CAUSING A SCENE - CHAPTER THREE: THE PHILOSOPHER

Lex Amor? If you know, you know. Quietly one of the most quintessential rappers in the UK, following her peerless debut mixtape she stepped away from the limelight, observing from afar. Soon though, as she tells me in a local North London cafe, her sound will once again reverberate throughout the underground.

In 2018, Lex’s third single “Mood” brought her to the forefront of the UK scene’s attention, before returning purposefully in 2020, armed with a bolstered fine-combed focus, on the enthralling cut “Mazza”. The single was the sole teaser from her debut project, “Government Tropicana”, released in September of the same year, a conceptual masterclass that took Lex to a new degree of prevalence.

The dull grey hue of the record’s album art is a visual depiction of the sonic world it lives in. Its production is distinct and consuming, dabbling in an array of electronic sub-styles, as well as old school hip-hop, trap and jazz. What remains constant though, is the album’s haunting and hazy atmosphere; the idiosyncratic and nocturnal timbre provides a visceral and impactful backdrop for Lex’s vocal reflections, commendations and battle cries. Her articulations are complex, relatable, playful and intimate stories, told through chameleonic vocal inflections that switch seamlessly from blasé whispers to soulful harmonies.

I wonder how she ruminates on the album, three and a half years on. “What do you think?” she asks, playfully boomeranging my vague question back onto me. I answer and she approves. “Hearing it from other people's perspective is always interesting because that informs me moving forward. You realise actually that your conception of a thing isn't necessarily [right].”

“Effectively it did a lot, man,” she says. “It changed my life. A body of work allows you to [approach writing] from different places, and present yourself and what you want to say in a more wholesome way. It allowed me to grow in confidence, express a bit of my message, and just have a blueprint, a starting point. Like, this is who I am, this is what I reflect. And I think on the music that will come afterwards, this next project, you'll be able to hear the progression. It doesn't sound like [“Government Tropicana”], but you wouldn't be like, ‘Oh, this can't be the same person.’”

The tape turned plenty of heads, and Lex used its success as a launchpad: gracing the esteemed COLORS platform with a rendition of album cut “Odogwu” and ensuing COLORS ENCORE outing “Clocks (Freestyle)”, as well as unveiling perhaps her most ear-worm release to date with solo single “Rocks” in 2021. She also emerged as a highly sought-after feature; a facet of her artistry she’s always open to explore. “It's easy to work and collaborate,” she says. “Contrary to belief, most people are cool, man. You know, you get some fuckers, but life is life, innit?”

She’s offered a myriad of standout featured appearances in the years since her album, which include turns on perhaps the two most critically and commercially successful UK alt-rap projects since her own in Kojey Radical’s Reason To Smile and Knucks’ ALPHA PLACE. She also chimed in on jazz-rap-polymath Alfa Mist’s influential LP Bring Backs, and shone on “At the Bay”, pioneering label and collective The Silhouettes Project’s most streamed single to date.

Lex, from a modest distance given her individuality, has witnessed and influenced UK underground rap’s insurgence, pinpointing its unification and collaborative spirit as a driving force for its increased popularity. “I think that there has been a convergence,” she muses. “When you've got something that's being built from where you're from, nothing is far. And when that is the case, growth is imminent because you're always going to have cross-pollination. When there's more collaboration and more things happening, that's when a scene actually develops. When it feels like there's motion and this person's working with this person, that person's doing this, then scenes are fabricated, and they become like a physical thing.”

As a swiftly rising artist with the backing of her contemporaries, a growing global fan base and the industry seemingly in the palm of her hand, what was Lex’s next move? Patience, a lot of thought, and simply existing. “I think [when you release] you do so with the intention for it to be something that is of substance,” she contemplates on her lack of solo contributions since “Rocks”. “But that process is never something that you plan or have an identity of what it is. I never came into music understanding how it works or where I would fit in. I was just doing the music. Once the last project came out, there was a bit more of an understanding of how the system worked.”

“I had to ensure that I was moving to my pace, not being influenced by pressures; both real and perceived,” she continues. “I’m super sensitive to energy, and if I don't feel that I'm doing things in earnest, nothing of substance will be pumped out. But I've been making music, I've been in the studio, I've been producing and mixing and stuff like that. I think I had to make sure that I knew what my balance was and what I wanted to talk about, and being patient with the process. Then when that synergy happened, then I thought that I could make things that I was proud of and feel like pushing. I think ultimately the sharing comes after the production of something that you feel like reflects on reality.”

Boldly non-conformist to the Assembly line-esque ethos of the current industry climate – the need to stay relevant through frequent releases, succumbing to the social media bourgeois – Lex has drowned out the noise that invariably deafened her once she began gaining hype, instead separating her reality from illusionary conceptions of infamy. “Lex Amor can maybe taste fame but fame doesn't exist for Alexis, because Alexis isn't presented that way. The reason why I've been able to wait [on releasing] is because I sit in Alexis. Alexis informs what Lex Amor writes about; it is an outward declaration of my experiences, it's conceptual. I live a very normal and identifiable life—it’s a specific lens but I think it's a lens that's shared by so many people in my city and beyond. I don't really have any fear or excitement about [fame].”

Lex has never aspired to be a contemporary artist in the traditional sense. Rather, her musical output is a vessel for self-discovery, questioning the world in which we live, and attempting to understand its esoteric density and the imperfect creatures that inhabit it. “I really like good conversation,” she says, which – in my mind if nowhere else – feels a subtle affirmation that she’s enjoyed the last hour as much as I have. “I love learning and understanding. I don't want to make music just to feel like I’ve got work in the world, I really want to partake in the human process and articulate my findings. Outside of making music, I'm looking for answers. I want to meet people, have conversations, understand how they think, and try to develop good relationships. And just live a very centred life…I want to be satisfied in my attempt.”

As we say our goodbyes and Lex leaves for a late afternoon studio session, I have to ask: when is this mysterious new album to be released? “I need to see what the vibe is, what it feels like,” she says casually with a warm and gratifying smile. “But, there's no need to hold onto it. A couple months? As long as we align it properly, get a plan, it can go as soon as it needs to, you know?”

Photography by @vickygrout

Interview and words by @tibbitsben 

Editorial Director @charlottejmorton

Editor-in-Chief @ellaxwest

Creative Director @jeffreythomson

Art Director @harry_conor

Assistant Art Director @beth1owri

Production Director @bencrankbencrank

Production Assistant Lola Randall

Make-up by @joyadenuga at 7even Management using ByJoyAdnuga Brushes

Photography assistant @domfleming_

Fashion assistant Nnenna Egele

Special thanks to Nicki