Lava La Rue makes ambition look easy; an MC, musician, rapper, clothing designer, producer, and director, there isn’t a lot they can’t do. Since debuting, Lava has racked up more than 500m total streams, multiple Radio 1 Hottest Record and Chillest Record spots, and several 6Music playlist adds while being touted as a rising talent by the likes of NME, Dazed, Evening Standard and Forbes’ 30 Under 30. But their impact goes beyond industry accolades, and into community.

Lava’s long-awaited debut concept album STARFACE (Dirty Hit), brings in international features, blends genres, and Lava co-directs an entire universe of visuals. A sci-fi theme threads throughout the album, making nods to everything from Funkadelic and Prince to Melody’s Echo Chamber and Beck’s Hyperspace.

“I was definitely inspired by the idea of making a lesbian version of Ziggy Stardust […] The idea of this alien who falls to Earth. And it meant that I could speak about very real experiences, very human experiences, from the perspective of a third person.” – Lava La Rue

Lava credits the myriad of subcultures they were exposed to as a child as the source of their creativity and musical style today. Fusing experimental R’nB with alternative hip hop and a unapologetically British sound – both their message of self love and unity makes Lava La Rue one of London’s most intriguing rising underground artists.