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Kelela Mizanekristos, simply known as Kelela, is a Los Angeles based singer-songwriter. Born and raised in the suburbs of Maryland, Kelela moved to L.A. shortly after attending American University in Washington, D.C. in order to foes more on her music career. On October 1, 2013, she released the critically acclaimed mixtape Cut 4 Me by way of the progressive label Fade to Mind. Garnering the support of musician Solange Knowles, Kelela has appeared alongside her both on tour and on her album Saint Heron. Cut 4 Me was selected as one of Pitchfork Magazine's albums of the year and listed seventh on The Guardian's top albums of 2013.

Early life
Kelela was born to Ethiopian immigrants who moved to the United States in the 1970s. Growing up in Rockville, Maryland, she experienced a cultural disconnect between herself and the other kids at her schools. In an interview with Pitchfork, Kelela says “I’ve grown up feeling very American but being constantly othered by people—there’s internalized racism and feeling weird about being second-gen.” Constantly moving between different groups, it is this experience which influence her music sensibility. She also describes a powerful moment vacationing with cousins, and listening to music, when she was first inspired by the sounds of Tracey Chapman's self-titled debut. The cassette and image on the cover reinforced her desire to go against mainstream notions of what music is supposed to be. This early influence along with Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 are what "crystallized " her aesthetic and sound as a whole.

Growing up, Kelela was voted Most Likely to Be a Pop Singer

Career
Kelela dropped out of college at American University in 2009 to pursue music seriously. "I could never apply myself fully" she tells media site Wine and Bowties, "...I was distracted and I didn’t know why I was distracted. I was torn, so college was like this drag. I couldn’t seem to do the thing that everyone seemed to be able to do." So, she moved to Los Angeles at first for a few weeks, and later permanently. While helping a friend on tour, she received a call to work on Teengirl Fantasy's song EFX.

From this point, Kelela got in contact with Fade to Mind producers who took an interest in her sound. They sent her 50 instrumental tracks in which she could get a better feel for the type of music they made and to begin work on the Cut 4 Me mixtape. Of these tracks, Kingdom's production was used to record her critically acclaimed single, Bank Head. Cut 4 Me was released on October 1, 2013 free of charge on the Fade to Mind website as well as platforms such as Soundcloud.

While playing a show for Teengirl Fantasy, Kelela notes that a manager asked her afterward to send her a few samples for a client. It later turned out to be the manager of Solange Knowles, who later expressed interest in working with her. Kelela later went on to perform with Knowles on tour and is even featured on her album Saint Heron. Kelela describes the experience as both nerve-wracking and exhilarating to sing in front of large crowds who knew some of her lyrics.

Critical Reception
Kelela's style has been well received as refreshing and experimentally forward. Spin magazine describes her sound as "More jazzy than most current R&B, thanks to her restrained, controlled delivery, the tracks become more abrasively challenging with the remixes, edits, and instrumentals from her friends." With the release of her mixtape Cut 4 Me, Kelela has been shortlisted for BBC's Sound of 2014 poll, listed seventh on The Guardian's top albums of 2013, and voted one of Pitchfork's albums of the year. Ruth Saxelby of Pitchfork praises the mixtape for it's emotional and musical depth, while Jon O'Brien of MIMO credits Kelela as "arguably the most forward-thinking out of all the female performers currently attempting to emulate the golden age of R&B".