Kelela

Kelela Mizanekristos (, ; born June 4, 1983) is an American singer. She made her debut in the music industry with the release of her 2013 mixtape Cut 4 Me. In 2015, she released Hallucinogen, an EP which deals with the beginning, middle, and end of a relationship in reverse chronological order. Her debut studio album, Take Me Apart, was released in 2017 to critical acclaim. After a 5-year hiatus, Kelela released her second album, Raven, in February 2023. Her third studio album, New Avatar, was released in July 2026.

Early life and education A second-generation Ethiopian American and an only child, Mizanekristos was born in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 1983. After transferring from Montgomery College to the American University, Mizanekristos began singing jazz standards at cafés. In 2008, she joined an indie band called Dizzy Spells and sang progressive metal after meeting Tosin Abasi, whom she later dated. In 2010, she moved to Los Angeles,

Career 2012–2015: Cut 4 Me and Hallucinogen In November 2012, Mizanekristos began work on her debut mixtape with already two recorded songs. She later quit her job as a telemarketer to fully pursue her career as a musician. Having moved to Los Angeles, Mizanekristos connected with Teengirl Fantasy and contributed to the group's 2013 album Tracer on the song "EFX", which led her to meet Prince William from the label Fade to Mind. He introduced her to the sound of the record label and its sister imprint from London, Night Slugs. In May 2013, she appeared on Kingdom's "Bank Head", and five months later released her mixtape Cut 4 Me for free. Harriet Gisbone of The Guardian described the mixtape as "an experiment for the production team, the first time the production crew had used vocals on their club tracks."

In December 2013, DJ Kitty Cash released her Love the Free mixtape, which featured her song "The High". Mizanekristos later released the track herself on February 4, 2014, on her SoundCloud. She also featured on Bok Bok's song "Melba's Call", which was released on March 5. On March 3, 2015, Mizanekristos announced the release of her first EP, Hallucinogen, alongside the release of the lead single, "A Message", and its accompanying music video. The second single, "Rewind", was released on September 2. The EP covers the beginning, middle, and end of a relationship in reverse chronological order, and includes the previously shared "The High".

2016–2018: Take Me Apart

In 2016, Mizanekristos was featured on "A Breath Away" from Clams Casino's 32 Levels, "From the Ground" from Danny Brown's Atrocity Exhibition, and "Scales" from Solange's A Seat at the Table. In February 2017, she took part in Red Bull Sound Select's 3 Days in Miami. Later that year, she was featured on the track "Submission" alongside rapper Danny Brown and provided additional vocals on the track "Busted and Blue" from Gorillaz's album Humanz.

On July 14, 2017, Mizanekristos announced her debut studio album, Take Me Apart. It was made available for pre-order on August 1 alongside the release of the lead single, "LMK". Three more singles preceded the album, "Frontline", "Waitin" and "Blue Light", before it was released on October 6, 2017. The album received widespread acclaim from music critics and featured on various year-end lists. It was also included in the 2018 edition of the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The music critic Craig Jenkins noted heavy electronic instrumentation on the album with "deconstructed dubstep wubs in 'Blue Light' and used the Roland synth that gave 'Jupiter' its name—an instrument famous for its blaring leads—to play sultry chiptune instead."

On June 13, 2018, Mizanekristos was featured on the Girl Unit remix of the song "WYWD", which served as the lead single from his upcoming album, Song Feel. The two have previously worked together on Cut 4 Mes "Floor Show" and Hallucinogens "Rewind".

On September 12, 2018, Mizanekristos announced Take Me a_Part, the Remixes, a remix album consisting of remixes from her debut album, and shared a remix for "LMK" featuring Princess Nokia, Junglepussy, Cupcakke and Ms. Boogie. The album features contributions from Kaytranada, Rare Essence, Serpentwithfeet and others. On September 26, Mizanekristos shared Kaytranada's "Waitin" remix as the second single from the album.

2022–2025: Raven On September 13, 2022, Mizanekristos released "Washed Away", her first single in five years along with a music video. On November 15, 2022, Mizanekristos announced her second studio album, Raven, would be released in early 2023. "Happy Ending", "On the Run", "Contact", and "Enough for Love" were also released as singles prior to the release of the album.

On February 10, 2023, Raven was released. She performed "Enough for Love" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon the same day. The album received widespread acclaim from music critics; at Metacritic, it holds a score of 86 based on 18 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Raven includes collaborators such as Asmara from Fade to Mind's NGUZUNGUZU, Philadelphia-based DJ and producer LSDXOXO, German ambient duo OCA, and Toronto DJ BAMBII. The album showcases Black futurist art and electronic music sharing inspiration with Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, and Sun Ra to Janelle Monáe, Solange, Beyoncé, Drexciya and Aaliyah.

On December 6, 2023, Mizanekristos announced the release of her second remix album Rave:N, the Remixes, a compilation of remixes from her album Raven released earlier that year. The album was released on February 9, 2024. “Contact (Karen Nyame KG Remix)”, "Closure (Flexulant x BAMBII Remix feat. RahRah Gabor & Brazy)", "Happy Ending (A.G. Remix)", and "Holier (JD. Reid Remix) [feat. Shygirl]" were singles leading up to the release of Rave:N, the Remixes. A music video was released for "Closure (Flexulant x BAMBII Remix feat. RahRah Gabor & Brazy)" along with vignettes for the other singles.

On February 11, 2025, Mizanekristos released In The Blue Light, her live album accompanying Raven. The live album was compiled from two nights she held at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York. The performances took place on May 28 and 29, 2024, during her debut residency at the venue, with arrangements developed alongside bassist and producer Daniel Aged. Alongside unplugged reworkings of songs from Cut 4 Me, Hallucinogen, Take Me Apart and Raven, the album includes a cover of Joni Mitchell's "Furry Sings the Blues"; it was preceded by the single "Better (Unplugged)" on January 28, 2025, and accompanied by a documentary film released on February 18, 2025.

2026–present: New Avatar

On April 8, 2026, Kelela released the song "Idea 1", her first single since the Raven era. Pitchfork described it as her "grungy" return to music. Kelela wrote and produced the song with PinkPantheress and Shygirl collaborator Oscar Scheller and painter Janiva Ellis, with instrumentation from shoegaze guitarist Scarlet House. A corresponding music video directed by 91 Rules came out the same day.

On May 5, 2026, Kelela released the song "linknb", her second single from New Avatar.

On May 31, 2026, Kelela announced via Instagram a surprise third single from New Avatar. In her post she said "wasn't goin to drop this yet but we're having too much fun! thought we'd keep the party goin. something new for you tonight-- point blank out @ midnight locally".

"Point Blank" was released on June 1, 2026, alongside the announcement of the New Avatar Live world tour, with a North American leg beginning on September 8, 2026, in Seattle, European dates running through the autumn, and festival appearances at San Francisco's Portola Music Festival, Miami's III Points and Turin's C2C Festival.

On June 16, 2026, Mizanekristos released "Outta Time", a duet with A. K. Paul that the pair wrote and produced together. She stated that the song had originally been written in 2016, during the sessions for Take Me Apart, and had remained untouched since.

New Avatar was released on July 10, 2026, through Warp. Produced primarily in collaboration with Oscar Scheller, the album weaves shoegaze and indie rock guitar textures into Mizanekristos's electronic-leaning R&B, and features guest appearances by A. K. Paul, Fousheé and PinkPantheress.

The album received universal acclaim; at Metacritic, it holds a score of 85 based on 14 reviews, all of them positive. while Luke Cartledge of Paste suggested it might be "her most accomplished record yet".

Personal life Kelela is queer. In 2020, she released a reading primer that contained essays, literature, podcasts, videos, and documentaries as reference material for her friends, family, and business partners. Resources included Reader on Misogynoir by Kandis Williams, The will to change by bell hooks and Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble; the Seeing White podcast and IGTV videos from Sonya Renee Taylor about Black labour called Are you stealing from Black folks? and More on Stealing from Black People: Right Relationship Beyond Capitalism; and The Last Angel of History (1996), which features interviews from the late Octavia E. Butler and Greg Tate.

Released: October 6, 2017 Label: Warp Format: CD, LP, digital download

Released: February 10, 2023 Label: Warp Format: CD, LP, digital download

Released: July 10, 2026 Label: Warp Format: CD, LP, digital download

"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Remix albums + List of remix albums, with selected details. Title Album details Hallucinogen Remixes Released: December 25, 2015 Label: Warp Format: Digital download Take Me a_Part, the Remixes Released: October 5, 2018 Label: Warp Format: Digital download Rave:n, the Remixes Released: February 9, 2024 Label: Warp Format: LP, digital download

Live albums + List of live albums, with selected details. Title Album details In the Blue Light Released: February 11, 2025 Label: Warp Format: LP, cassette, digital download

Mixtapes + List of mixtapes, with selected details. Title Album details Cut 4 Me Released: October 1, 2013 Label: Fade to Mind Formats: CD, LP, digital download

Extended plays + List of extended plays, with selected details and chart positions Title Extended play details Peak chart positions USDance USHeat. USIndie "OICU" 2014 — — "A Message" 2015 — — Hallucinogen "Rewind" 33 — "LMK" 2017 — — Take Me Apart "Frontline" — — "Waitin" — — "Blue Light" — — "LMK (What's Really Good)" 2018 — — Take Me a_Part, the Remixes "Waitin" (Kaytranada remix) — — "Washed Away" 2022 — — Raven "Happy Ending" — 17 "On the Run" — — "Contact" 2023 — — "Enough for Love" — — "Contact" (Karen Nyame KG remix) — — Rave:n, the Remixes "Closure" (Flexulant x Bambii remix) — — "Happy Ending" (A.G. remix) — — "Holier" (JD. Reid remix) 2024 — — "Better" (Unplugged) 2025 — — In the Blue Light "Idea 1" 2026 — — New Avatar "Linknb" — — "Point Blank" — — "Outta Time" — — "The Bridge" — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances