Lorine Chia is a Los Angeles-based singer, rapper, and songwriter. Born in Cameroon and raised in Cleveland and Baltimore, her music comes from a place of being between two worlds, creating her own sound from a rich blend of cultural influences. She is an undeniably original artist, who Pitchfork describes as “plucked straight from a different era, but…ultra-contemporary.”
At only 29, she has released seven albums and EPs, including Onomatopoeic and Sweet Noise.
Her powerhouse vocals and eclectic voice have garnered praise from the likes of Complex, Fader, and Billboard. As a songwriter, Chia has collaborated with icons such as Janelle Monae, Wiz Khalifa, The Game, Jim Jones, and Young Jeezy. In 2018 she was one of the five artists chosen by Pusha T in the Adidas Sound Lab contest.
She has performed at SXSW and her music can be heard on popular shows and drama series such as Ava Duvernay's Queen Sugar and Issa Rae's Insecure along with Jordan Peele’s Candy Man.
Chia has grown her audience on Soundcloud since uploading her debut Lorine in 2012 and quickly racking over 100,000 plays on her collaboration with Chance the Rapper. Coming full circle, she has partnered with Soundcloud on their First Fan to First Festival campaign.
She describes her latest work as “Drill & Blues,” setting soothing pianos against staccato drill beats, creating soulful tracks such as “Better Days,” transcending the toxicity of bad relationships and a world in chaos, as she manifests a brighter future.
When she’s not making music, Chia is the creative entrepreneur behind Braids by Lorine, a company that counts Kelly Rowland and Erykah Badu, among its clientele.