Lola Ladae’

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lola Ladae’.

Lola Ladae’, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well in 2018 I decided I was going to go back to school. So, I applied for multiple vet schools and I started to schedule my veterinarian shadowing hours. I started the application process into a school in South Africa and Tuskegee, Alabama. As I was getting everything together and finishing up some classes, I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t excited like I thought I would be. At that moment, I knew I needed to do what I REALLY wanted to do, and that was music. So in March of 2018, I somehow managed to get three jobs and worked my butt off to save money and move to Atlanta, GA to pursue my music career. I bought a little $700 car and drove that baby from Saint Louis, MO to Atlanta on June 15, 2018. While working those jobs, I was so excited! I was happy that I finally was about to start thinking about me and stepping out on a limb. It’s been a year now and this move has been the best decision I have made in my life. The network that I have, the friends that I have made, the important people I have met. Within a year, I have already moved into my own apartment, I created a band and we perform all around Atlanta. I am also the bass play for an all-black woman rock band called The Txlips (The Tulips). My music is starting to make moves and I have learned so much and it’s a continual learning journey.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I always tell people that ever since I moved to Atlanta, literally everything has gone right for me. No situation I have been in has made the road bumpy or hard. It’s all part of the journey so I guess I don’t see it as a struggle.

Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Well, I recently just changed my artist name from Armani Swayze to Lola Ladae. I’m a singer/songwriter and musician – Bass player. I tend to sing anything from R&B to funk. I even play soft rock music with my band and really nice Beyoncé covers! I’ve been singing all my life but I just started to take the journey serious around 2016. I bought my bass guitar the same year but only got consistent with it in 2018 when I moved to Atlanta. I also am the curator of a secret concert series called “The Basement: Unplugged” where artist, majority from Atlanta but some from other cities, come and perform in front of a crowd who has been eager to see them. It features live music, live art, DJs, food and vendors. It’s a secret location event so you have to RSVP to receive the address. Once someone goes to that length to support you, it means that much more. This is why I created this platform for all the arts. Our Instagram is @thebasementunplugged

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I personally define success as accomplishing the goals that you have set out for yourself. Bouncing back from any obstacles and just being proud of yourself.

Contact Info:

Email: lolaladae@gmail.com
Instagram: Lolaladae - Voyage ATL

Lola Ladae: “In the Kitchen”
The last time we checked in with St. Louis native-turned-rising-Atlanta artist Lola Ladae, formerly known as Armani Swayze, she was healing from heartbreak. This track finds her in a decidedly more serene state of mind, serving up an extended metaphor for peace of mind in the form of culinary meditation.

“Let me show you some self-love / Mix two cups of ambition / Mix two cups of resilience / Now have some patience,” she sings. Her affirming, soothing new single, a collaboration with producer/musician Genius Art, aka Kalvin Hobbs, got a full-scale release party in late June at Atlanta’s Museum of Modern Perspective.

Of course, working hard on new music during a pandemic year was just one of many surprise career turns that Ladae has weathered. She originally earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Missouri and almost enrolled in graduate school to become a veterinarian. Instead, she opted to play bass for the local band the Tulips, and the rest is history. - ALEXIS HAUK

Atlanta, Ga.- Cooking up captivating cuisine for the mind, body and soul, R&B singer/ songwriter/ musician Lola Ladae´ caters to all musical appetites with uplifting new single “In the Kitchen”.


Seasoned with the eclectic essence of producer/musician Genius Art, Lola sprinkles her soft-spoken alto over breezy, mid-tempo production flavored with airy guitar strums and soul felt snares.


Sharing her radiating recipe, Lola harmoniously dishes up delectable delights of optimism and positivity. She serenades in the song, “Let me show you some self-love/ Mix two

cups of ambition/ Mix two cups of resilience/ Now, have some patience.”


“I literally was in the kitchen making a kale salad, and I was like ‘I haven’t written a song in a long time. I probably should write something. Let me sing exactly what I’m doing now,’” says Lola.


“I wanted to make the song mean something. So I thought, ‘how can you make in the kitchen mean something?’ Though it’s been a journey, I’ve been cooking up blessings for myself.”


Blessed beyond measure, Lola Ladae has been steadily making a mark on the Atlanta music scene over the last few years. A native of St. Louis, Mo., she moved to Atlanta in 2018 after earning a Bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Missouri. She was set to enroll in graduate school to become a veterinarian, but instead, she opted to play bass guitar for local band The Tulips. She spent the new two years on tour, playing gigs throughout the United States and in Europe.



In 2019, she founded the Basement Unplugged, black artist and entrepreneur organization dedicated to bringing black artists, black art and live music together. The group hosts various events for the cultivation of talent. It was during these countless sessions with like-minded performers did she develop her own unique style.


A distinct blend of R&B, funk, alternative R&B, rock and jazz, this young vocalist with the old soul pours all her passions into previous singles “Sanity” and the jazz-infused follow-up single “Did You Know.”


Her latest single “In the Kitchen” is a true-to-life testament to the favor she’s received in her music career. “With the help of God, he’s been putting me in front of very important people, very important opportunities,” Lola explains. “I'm low-key, cooking up things until they are ready to pop out the oven. Then dinner is ready..” - Lola Ladae