Liv.e

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Liv.e

| birth_name = Hailee Olivia Williams

| alias = {{hlist|(Liv).e|Jade Fox|HayLee}}

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1998}}

| birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S.

| genre = {{hlist|Neo-soul|Alternative R&B|Psychedelic soul}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|rapper|record producer}}

| years_active = 2017-present

| label = {{hlist|In Real Life|Dolfin}}

| current_member_of = Kryptonyte

}}

Hailee Olivia Williams (born 1998), known professionally as Liv.e (pronounced 'Liv'),{{Cite web |last=Hoste |first=Elliot |date=February 10, 2023 |title=Liv.e, the Texan artist making R&B with 'swang and twang' |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/58165/1/liv-e-the-artist-inspired-by-mac-and-cheese |access-date=April 4, 2025 |website=Dazed |language=en}} is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. Originally from Dallas, Texas, her sound has been described as 'defying categorisation', incorporating elements from R&B, neo-soul, pop, hip-hop and jazz.{{Cite web |last=Goggins |first=Joe |date=February 8, 2023 |title=Liv.e: "There's a lot of cold cut reality on this record" |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/interview/liv-e-theres-a-lot-of-cold-cut-reality-on-this-record/ |access-date=March 7, 2025 |website=Loud and Quiet |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Goggins |first=Joe |date=August 3, 2020 |title=Liv.e - Couldn't Wait To Tell You... - Review |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/liv-e-couldnt-wait-to-tell-you/ |access-date=March 7, 2025 |website=Loud and Quiet |language=en-US}}

Liv.e began her career with a series of EPs in 2017 and 2018. After collaborating with artists such as Earl Sweatshirt and Pink Siifu, she released her solo debut album Couldn't Wait to Tell You in 2020 to critical acclaim. Her following album, Girl in the Half Pearl, was released to further acclaim in 2023.{{Citation |title=Girl in the Half Pearl by Liv.e |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/girl-in-the-half-pearl/live |access-date=March 8, 2025 |publisher=Metacritic |language=en}} Liv.e's most recent release was the synth-punk and synthwave-influenced Past Futur.e (2024).

Liv.e produces music under the alias HayLee, and also raps under the name Jade Fox as part of the music group Kryptonyte.

Early life

Hailee Olivia Williams was born in Dallas, Texas in 1998. She was raised in a religious Baptist household and has described her parents as 'avid church-goers'.{{Cite web |last=Hussain |first=Shahzaib |date=February 13, 2023 |title=Astral Realm: An Alternative Roundup #12 |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/astral-realm-an-alternative-roundup-12/ |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Clash Magazine |language=en-GB}} Her family is highly musical: her father, Norman Williams, played piano for several blues and gospel ensembles, her mother sang in the local church choir, and her brother, drummer TaRon Lockett, has played with artists including Erykah Badu and Prince.{{Cite web |last=Fairfax |first=Jesse |date=August 21, 2018 |title=(Liv).e is a Promising Experimental R&B Nomad |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/liv-e-feature |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Bandcamp Daily}}{{Cite web |last=South |first=Brendan |date=January 27, 2021 |title=Liv.e is the songs she creates |url=https://www.documentjournal.com/2021/01/liv-e-is-the-songs-she-creates/ |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Document Journal |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Strange |first=Jessica |date=September 11, 2020 |title=Liv.e's Debut Release, Couldn't Wait to Tell You, Is The Drug We All Need |url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/lives-debut-release-couldnt-wait-to-tell-you-is-the-drug-we-all-need-11942355 |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Dallas Observer |language=en}} She attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, graduating in 2016,{{Cite web |last=Britton |first=Luke Morgan |date=August 6, 2020 |title=Liv.e - 'Couldn't Wait To Tell You' review: impressionistic and immersive R&B with a fan in Erykah Badu |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/liv-e-couldnt-wait-to-tell-you-review-radar-2721160 |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} and then studied architecture and object design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a year before dropping out.{{Cite web |last=Jagota |first=Vrinda |date=February 27, 2023 |title=R&B Experimentalist Liv.e Sings Through the Bullshit |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/live-girl-in-the-half-pearl-interview/ |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=King |first=Akili |date=March 11, 2021 |title=Singer Liv.e Creates Her Own Dreamy World Through Soulful Songs and Eclectic Beauty |url=https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/singer-live-creates-her-own-dreamy-world-through-soulful-songs-and-eclectic-beauty |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Vogue |language=en-US}}

Career

= 2017-2019: Early career =

Liv.e began experimenting with DJing in 2014, uploading several chopped and screwed mixes to SoundCloud.{{Cite web |last=Sorcinelli |first=Gino |date=October 20, 2020 |title=Just Feeling It: Mapping Liv.e's Musical Evolution |url=https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/just-feeling-it-mapping-lives-musical-evolution/ |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Ableton |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Xie |first=Teresa |date=February 15, 2023 |title=Intrusive thoughts and mixmaster madness in Liv.e's 'Girl in the Half Pearl' |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/02/15/1157194229/liv-e-girl-in-the-half-pearl-review |access-date=March 8, 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}} However, seeking to move away from her family's musical background, she did not seriously consider a career in music until 2017 whilst at university in Chicago.{{Cite web |last=Luamanuvae |first=Adele |date=June 13, 2023 |title=Liv.e and the Beauty in the Discomfort |url=https://acclaimmag.com/music/liv-e/ |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Acclaim Magazine |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |last=Blu |first=Rodney |date=April 3, 2020 |title=First Look Friday: Liv.e Is A Genre-Blending Songstress |url=https://www.okayplayer.com/originals/liv-e-couldnt-wait-to-tell-you-dallas-interview.html |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Okayplayer |language=en}}

After meeting Ben Hixon, president of Dallas-based record label and music collective Dolfin Records, at a jazz show,{{Cite web |last=Yarbrough |first=Will |date=February 9, 2023 |title=Liv.e: "Anger is just the shadow of sadness" {{!}} Interview |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/in-letting-go-of-anger-live-is-choosing-herself |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}} Liv.e began working with the label and several of its members. She released her debut EP, Frank, in 2017 under Dolfin.{{Cite web |last=Mlynar |first=Phillip |date=April 12, 2021 |title=Get to Know: Liv.e |url=https://djmag.com/features/get-know-live |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=DJ Mag |language=en}} Her EP Raw Daybreaks, Vol. 1 was recorded in a single night and released later that year;{{Cite web |last=Srour |first=Yousef |date=February 9, 2023 |title=Liv.e Is Spiraling Into Her Own Psyche |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2213426/liv-e-girl-in-the-half-pearl/interviews/qa/ |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} its follow-up, entitled Raw Daybreaks, Vol. 2 (a collaboration with producer Swarvy) was released in 2018. Also in 2018, she formed the music group Kryptonyte with frequent collaborators Pink Siifu and Lord Byron, rapping with them under the alias Jade Fox; the group released a self-titled album that year.

Liv.e's 2018 EP Hoopdreams, which was also recorded in one night, caught the attention of Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt.{{Cite web |last=Appouh |first=Michael |date=July 30, 2020 |title=Tape Echoes: Couldn't Wait To Tell You… By Liv.e |url=https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/album-of-the-week/liv-e-couldnt-wait-to-tell-you-review/ |access-date=March 7, 2025 |website=The Quietus |language=en-GB}} She subsequently opened for Earl Sweatshirt on his Fire It Up! tour, in support of his album Some Rap Songs.{{Cite web |last=Sodomsky |first=Sam |date=January 30, 2019 |title=Earl Sweatshirt Announces Tour, Shares New Short Film: Watch |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/earl-sweatshirt-announces-tour-shares-new-short-film-watch/ |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} Liv.e also featured on the track 'Mtomb' from his 2019 EP Feet of Clay.{{Cite web |last=Britton |first=Luke Morgan |date=June 8, 2020 |title=Liv.e: R&B's new avant-garde star who's 'tired of whispering' |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/liv-e-rbs-new-avant-garde-star-whos-tired-of-whispering-2681516 |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}

= 2020-2022: ''Couldn't Wait to Tell You'' =

On July 31, 2020, Liv.e released her debut studio album as a solo artist, Couldn't Wait to Tell You, under the label In Real Life. The album was recorded in Liv.e's bedroom in her mother's house in St. Louis, Missouri. Liv.e worked in Urban Outfitters during the writing of the album.{{Cite news |last=Hutchinson |first=Kate |date=August 15, 2020 |title=One to watch: Liv.e |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/aug/15/one-to-watch-live-olivia-williams-couldnt-wait-to-tell-you |access-date=March 6, 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

The album debuted via livestream on singer Erykah Badu's website as part of her Quarantine Concert Series project.{{Cite web |last=Sanfiorenzo |first=Dimas |date=July 28, 2020 |title=Erykah Badu Will Host Livetstream Event in Support of Liv.e's New Album |url=https://www.okayplayer.com/music/erykah-badu-livestrea-liv-e-couldnt-wait-to-tell-you-album.html |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Okayplayer |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Leung |first=Gabrielle |date=July 28, 2020 |title=Erykah Badu to Host Album Release Party for Liv.e on Livestreaming Platform |url=https://hypebeast.com/2020/7/erykah-badu-liv-e-livestream-album-release-party |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Hypebeast}} Badu, who attended the same high school as Liv.e over a decade prior, has described Liv.e as 'family since forever'{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Marcus J. |date=August 3, 2020 |title=Certified: (Liv).e's Psychedelic Soul is the Sound of Past & Future Colliding |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/certified/live-couldnt-wait-to-tell-you-interview |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=Bandcamp Daily}} and termed her work 'an extension of what I am creating'.{{Cite web |last=Sacher |first=Andrew |title=35 independent hip hop releases of 2020 we recommend buying on Bandcamp today |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/17-independent-hip-hop-releases-of-2020-we-recommend-buying-on-bandcamp-today/ |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}} The album received critical acclaim from music journalists,{{Citation |title=Couldn't Wait to Tell You... by Liv.e |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/couldnt-wait-to-tell-you/live |access-date=March 6, 2025 |publisher=Metacritic |language=en}} with Liv.e being named 'one to watch' by The Guardian's Kate Hutchinson. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was unable to tour extensively in support of Couldn't Wait to Tell You.{{Cite web |last=Hogan |first=Marc |date=December 18, 2020 |title=The Year Live Music Stopped |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/the-year-live-music-stopped/ |access-date=March 13, 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} She continued to collaborate with other artists in 2020 and appeared on Black Noi$e's track "The Band", released in June that year.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Patrick |date=June 22, 2020 |title=Detroit Producer Black Noi$e Debuts New "The Band" Video Featuring Liv.e |url=https://hypebeast.com/2020/6/black-noise-the-band-feat-live-oblivion-album-announcement |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Hypebeast}}

Liv.e released an EP composed of six leftover songs from Couldn't Wait to Tell You, entitled CWTTY+, in 2021.{{Cite web |last=Hussey |first=Allison |date=July 30, 2021 |title=Liv.e Shares Six New Songs |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/live-shares-6-new-songs-listen/ |access-date=March 7, 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} CWTTY+ was named one of the best R&B albums of 2021 by NPR.{{Cite news |date=December 9, 2021 |title=The Best R&B Albums of 2021 |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/12/09/1062100608/the-best-r-b-albums-of-2021 |access-date=March 8, 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}} Later that year, Liv.e released the single “Bout It”, and embarked on a co-headlining tour with New York-based rapper MIKE.{{Cite web |last=Strauss |first=Matthew |date=October 14, 2021 |title=Liv.e Shares New Song "Bout It" |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/live-shares-new-song-bout-it-listen/ |access-date=March 7, 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine |last=Ritchie |first=Matthew |date=January 30, 2023 |title=Liv.e Is Ready for Her Rebirth |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/liv-e-girl-half-pearl-interview-1234668158/ |access-date=March 6, 2025 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}

= 2023-present: ''Girl in the Half Pearl'' and ''Past Futur.e'' =

Ahead of the release of her second studio album, Girl in the Half Pearl, Liv.e was named one of 25 "New and Rising Artists Shaping the Future of Music in 2023" by Pitchfork.{{Cite web |date=January 23, 2023 |title=25 New and Rising Artists Shaping the Future of Music in 2023 |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/25-new-and-rising-artists-shaping-the-future-of-music-in-2023/ |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} Preceded by three singles, "Ghost", "Wild Animals" and "Find Out", the album was released in February 2023 to critical acclaim. She has described Girl in the Half Pearl as informed by an 'emotionally addictive, unbalanced romantic relationship'.{{Cite web |last=Towers |first=Julian |date=February 8, 2023 |title=Living in Liv.e's Drug-Inspired Soundscape |url=https://www.spin.com/2023/02/liv-e-interview/ |access-date=March 6, 2025 |website=SPIN |language=en-US}} It was named as one of the best albums of 2023 in year-end lists from publications including Clash, Pitchfork and Slant Magazine.{{Cite web |last=Pitchfork |date=December 5, 2023 |title=The 50 Best Albums of 2023 |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/best-albums-2023/ |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=December 7, 2023 |title=The 50 Best Albums of 2023 |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/the-50-best-albums-of-2023/ |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Slant Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2023 |title=Albums Of The Year 2023 |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/general/albums-of-the-year-2023/ |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Clash Magazine |language=en-GB}} GITHPRemixEdition, a remix album of Girl in the Half Pearl in collaboration with Ben Hixon, was released later in 2023. Liv.e performed at Tyler, the Creator's festival Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in November that year.{{Cite web |last=Alvarado |first=Holly |date=November 6, 2023 |title=Camp Flog Gnaw: Set times announced for SZA, The Hillbillies, Tyler, The Creator and more |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2023/11/06/camp-flog-gnaw-set-times-announced-for-sza-the-hillbillies-tyler-the-creator-and-more/ |access-date=March 11, 2025 |website=Los Angeles Daily News |language=en-US}}

In 2024, Liv.e surprise released the record Past Futur.e.{{Cite web |last=DeVille |first=Chris |date=March 29, 2024 |title=Liv.e Surprise-Releases New Synthwave Project 'PAST FUTUR.e': Listen |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2257523/stream-liv-es-surprise-synthwave-ep-past-futur%E2%80%8B-%E2%80%8Be/music/ |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} Its condensed recording process was inspired by her 2018 EP Hoopdreams. Past Futur.e, which has been described as an album, EP and mixtape, marks a departure from the sound of her previous work, taking inspiration from synthwave and synth-punk.{{Cite web |date=May 15, 2024 |title=18 Great Records You May Have Missed: Winter 2024 |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/great-records-you-may-have-missed-winter-2024/ |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Gotrich |first=Lars |date=April 2, 2024 |title=8 Tracks: Samba shoegaze, cherry blossom jazz and an 8-bit K-pop crush |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/04/02/1242277565/8-tracks-fuubutsushi-illit-pedro-the-lion |access-date=March 8, 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}}

Influences

Growing up, Liv.e listened to artists including The Clark Sisters, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Outkast, N.E.R.D., and Kanye West. Her early DJ mixes feature music from artists such as the Fugees, Madlib and Knxwledge.

Personal life

Liv.e is based in Los Angeles.{{Cite web |last=Pearce |first=Sheldon |title=Liv.e: Couldn't Wait to Tell You |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/live-couldnt-wait-to-tell-you/ |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Dalarossa |first=Michelle |date=February 15, 2023 |title=Girl in the Half Pearl |url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/girl_in_the_half_pearl_live |access-date=March 8, 2025 |website=Under the Radar |language=en}}