LE1F - Hey

Khalil Diouf aka LE1F isn’t a rapper requiring much of an introduction. Based in New York, he’s the latest in a string of exciting, prodigious talents capable of shifting the norm. Angel Haze’s intense, confessional stance has shaken the system, while Mykki Blanco remains an unsigned, transgender artist asking countless questions in the space of three, free-flowing minutes. LE1F takes about forty seconds before delivering the line: “Ask a gay question / here’s a black answer.” This transitionary release ahead of a debut album on XL/Terrible puts gender and identity in the foreground, in a five-track EP even more notable for its cutting production and neon-lit fizz.

LE1F’s production credits include the aforementioned Mykki Blanco and back in 2008, Das Racist. Each of ‘Hey’’s tracks achieve similar feats in peering ahead. It’s not just the themes he’s tackling that give the EP its forward-lean. ‘Boom’ recalls Blanco’s ‘Wavvy’ in placing LGBT themes in customary in-the-club surroundings. “I’m the elephant in the room,” he declares, practically forcing his way through crowds. Even amidst the talk of drugs, fast cars and photoshoots, not a single second feels wasted. If hip-hop ever required a surprise, LE1F is a jack-in-the-box.