit single " Lean On" with DJ Snake featuring MØ; addition ...

''. Later, a remix of the song featuring

Fuse ODG Nana Richard Abiona (born 2 December 1988), better known by his stage name Fuse ODG, is a Ghanaian-English singer, songwriter and rapper. He came to attention with his first Top-10 song on the UK singles chart, " Antenna" (#7 in 2013), and for ...

was released as a single, which received highly positive reviews and charted top 10 and reached the #1 spot in many countries throughout Europe. The song also topped many digital formats (i.e.

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

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and Shazam). In 2016 Nyla also featured on the song "Good Vibe" alongside Warner Bros Recording artist Strobe. The record was well received with over 1 million streams to date on Spotify. In 2017 Nyla picked up right where she left off with the release of the

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

"Shape Of You" (Major Lazer Remix) feat. Nyla & Kranium.

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

* 2013: ''Stand up'' * 2014: ''Body Calling'' * 2019: ''Faith'' * 2019: ''We Can Believe In (with Paul Secondi & Monarques)'' * 2020: ''Mad Out (with Mr. Vegas and Topo La Maskara)'' * 2020: ''Fuego (with Topo La Maskara)'' * 2020: ''Bam Bam (with Freezy & Topo La Maskara)'' * 2020: ''Shake It (with Topo La Maskara and Deewunn)'' * 2020: ''Hard & Done (with Jugglerz and Charly Black)'' * 2020: ''One Love (with Maor Levi)'' * 2023: ''Death Of Us (with KONO)''

As featured artist

References

External links

* {{authority control 1983 births Living people Jamaican women rappers Jamaican people of English descent Reggae fusion artists Ragga musicians Jamaican reggae singers 21st-century Jamaican women singers Jamaican dancehall musicians Singers from Kingston, Jamaica American women singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters Jamaican people of American descent People educated at Campion College