Lila Iké learned what “self-love” means with her Grammy-nominated album

Lila Iké grew up surrounded by music, in a small town in the green mountains of Jamaica.

“Christiana, where I was born and raised, is a community where music literally oozes out of every fabric of the community,” Iké told All Things Considered. Her memories of music growing up included her mom’s stereo system, which Iké describes as one of her mom’s prized possessions.

“And she would turn up the volume extremely loud,” Iké said. “Thank God I didn’t get, like, hearing loss from my upbringing.”

Now it’s Iké herself making the noise. Last year she released her debut full-length album, Treasure Self Love, which landed her a Grammy nod for best reggae album.

Iké is the sole female nominee in her Grammy category this year. The award for best reggae album has historically been dominated by men, with only one woman, Original Koffee, winning for her album Rapture in 2020. Speaking with NPR’s Ailsa Chang, Iké says it feels amazing to be representing women in reggae.

“You know, I feel proud as hell to be one of those women. And I am happy [it’s] the type of woman that I am as well, cause I’m not like that soft girly girl,” Iké said. “I’m really just out here being a Black woman as much as I know how to, a country girl who is rooted and grounded … so it’s also not that representation of woman that people expect either.”

As she chatted with Chang, Iké shared more about reggae culture, femininity and her recent diagnosis with bipolar disorder, which convinced her she needed to take better care of herself.

Listen to the full interview by clicking on the blue play button above.

This interview is part of an All Things Considered series featuring first-time Grammy nominees, ahead of the Grammy Awards on February 1. You can listen to the profiles on HUNTR/X, Michael Mayo and Destin Conrad.