Raedio co-founder and Insecure creator Issa Rae just introduced us to a new artist to obsessive over, Lous and The Yakuza.
Over the weekend, Rae shared a clip from Lous and The Yakuza’s “Tout est gore,” tweeting, “Oh wow, I found mon amour.”
Raised between the Congo and Rwanda and based in Belgium, 23-year-old Lous achieved viral success with the release of “Tout est gore” in December, and quickly earned more attention with her follow-up “Dilemme.” The latter is set to appear on her debut album, Gore.
Describing the video for “Dilemme,” directed by Wendy Morgan, Nereya Otieno wrote for OkayAfrica, “Lous is literally wearing multiple identities, each complete with their own environment. These personas tell the story of her life—from growing up in Congo to proving herself as an artist in Brussels, where she now resides. It’s a collision of high art and street culture. It’s been a difficult, if not lonely, battle and the song tells that tale. Lous is, in fact, speaking about wanting to be alone, the contradictions in being recognized for art and the fatigue she feels at constantly trying to find her place.”
Lous currently describes her sound as “minimalistic,” telling Red Bull Elektropedia, “I want my music to be simple yet complicated. That’s why I pick the people I work with so carefully. I always want to work with people that are more experienced than I am, so they can teach me things and push me further.”
“I got to be able to look back on my music in 20 years and feel proud, even though the dominant music design will have changed by then. It’s something that always evolves, but that doesn’t mean music can’t be timeless. Take 90’s R&B, for example. You can hear it’s made a long time ago, but it still sounds relevant because the emotion is there. I want my album to have the same qualities. If I make tracks with love and passion, I won’t regret them in the future.”
Lous and The Yakuza’s debut album, Gore, is expected to be released later this year.