On Her Debut Album, Lila Iké Is Determined To 'Treasure Self Love' & Push Reggae Forward
In August 2024, singer Lila Iké was performing in a rain-soaked Brooklyn park before a small but enthusiastic crowd who had gathered to see the biopic Bob Marley: One Love. Nearly a year later, she stood before tens of thousands of fans at Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay.
That the singer found herself among the top-billed acts at Jamaica's premiere festival (in a year that saw Vybz Kartel crowned king of dancehall, no less) was not lost on Iké. Her short but powerful set marked the first time in six years that she graced the Sumfest stage, and her first time as a solo act — a particularly important milestone for the rising star.
"You’ve got to do Sumfest before you're really considered a big artist in Jamaica," Iké tells GRAMMY.com from her home in Kingston. "The first time I did it, it was [supporting] Protoje. So six years later, it was a full circle moment for me."
The Sumfest performance — which saw Iké clad in metallic jewel tones, offering a mix of melodic reggae tunes, ballads and a gospel track — announced that Iké had arrived. Five years after Iké's debut EP introduced her to international audiences and a slew of singles cemented her as a reggae act to watch, the 31-year-old will release her debut album on Aug. 22. Written and produced over multiple years, Treasure Self Love is an ode to Iké's personal and artistic growth.
"It's about love, it's about emotions, it's about mental health. Some of it is just celebrating [what] I've been able to achieve over the years and what music has been able to do for me," she says.
Music has taken Lila Iké from her home in Manchester Parish to studios with GRAMMY nominees ("Greatest Gift," Iké's 2023 pairing with Jorja Smith, has over 11 million streams on Spotify). A self-taught singer born to a religious family, Iké began writing songs in secret and later shared them on Facebook under an alias. Iké eventually relocated to Kingston — without the approval of her mother — where she hustled to cultivate her musical identity. After several years of performing at jam sessions, Iké caught the ear of Protoje, who signed her to his In.Digg.Nation label in 2017; the two have been close collaborators ever since.
Treasure Self Love will also be released via In.Digg.Nation and reflects Iké's own multitudes. "Fry Plantain" feat. Joey Bada$$ brings sex appeal to an average Sunday morning at home; H.E.R. collab "He Loves Us Both" wonders if love can be contained. Lead single "Romantic," featuring fellow Sumfest performer Masicka, updates a 1993 dancehall classic by Patra.
While Lila Iké has been making her way in reggae for nearly a decade, she is truly stepping out to claim her space with Treasure Self Love. She spoke with GRAMMY.com about owning her identity, trying new things, and which of her lyrics she'd want on a T-shirt.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Your debut EP, The ExPerience, was a bit of an introduction to your life; what was your mindset going into this album? Do you feel like you're arriving as a different person or a different kind of artist?
I think I'm growing. If we speak about arriving, it's like arriving to where exactly? I feel like every artist is consistently, continuously evolving into better versions of themselves. [Treasure Self Love is] a journey of learning to love myself, understanding that each and every one of us should be able to treasure ourselves and value ourselves.
Every time I make music, every time I get to another level, every time that I've ticked off an accomplishment or overcome a particular milestone, it's just a reminder to just continuously evolve, to continuously work on getting better and especially to just learn myself because you really don't know what you're capable of until you do it.
Are there any big lessons that are reflected in the songs on this album?
I've learned to not doubt or limit myself, to always be open to what inspiration can produce. I've also learned to channel more of my emotions into the music, as outside of being an artist, I'm also just a regular human being who experiences challenges and great things. So it's finding a balance and finding a way to use that in the music because then that's what makes you more relatable to people.
Is there a song that you're particularly proud of that reflects that humanity?
"Serious" is one of those songs that is very honest. It's a very powerful message as well. I was very vulnerable in that song, sharing some of the things I go through mentally.
I’m also just proud of it [because] I was very much involved in how the song sounds. It took the longest for me to get to a place in the mix that I was comfortable with. There was a lot of things that other people were missing that I was like, "No, you all have to listen. I can hear this and that." So it also showed me the artistry and the dedication that it takes to really put the music on the level that you want it to be.
Tell me a little bit more about the production and creative process for Treasure Self Love; was it different from that of your EP?
We started creating some of the songs from the EP in COVID times; more people had more time to just sit with the music and work and each song, not thinking that you have this great deadline to meet.
The difference with this project is that I was working with people that I wasn't necessarily familiar with… I met them through my connection with RCA at the time when I was on that label. It was a bit challenging at first because it takes a while for me to get comfortable to do the more vulnerable songs.
I remember texting Protoje in the session like, "I need to come up with something." And he's like, "You got this. You don't have to feel like you have to be the best and the most talented person because you're with somebody that doesn't know you and has never experienced your artistry in person before. Just relax and get it done."
I've been very invested in bringing [this album] together because I had taken so much time to work on it. The time that it took me to get it done really made me create a deeper connection with the music, the relationship with the production and vocals and everything.
I imagine it must take a really strong artistic vision to hone years of experience into one project.
For sure. There were a lot of songs that got cut. It took me putting my foot down because there are other people that I work with — Protoje, Ineffable and my circle of friends and musical friends — who are like, "No, what are you talking about? This song absolutely has to be on it." But it really takes the artist's personal vision for their work to say, "I don't think I should put more than 11 songs on it. I don't think I should put this song, I should substitute this song for this one."
It takes more attention to detail, more understanding of what the story you're trying to tell is, what's the theme, and all of that. And mostly I enjoy that process. The next time I have an album to do, I won't stress myself that much.
The first line on this album is, "All my enemies scattered before me." That's a pretty powerful statement to open with — is there anything to that?
I wrote that song when I was going through a situation [where] I was just watching a lot of people's ideas and opinions about me and my life play out in front of me. And I never necessarily addressed it. I was like, You know what? Let me just use this song to express how I feel.
I'd also love to hear about "Romantic" and working with Masicka. Why did you want to re-record Patra's "Romantic Call"?
I was at the studio in London with Juls, the producer, and he was playing me a bunch of different beats. It was November in London — it's dark, it's cold. My emotions were just heightened where I wanted to be a bit more vulnerable. That's around when I was making "Serious" and "Brighter Days" and all of these songs, so I wasn't feeling too party-party.
I remember he played me that particular instrumental and there was a saxophone lead-in that grabbed me; he just had it on a loop for a while. And just before it was time for us to wrap up the session, something popped in my head. And for whatever reason it was that Patra song — I'm on the romantic call. I just pre-styled it and twisted in my own words.
I came back home and was more focused on the other, more emotionally packed songs on the project. And I remember Protoje was like, "Yo, this song have a vibe. People haven't necessarily heard you like this before." And I rocked with it for a while, wrote the verses.
At first there wasn't a feature. And because I had met Masicka, worked with him for a song on his project, I was like, "I have this song, I think you'd be dope for it."
I sent it to him and even he was like, "I love hearing you like this. I'm going to deal with it for you." And he sent me back his verse about a week or two later and it was just like, "We have to put this song out as a single."
Your press materials state that you wanted to pay tribute to dancehall queens and other women in music that paved the way. At Sumfest, you told the audience about the importance of feeling empowered to be sexy, but conscious and self-respecting. Could you speak on those themes and what that means to you?
People create their own narrative on who you are and what is expected of you. I like to think about myself as somebody that you can expect the unexpected from because I don't box myself in. I'm learning myself every day — there are a lot of things that I said I would never do that I did; a lot of things that I say I would never eat that end up becoming my favorite food.
[In] the music video [for "Romantic"], I'm wearing a wig. I'm all dolled up. I'm more in my feminine energy. I won't say that every single time I'm presented like that — femininity is fluid — but a lot of people had different opinions of it. They're like, "Oh, she's trying to be a sexy dance artist now. What about the roots?"
And so that's what I was expounding on, which is not the first time I've said it. I like doing my hair, I like doing my nails, I like wearing makeup every now and then. I do dress really sexy sometimes, but most of the time I'm reserved or I'm in baggy stuff or whatever. At the end of the day, we're women and we're expressive and you can want to look like a Barbie one day and the next day you just want to look like you're homeless. [Chuckles.]
But that should not define your mentality and it shouldn't define your consciousness. Some of the people that I've met that are some of the most conscious and deep and spiritual people, they don't present people who are normally seen like that. After hearing people's opinion on ["Romantic"], I wanted to just say that.
At Sumfest, I looked in the crowd and I saw one of my favorite young dancers right now in dancehall. Her name is Rebel and as her name suggests, she's rebellious. She practically go out not wearing much clothes at all, but when you listen to her speak, I see where she's coming from.
I just wanted to remind young ladies that you can love Rastafari culture. You can love consciousness. You can be smart and still look like a dancehall queen. You're just expressing yourself, nothing is wrong with that.
What was it like to perform your own set at Sumfest?
It was a bit nerve-racking at first. Sumfest is a big deal in Jamaica. You’ve got to do Sumfest before you're really considered a big artist in Jamaica.
The first time I did it, it was [supporting] Protoje six years ago. And it was around the time I just started working with him and he's like, "You should walk out to my song 'Second Chance.'" It was still new to me being in front of so much people, and I'd get really nervous and just not even interact with the crowd.
So six years later, it was a full circle moment, especially to play before him and Toni Braxton. I was like, All right, I need to ensure that I give these people a really great show.
One of [my band’s] closest friends, another drummer passed away just before we went on stage. So they got that news right before we went on and everyone was crying and it was a really heavy thing. But I was like, "Guys, let's just do this one for him. Everything you're feeling right now, let's see if we can just translate that in the music." It was unfortunate that they had to be bearing that pain while we're doing it, but I like to think everything happens for a reason.
Since you've brought up Protoje a few times, I would love to hear a little bit about where your relationship is with him now.
We have a lot of songs together. But Protoje is, at this point in my life, a mentor that plays a lot of different roles. Some days he has to be a father figure to be like, "Okay, Lila, don't do that or do this." Some days, he's like a best friend that I can speak to about just everyday life situations, relationships, whatever it might be. Most of the times he's just my musical guru. We just get it. We have similar tastes in music, we write together, we vibe together. There's a lot of things, like musical history, that I've learned from him.
He's been that consistent musical guide for me ever since I came into the industry. He's the one who literally discovered me and was like, "You just tell me what is it that you're trying to achieve in music and I'll help you to the best of my ability because I just feel like reggae music needs you and needs your voice and needs your energy." And ever since that day in 2016 or so, we've been really close and have a great working relationship and he's supported me in a lot of ways.
Even the song that we have now for my project ["All Over The World"], I walked in on him recording that song for his project and I was like, "Nah, I love this song. I need this for my project."
I love that the song was going to be for his project. In my notes, I have that "All Over the World" sounds different than the rest of the record.
It's also a throwback song as well. It's an original Barrington Levy and the Rascalz, a rap group from Canada. At first I was deliberately just trolling Barrington, if I'm going to be honest, because I find his vocals so unique and so special. I don't know what it is about Jamaican artists, but especially back in the day when they collaborate with an American rapper, they tried to emulate the American accent. And so when I first heard Protoje working on it, I was like, You know what? I'm going to go sing the hook exactly like Barrington.
It really speaks about how much being an artist and reggae music has done for me. I'm about to go to Brazil for the first time; I don't think I'd ever visit a lot of places had it not been for the music. So the song "All Over the World" is really just us celebrating making positive music with positive messages that has brought us all over the world.
You told The Fader a couple of years ago that when you're dead and gone, you want to be the female Bob Marley, with your lyrics and quotes on T-shirts. Is there a line on this record that you think would be shirt worthy or timeless?
There's a song that I have called "Love in a Lovely Way." I say it in Patois, but I'm going to say it in English right now: "Love that doesn't change and it stay the same/ love that's so pure it shines a light, love that's so sure it saves my life." That song is a very special one.