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Lusamba Vanessa Kalala (born July 21, 1995), better known by her stage name Lu Kala (stylized as LU KALA), is a Congolese-Canadian singer. She is best known for her guest appearance on American rapper Latto's 2023 single "Lottery", which entered the Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100.[1]
Career
Kala emigrated to Canada at the age of three. She first grew up in the Regent Park neighbourhood and later lived in Ajax, Ontario.[2]
Kala began her career with songwriting, as she is credited as a writer on Jennifer Hudson's track "Dangerous" from her 2014 studio album JHUD.[3][4]
Kala performed at the Canadian Music Week in 2019[5] where she performed her debut single, "DCMO (Don't Count Me Out)".[6] She also won the grand prize at Royal Bank of Canada's Emerging Musician Program,[7] earning $10,000 worth of studio time among other prizes.[8]
In February 2023, Latto released "Lottery" which featured Kala, marking Kala's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100[9] and Billboard Canadian Hot 100.[10] On March 1, Latto and Kala performed the song at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music event.[11] In April, her 2022 single "Pretty Girl Era" entered the Billboard Canadian Hot 100,[12] marking her first solo entry on the chart. On September 24, 2023, Kala received the Emerging Artist Award at the Legacy Awards.[13] On December 10, she performed at TikTok's inaugural In the Mix festival in Mesa, Arizona.[14]
Kala was nominated for two Juno Awards in 2024,[15] and she performed at the opening night of the show.[16] In March, Kala received two No. 1 Song Awards from SOCAN for her singles "Hotter Now" and "Nothing but Love".[17] Following this, "Hotter Now" became her highest peaking song on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.[18] In April, it was revealed that Kala had written a song with Katy Perry.[19] On July 4, Kala won the inaugural Billboard Canada Women in Music Rising Star Award.[20] In the same month, her single "Who's Gonna" the entered Canadian Contemporary hit radio chart.[21] In September 2024, Kala released her single "Criminal" after performing it at the Billboard Canada Women in Music event.[22] In October 2024, Kala joined Cyndi Lauper as an opener for two dates on the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour. On November 21, 2024, Kala appeared as a guest judge on the season premiere of the fifth season of Canada's Drag Race.[23] Two days later, she announced her single "Cry Baby".[24]
^Canadian Music, Week (8 August 2019). "LU KALA 'Don't Count Me Out'". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020 – via YouTube, owned by Google.
