ILENE
| ILENE | |
|---|---|
| File:ILENE 4Real Video.jpg Ilene onset for "4Real" music video | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Monica Ilene Lackey |
| Born | Jackson, Mississippi, US |
| Genres | pop, rap, hip-hop, r&b, pop rock |
| Occupations | rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, choreographer, model, writer |
| Instruments | vocals, guitar, drums |
| Years active | 2015-present |
| Website | ilenemusic |
Ilene Lackey, known mononymously as ILENE (stylized in all caps), (formerly known as Ilene Lakai).[1][2], is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, model, and writer. Ilene first began creating music in 2015, posting online in 2016, and gained notoriety on Bandlab after winning several competitions[3][4]. Ilene is currently based in the Memphis area[5]
Early life
Ilene was born in Jackson, Mississippi[6]. She has always had a love for the arts.
Described by former educators as an indigo child, Ilene was reading at the early age of 3, progressed to reading chapter books by 5 years of age, and began writing short stories and poems of her own by the age 6. By the age of 12, Ilene's work was published in six anthologies and two books[7] She read anything she could get her hands on. She entered kindergarten on a fourth grade level and was immediately placed in the school's Open Doors program for "intellectually gifted" students[8]. Her advanced vocabulary and EQ for her age startled adults. Ilene also enjoyed drawing, so she created comic strips as a young child, combining her love of storytelling with art.
After being referred by educators to attend a more academically challenging school[6], Ilene tested in to attend performing arts school Power APAC (Academic and Performing Arts Complex) (now Wells APAC) while dually enrolled at Murrah High School[9]. She auditioned for visual arts and dance, but was only accepted into the dance program. It was there where she trained under dance Vaganova ballet, jazz, modern, and Iyengar Yoga. As a young child, she danced alongside professional Russian dancers in the Moscow Ballet Company after securing a role as an angel in their production at the Thalia Mara Hall.
Musical Career and Life
2015-2018: Career Beginnings
In between submitting assignments for school, Ilene began to experiment online, independently releasing songs and mixtapes under the name Ilene Lakai[1] to Alihoopa, a former music platform owned by Reason Studios, launched in 2016[10]. Using her "fossilized HP Pavilion"[11] laptop, Ilene used several digital audio workstations (Ableton, Reason, and GarageBand), in the past, before discovering Bandlab[5]. From late 2015 to early 2016, what started as an underground project quickly gained popularity among the international community. Ilene released multiple online singles in multiple genres as she was finding her sound. Executive leadership at Propellerhead took notice of her popular songs, writing staff articles about her, and highlighting her music on their explore page and Youtube channel[1]. Ilene acquired a fanbase during two active years on the platform of over 40k. As a top artist on the fledgling platform, Ilene's image and likeness was used on Allihoopa's website[12] and email mailings. Some fans shared Ilene's songs to Youtube[13]. As Ilene gained traction, Allihoopa went defunct in 2019 due to lack of funding.[14] After the platform disbanded, all of Ilene's songs, followers, and community engagement were erased, but she downloaded an extensively large mixtape of files beforehand.
2019-2020: Bandlab Releases and Tracklanta Wins
In December 2018, Ilene began researching alternatives to the previous platforms she used. In January 2019, Ilene joined Singapore-based social music platform Bandlab. Meng Ru Kuok, CEO of Bandlab, describes the platform in a 2021 interview as akin to "a Facebook for music but with GarageBand and SoundCloud/Bandcamp built in."[15] The streamlined ease of use, expansive tools, and versatility Ilene found in Bandlab's Mix Editor DAW allowed her to learn quickly how to engineer her own vocals, organize and file away hundreds of song ideas, and grow as an artist.[5] Right away, she began to finish songs at a speed and efficiency previously impossible with previous software[5]. It was not long before Ilene's organic fanbase began to multiply. In addition to creating and uploading several popular tracks, her popularity increased by word of mouth, getting playlisted in Bandlab and user curated playlists, and winning several community competitions.
In July 2019, Bandlab announced it would be partnering with ChooseATL and A3C to launch Tracklanta, "a musical experience designed to provide the next generation of musical creators with the once in a lifetime experience to record with 5 of hip-hop’s most influential area producers at 5 studios across [Atlanta, Georgia]."[16] In October 2019, Ilene submitted her work and won the first annual international "Tracklanta" competition, with her tongue-in-cheek, and humorous freestyle "Mississippi"[3]. Ilene was shortlisted from thousands of submissions by an A&R team, then chosen as winner by Grammy Award winning producer Tasha Catour after rapping on her beat. From this experience, two singles were created in Atlanta at Patchwerk Studios.[3] Ilene also entered and subsequently won a slot to compete at Battle Royale, a 16 EMCEE competition in Atlanta, hosted by MTV's Wildn Out's Corey Charron and A3C Conference & Festival's Del Ro[4]. Ilene was the only female rapper in attendance, and placed 3rd among all male competitors. Ilene later revealed in a follow up interview that being in Battle Royale was her first time being on a live stage in a crowded venue.[17]
During the pandemic, Ilene went on to enter and win Tracklanta 2020: Virtual Remix #TracklantaBars against Charron[4]. Corey noticed Ilene's star power, likened her to his friend and colleague Justina Valentine, the two did a mentor session the following month on tactics and strategies to further her rap career and online presence. Ilene released two songs to SoundCloud in 2020[18], but did not remain active on the platform.
2021: Fanbase Growth and Discovery by Epikh Pro
In October 2021, Ilene was spotted on Instagram by multi-platinum, twice Grammy-nominated record producer, songwriter, and musician, Epikh Pro, after she uploaded short snippets from songs made in Bandlab to her page[19]. Epikh Pro produced quadruple-platinum, breakout hit song "Don't" by Bryson Tiller. He has also worked with artists such as Royce Da 5'9 + Eminem "Caterpillar", Cardi B + Pardison Fontaine's "Backin' it Up", Jack Harlow, Ybn Cordae, Brandy, Meek Mill, Kevin Gates, DaBaby, Lil Durk, Lecrae, Lil Yachty and many others. The two are working on releasing her highly anticipated debut solo EP in 2022.[19]
In June 2022,
2022-Present: Bandlab Creator Grant Recipient and Debut EP Announcement
Discography
This is not an exhaustive list. Ilene announced in 2022, these songs would be indexed for piracy protection and re-uploaded.
EPs
Project Name To Be Announced, (2022)
Bandlab Singles
Allihoopa Singles
"Drama" (2017)
"FiXXX" (2017)
"Our Song" (2018)
"Princess" (2018)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Tracklanta: a hip-hop Journey with Bandlab | Herself | Documentary on the Tracklanta 19 experience |
| 2021 | "Risk" | Rosa | WKU Short Drama Film, supporting lead[20] |
Awards and nominations
External Links
ILENE at Bandlab
Ilene Lackey at IMDb
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 staff, Allihoopa (2016-05-17). "Meet Music Maker Ilene Lakai". Medium. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ↑ "ILENE". Genius. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Tracklanta: Here are your winners going to Atlanta!". BandLab Blog. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Tracklanta 2020: Virtual Remix – #TracklantaBars winners - Competitions". BandLab Blog. 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Brackenhoff, Christine (2022-03-25). "An Interview with Rapper and Singer-Songwriter ILENE". Music Tectonics. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "About ILENE". ILENE. 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ↑ "About ILENE". ILENE. 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ "Open Doors - Gifted Education / Overview". www.jackson.k12.ms.us. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ "Ilene Lackey". IMDb. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ staff, Allihoopa (2017-03-07). "Introducing : Allihoopa". Medium. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ Brackenhoff, Christine (2022-03-25). "An Interview with Rapper and Singer-Songwriter ILENE". Music Tectonics. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ↑ staff, Allihoopa (2017-08-21). "Mentions, hashtags, apps and edit!". Medium. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ Lakaimusic - Well played (Official Audio), retrieved 2022-06-24
- ↑ "Propellerhead spin-off, Allihoopa, to shutter in January 2019". MusicTech. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ↑ Tectonics, Music (2021-07-22). "The Age of Mass Music Creation with Meng Kuok from BandLab". Music Tectonics. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ A3C. "Tracklanta". www.a3cfestival.com. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ "Tracklanta one year on: ILENE - Community". BandLab Blog. 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ "ILENE". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Creator Grant: Empowering BandLab talent to scale new heights". BandLab Blog. 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
- ↑ Bowles, Julie (2021-04-30), Risk (Short, Drama), WKU Film, retrieved 2022-06-26
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