Leah Cleaver is a London-based artist and activist whose music blends alt-pop with funk, hip hop, electro, and soul.
A former frontwoman of the neo-soul group Zebede, she’s performed at British Summer Time festival, recorded a session for Jamz Supernova, and now beginning her journey as a solo artist.
Her debut single ‘Last Time’ (released via PACE) captured late-night chaos and romantic tension over a shape-shifting production of keys, synths, and rattling drums. It was followed by ‘Have You Ever’, which Cleaver describes as the sunny morning-after to its predecessor’s dimly-lit cab ride.
Drawing influence from artists like Nina Simone, Channel Tres, Jungle, and Little Simz, she developed her signature alto vocal style during a period of vocal strain, learning to lean into grit and control over affectation.
Beyond her musical work, Cleaver co-founded U Gd, Girl?, a London-based intersectional feminist collective running monthly workshops and discussion circles for women and non-binary people. Her music is dedicated to the queer and trans community that continues to nurture her, and she prefers a literal approach over metaphor to communicate openly and with urgency.
‘Last Time’ introduced us to your sound and your story. With ‘Have You Ever’ coming next, where are you taking us now and how do the two songs connect?
Last time feels like 2am on a saturday night buzzing round through london in a cab and have you ever is 2pm on Sunday and you’re laying in the grass in the park with your friends in the sunshine absolutely GIGGLING and gossiping about the night before, it’s a nod to those that sometimes put their foot in their mouths (like me!) and do cheeky things with gorgeous people but it’s all okay because their friends hold space and love for them.
You started gigging around London early on. What’s one thing that helped you grow a buzz at the grassroots level?
I started going to jam nights, especially ones that made me nervous and my beautiful friends would champion me, and i’d watch other amazing artists and see their authenticness and rawness to perform, so then I started to as well and I would tell those people who I was and I kept coming back, and I think that’s how you build community within grassroots organisations, you just keep going back.
What’s one tip you’d give to another artist who feels like they don’t fit into the industry’s boxes?
People will always try to ‘re-create what you do, rebrand it, manufacture it, mass produce it, water it down, claim it as their own (eventually) - so you may as well be the source! It might take time but you need to exist in the knowledge that your people will find you and will notice what you’re doing, keep your blinkers on and keep going
What’s something you’ve figured out about being an artist that no one told you?
I figured out that there are amazing people doing the same thing as you that will, and can pull you up alongside them so generously and without motive. Sometimes we focus so much on the competition of numbers and who’s the ‘favourite’ right now that we forget that as artists we are our community, and especially as a black woman I know when one of us win we all win, so i’m hear to raise up others voices and I know people have been raising mine so I feel grateful.
What’s your favorite/least favorite thing about making music?
My favourite thing is when you know you’ve written a bop and you come home and show the people you love (100 times)
Least favourite thing is having to wait to show it to everyone!
3 artists that influence you right now.
DAMEDAME*, Lil Simz, BINA.