Exclusive! Lateefah “This is Who I Am”

Lateefah is a neosoul/gospel singer-songwriter based in London, United Kingdom. Her songs are inspired by pages from her diary and listening to them is a life changing experience. Lateefah counts amongst her influences such names as Jill Scott, Lisa McClendon, Lauryn Hill, India Arie and Ledisi.
In a very short time Lateefah has built a reputation for consistently delivering quality lyrics and a solid neosoul groove, which has seen her three singles to date receiving glowing reviews. Interestingly enough in November 2013, her debut single ‘Here I Am’ a reggae influenced track made it to number 27 in the US Top Fifty Gospel Airplay Chart. Her two follow-up releases namely ‘Love Me Through’ and ‘This Is Who I Am’ has been aired on prominent UK radio stations such as Radio Cardiff, Premier Radio and Liberty Radio as well as internet stations Tropical FM, Off The Chart Radio and Juvenile FM. Lateefah has also received rave reviews from music blogs such as Colour Me Stunned, Pop Loving Tarts, The Black Gospel Blog, Soul and Jazz and Funk, Buzzjack and Wisperin & Hollerin. In addition her popularity has been boosted with interviews on Radio Cardiff, Premier Radio, Liberty Radio and for online magazines such as Know Me Better, Vents Magazine and live appearances at The Vortex, Matthew’s Yard, a regular on the Live & Unplugged circuit in London and an appearance on The Chrissy B Show on My Channel TV broadcasting to the UK, France, Germany and Bulgaria.
This talented artist was born in London but spent her early years on the beautiful island of St. Lucia where she honed her musical skills at the St. Lucia School of Music, and later at the London Centre of Contemporary Music (LCCM), where she gained a bachelor’s degree. During a vocal workshop at LCCM, she sang backing vocals for mainstream artist George Clinton known for his work with Parliament & Funkadelic and also backed PP Arnold, known as one of Tina Turner’s original “Ikettes”.
Lateefah understands that music has the power to change and she wants to uplift others who have dealt with low self-esteem issues. She says, “Although I have always been gifted with a talent for music, I struggled with low self-esteem issues for years. My faith has helped me realize that I am beautifully and wonderfully made and now I want to pass that message on. When you begin to love yourself, other people can’t help but do the same!”

What the papers say

“This Is Who I Am – We got our head into this one as it soft and sultry reggae tones make for an exciting and overwhelmingly relaxing listening experience.” Head In The Soundcloud

“‘This Is Who I Am’ is the new Neo Soul track from the always amazing Lateefah. With smooth soulful vocals alongside some laid back instrumentation,‘This Is Who I Am’makes for a deeply relaxing soul single. On this track Lateefah appears to show a new talent other than her gorgeous singing voice but she appears to rap a bit also! The song writing in this song is extremely mature and it really is a credit to Lateefah that her writing abilities are clearly way beyond her age. Having already seen some great success with her previous releases and the fact that she has musical genes (her dad founded the 70’s Reggae band, Cygnus) things are only looking up for the super talented Lateefah. With ‘This Is Who I Am’ due for release July 14th I will certainly be watching out for this young songstress.” urbanfairy – Buzzjack

“”This Is Who I Am “It grabs you first time because…the simple yet sophisticated beat accompanies a great opening verse, full of attitude and seduction. It’s great to hear a fresh reggae soul sound”” ColourMeStunned

“This Is Who I Am, “This track sparkles like the Caribbean water reflecting the sun” Blissful Blog