Lizzie Berchie is Rooted and Ready to Shine
Prepped and ready for her forthcoming EP, we catch up with neo-soul oracle Lizzie Berchie on the fringes of her next great artistic leap.
Lizzie Berchie in 2025. Image via Press.
The story of Lizzie Berchie goes something like this: a shy little girl from East London grows up in a Ghanaian household, her ears filled with highlife, and her dad's favourite reggae CD plays on repeat every Sunday. She sings with her sister and fiddles with FruityLoops—the music software her ascendant family members use to make beats on the computer.
Inspired by her music teacher, Lizzie starts taking things more seriously in secondary school, nurturing her talents in musical theatre and writing songs for fun. She goes on to study songwriting at Leeds Conservatoire, where she creates her first EP, Under The Sun, which is "basically like a university dissertation" crafted between studio sessions at home and on campus. Later, with dreams that reach far beyond the bounds of her chosen nine-to-five, she quits her job to finally chase the passion she's been cultivating for years.
This leads us to today when shy little Lizzie Berchie has blossomed into a vibrant songstress, creating music that feeds the soul, spurred on by the spirit of her "holy trinity": Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, and Lauryn Hill. So far, she's performed at festivals near and far, including the prestigious SXSW Festival in Texas; shone as the opening act for prolific Chicago rapper Noname's international tour; and continues to headline her own shows.
Her colourful discography meanders from neo-soul, jazz and R&B to reggae, lover's rock, and Motown. Thus, Lizzie Berchie has created a soundscape that can only be described as quintessentially her: it's "every sound I've ever heard in my entire life just poured into a cup—that's what I create from." Her forthcoming EP, Night Shift, is a testament to this.
But no matter how far her career carries her, Lizzie Berchie will always take pride in being a little rough around the edges, just like the corner of the city that raised her; she wears her East London roots like a badge of honour, and perhaps that's what makes her twinkle that little bit brighter.
The Culture Crypt sits down with this captivating artist to delve into her mind and revel in this remarkably raw story.
The Culture Crypt: How do you feel when you step back and look at how everything is unfolding?
Lizzie Berchie: "I feel really blessed. In this crazy world, it's such a privilege to be able to do what you love. Knowing that people are out there listening to my music is still such an insane feeling—when I go onto my Spotify app, I'm like, "Are those real people? Listening to little old me from East London?" Yeah, it's definitely a sweet thing to experience."
What have been some of your proudest moments thus far?
"I'd say quitting my job was a really proud moment. I'm somebody who doesn't like taking risks—I'm not the kind of person to do things out of the ordinary, so it was the first time in my life that I really felt like taking a leap of faith. Everyone around me was shocked. But I asked myself, "When are you ever gonna have the chance to take such a crazy leap? You're in your mid-twenties, you ain't got no kids, you ain't got no responsibilities. It's totally the right time to do something crazy." I didn't want to look back later on in life and regret never having tried."
Tell us more about what life looked like before you took that leap
"Mate, nine to five. Literally, you wake up in the morning, you have your breakfast, you get on that train to the plantation, and then you just slave it away! But honestly, I can't even complain too tough. I actually worked in the music industry but on the business side, and I had amazing bosses who were so supportive. Even when I handed in my notice, my boss was like, 'Don't you worry about us—this is an engine that keeps on ticking. I'm just proud of you for doing what you feel like you need to do.'"
Your upcoming EP Night Shift was inspired by this journey. Tell us more about the birth of this project and what it means to you
"Night Shift is the tale of me working my nine-to-five and making music from five-to-nine. This really was an 'after-work EP'. Most of the vocals were recorded at night, sometimes in bed. My bed set-up is so hilarious; it's just straight laziness, and I'll never change it!
I'll have my laptop on my bed, and I'll be watching Netflix or something, then when an idea comes to me, I quickly just grab the interface, plug it in, grab the mic (which is right next to my bed), and if I can't get the pop shield, I grab a sock, put it on top of the microphone and start recording. That's how lots of the vocals [on Night Shift] were recorded—with a sock over the mic most of the time. Real East London set-up.
I feel like [the EP] is a journey through the night: it starts off sad, tells the story of the pressure of working and trying to live this dream, but then it also tells the tale of falling in love and having fun; and then the end is like the break of dawn, where the sun is rising, and you're seeing the silver linings, and you've found your end goal."
“The project is definitely a tale of hustling for this lifestyle but then also just exploring my time working. The very first single, ‘I Hope You Understand’, was about taking that leap of faith to step away from something no longer right for you so that you could chase your dreams and do whatever your heart desires.”
What did family life look like for you?
"I've got five siblings—two were born and raised in Ghana, and three of us were born and raised here, so we're a nice little blend. But even though I was born here, it really did feel like I was raised as a Ghanaian. Obviously, you go to school, but every day is like coming home to a small Ghana: the language is there, the food is there, and your cousins and the community are there. You come home, and you forget you're English; you leave the house, and you forget your Ghanaian. You know what I mean?"
I do. How did your London roots shape you?
"East London is such a great place to grow up. I'll be repping East London til the day I die! It's such a multicultural area; it's got a massive demographic of Southeast Asians and loads of Africans, and you've still got your cockney lot. It's a proper melting pot, and I feel like it definitely made me appreciate culture—I love languages, I love music, I love Arabic scales, all of that.
If you go through my Spotify playlists, it can go from Spanish salsa songs to traditional Mali music. And also, East London has got a roughness to it – that's something that fans might discover about me… my music gives sweet little soft bird, but I'm East London at the end of the day."
You're an independent artist, and I know that's not easy. What does being independent mean to you?
"I love being an independent artist. I feel like it's really our era—we really are the authors of our own story at the moment. We're understanding that we don't have to rely on these major deals, that we can cultivate our own fan bases, we can create our own army. And it's a powerful movement. Shout out to all the independent artists doing their thing right now."
But the industry machine can be very distracting, especially with social media's current influence—how do you stay true to yourself amidst all of the noise?
"Oh, there's so much noise! But when you love what you do, nothing can bend your will. When I was working at record labels, I found that the best artists were the ones who did what they wanted. They were always the ones who did the best, and they could come back and prove everyone wrong."
As a Black British woman in the music industry, do you have any words of wisdom to share from your experience?
"Work wide, not up. I think there's a tendency for people to believe that progress looks like going up—working with bigger artists and producers, working with a bigger team—when actually, you should look to your left, look to your right and see the people who are hustling alongside you.
Grow together, collaborate, support, and be at each other's shows. Even when you're tired, show up. That's something I definitely take from being African—my parents are always going to someone's wedding, someone's christening, someone's funeral. But my mum told me, 'That's community: you show up. Otherwise, the room will be empty when it's your turn.'"
You've shown this collaboration while working and performing with other talented artists worldwide. What does performing mean to you?
"Oh, performing live will forever be my favourite thing. I feel that performing, more than anything, is what God has called me to do. That is the epitome of it all. For me, that's when the music does what it's meant to do. That's when the music is real."
How do you want people to feel when they listen to your music?
"I definitely want them to feel loved. I want love to be the centre of everything that I do and the music that I create—I want it to inspire the kind of love that people should set for themselves as a standard. But there will also be stories of heartbreak because love is not all glitz and glam. It's not always romantic, so there's the vulnerable side, too. But I want people to take away a message of love. Always."
Lizzie Berchie’s upcoming live show takes place on June 6th at St Pancras Old Church.Night Shift drops on May 23rd. In the meantime, stream "Company" below: