Zaire Stewart, known widely by her stage name Lady London, was born in New York and raised in New Jersey. She is a second-generation American and multifaceted rapper living the "American Dream.” In the last several years, the On the Come Up actress has emerged on the music scene and grown an organic and loyal fanbase that has fallen in love with her elevated flow.
The musician began cultivating a social media following through her videos of poetry and freestyles in her car to popular songs and beats she liked. Her witty wordplay caught the music industry’s attention and eventually secured her a record deal with Def Jam Recordings in March 2023. Under the label, she released her first project, S.O.U.L., an acronym for “signs of universal love.”
The songwriter continues to evolve in music and forge her own path as she’s working on her first full-length album. Learn more about the talented poet through these seven memorable takeaways from her recent sit-down with REVOLT CEO Detavio Samuels on “The Blackprint" show. Watch the full episode here.
1. She discovered in college that not everyone was raised with Caribbean household customs
Lady London is half Trinidadian and half Jamaican. She was raised in an environment in which traditional aspects of Caribbean culture, such as hygiene and holistic healing methods, were heavily ingrained into her daily life. The Bronx native thought everyone’s household was similar until she left home for college and discovered that her belief was false.
“I honestly didn't know that so many people didn't do what was customary in my household until I went to college,” she told Samuels. “We have a very interesting way of hygiene even in Jamaican households. It's very specific. We have this cleaning agent that's called Dettol, and we use it for everything. Things like taking tea when you're really sick or when you have gas or just... I mean even washing your panties in the shower before you put them in the washing machine. It's like things that I thought everyone did that. Like I had no idea until I went to college.”
2. She attended Howard University to be in a Black environment
Because a quality education and forward thinking were important to her family, Lady London’s mother enrolled her in private catholic schools. At these schools, she was often one of the only few Black girls there. This led to her researching HBCUs since they would offer her the chance to be part of an inclusive and safe community centered around Black culture.
“I always just wanted to feel more of a part of a community. And when I was researching HBCUs — because I'm the first in my family to go to college, so I didn't have an auntie, uncle or parent figure to be like, ‘Oh, you got to go to my alma mater,’” she explained. “I felt like HBCUs teach you that you shouldn't feel guilty about speaking out, organizing or taking issue with the conditions of African Americans in society, and I wanted to be a part of that.”
3. She had plans to be an orthopedist with the NFL
The songwriter always wanted to be in the healthcare industry, which is fitting since she believes everyone was put on earth to heal others in some way. Once she got to college, she decided to be an orthopedist. Her goal was to work on an NFL athletic training team because football players need help recovering faster than other professional athletes due to the nature of the industry. Being a huge football fan would also make the job enjoyable for her.
“I wanted to do orthopedics, non-surgical, and work for an NFL team and get up everybody conditioning back on the field in a good time,” Lady London said. “I still love football, but I find that their contracts are so shifty because in the NBA, and a lot of other sports, you can pretty much sit on the bench injured for as long as whatever, but [in the] NFL they give you a very short window before you have to rehabilitate and get back or you're kind of out of your money.”
4. She is a published author
Rebellious in her youth at times, Lady London often found that writing poetry was an escape from reality. It was a craft she found comfort in. Since it was a natural skill and a safety net, she never stopped drafting material. Her love for poetry and reading inspired her to write a book ahead of her first year of graduate school at the University of Southern California.
“I always did poetry, like I said, and I continued to write throughout college,” the lyricist stated. “I ended up writing a book, which was interesting. I put out a fiction [novel] in between going from my undergrad to grad school that was doing really well. So, I continued to keep in my literature and in my writing.”
5. Her rap career launched from a viral video
The "Pop Ya S**t” creator recorded a video of herself reciting one of her poems in her car and published it on her Instagram profile. Thinking nothing of it, she was shocked to see the reaction to her wordsmith abilities. The clip received praise from not only her followers but the public, brands and record labels, ultimately garnering nearly nine million views. Needing to pay for medical school, she initially saw being a Hip Hop artist as a way to cover her tuition. As a result, the influencer started studying the genre and artists she adored like Lil Kim, Jadakiss and more.
“One day when I was leaving class, I put my phone on my dashboard and I recorded a video doing poetry, right? But the way my voice is, the way that I just articulate myself, it all kind of sounds like rapping even though it's poetry. No beat, no nothing. And I dropped it online and I closed my phone. I had about 9,500 followers just organically, like those are like my friends, whatever. And then I get to where I'm going and it's like going crazy,” she outlined. “This is before Instagram stories were out, before you can do swipes. This [was] a while ago. So, the video is going viral. It ends up [getting] 8.7 million views. It's viral and I get a whole bunch of new followers and a whole bunch of inquiries like, ‘When [did] you start rapping? Like this is so fire’ ... Labels are reaching out and I'm like, ‘What are y'all talking about? Like I do not rap, I do poetry.’”
6. She believes most religions have similarities
Lady London and her siblings weren’t pushed to learn and practice a particular religion during adolescence. Instead, her mother allowed them to explore and discover things they liked and believed in individually. She’s studied multiple religions and admired various aspects of religions like Judaism, Buddhism and Islam, among others. Although she chose to build her faith in Christianity, she believes all belief systems have something in common.
“I think they're all the same. I know [there will] probably be controversial opinions about this, but I think there's ultimately the same underlying message in every single walk of life, [which] is that we have a source that is power-based, and that's just what it is. It's whoever you respond to,” the musician expressed. “But I think there's so many commonalities in it that I draw from each one, of course, because I'm really drawing from one main hub if that makes sense.”
7. She is working on a documentary with Issa Rae
The rising rapper has been working on a new album. During the process, she will collaborate with Issa Rae through Tubi and the “Insecure” actor’s new incubator program Stubio. The initiative allows Lady London to jump into an executive producer role for a documentary titled In Good Faith. The film will give her fans an inside look into her life and the upcoming project’s production process.
“I just also partnered with Issa Rae and her mentorship program, where I'm doing a documentary with Tubi's new platform, Stubios, that is entirely focused on the makings of my new album and just kind of what goes into being an artist in the day-to-day life. So excited to bring you guys into my little introverted, crabby worlds.”
“It's going to be about my family, my life and briefly [touch] on my upbringing, kind of like what brought me from here to here. And I think what's beautiful about it, is [that its] called In Good Faith and each episode is named after a Bible verse,” she added.