She’s young, Black, queer, and deeply in love with this thing we call hip-hop.
Brooklyn emcee Lena X joins us for CHEF TALK to discuss her work ethic, her squad Ghetto Sol, and the countless unreleased EPs ready to serve the people.
A conversation about community, consistency, and the drive to keep creating.
Chef Talk: Welcome to CHEF TALK - is a conversation with the artists, DJs, and producers cooking up the next wave of independent music. We talk about influences, process, inspiration, records, and everything happening behind the scenes.
First thing first.. How are you doing?
Lena X: Doing well thank you so much for asking, just excited to be a part of CHEF TALK!
Chef Talk: Introduce yourself and tell us where you’re from.
Lena X: My name is Lena X I’m a MC from Brooklyn, NYC
Chef Talk: “Time Heals All” is a month old. How does it feel? A great record by the way.
Lena X: Thank you def feels good I really really love that song the message the production and I just also enjoying dropping new music. Def one of my fav songs of mine so far
Chef Talk: What story are you telling through your music?
Lena X: I think I’m just telling the story of my life what it means to be Black and queer and young with a true love for Hip-Hop
Chef Talk: One of things I pick up from you is your tone and flow. I can hear the energy and hunger.
How would you describe your sound in three words?
Lena X: Damn that’s a good question lol
Clever, honest, fly
Chef Talk: Who are your biggest musical influences?
Lena X: You really got me over here thinking btw
Because lowkey when I go thru different phases and eras wit the more music I drop I really cling to my inspirations at the time for the time overall influences tho Aboogie wit the hoodie def one. Jayz and Kanye West too I can’t lie
Lyrically and sonically they heavily inspire but especially the mindset and the hungry they all had on their come up
Chef Talk: Dope. What initially pulled you into the music?
Lena X: My mom had me listening to Jay and Ye ode when I was in middle school and around that time is when I really get into writing and I appreciate both of them so much bc they really did the impossible they didn’t take no as an answer and I think they both great examples with what happens when you believe in yourself before you wait for the world to
My older cousin actually put me on to A boogie wit his first tape/one of my favorite album Artist and everyone in NYC was listening to him
When it comes to melodies and making the songs personal and making the heartbreak feel and sound real and relatable, Aboogie W the Hoodie is MY GOAT!!! He heavily inspired my album wavyaffection and the rapping style I leaned into on that project when I wasn’t really singing/or having that singy cadence. Also, that Jay-Z style like not saying too much but still saying a lot
What’s funny is how people who listen to my music like their feedback on who it reminds them of I feel like don’t be close to my influences specifically but I think it’s so cool that the sub genres and different regions in Hip Hop are so wide spread that you can take from a musical ancestor essentially and not even need to be a consistent listener
Chef Talk: Completely agree! S/O to the fam for introducing you to those artists too.
Lena X: Like quarterzip when I posted it and it went fake viral off Tik Tok it was a lot of comments like “female Mike” or just relating to Mike music and I thought that was so interesting cause I never really listened to Mike so I love when ppl just tell me what my music reminds them of and I think ppl’s own influences/ background/cultural context impact how they interpret the music.
Chef Talk: Yep. I do love this sub genre and regional sound era we’re in. It puts the spotlight on artists like yourself.
What were you listening to, watching, or experiencing when you were coming into your own creatively?
Lena X: You eating wit these questions mane.. lol
I really do love the state of the game ppl wanna say hip hop is dead when that isn’t even possible because the people that live it are still here right now. I’m in my writing mode a bit so im listening to a lot of beats, I listen to my own music a lot, just to study it understand what i need to improve and as a form of therapy like things I go thru I turn to music to vent and express but two pieces im loving right now…is this one song Cousins(if I was a worm ) by Arthur Ingram he fire NYC based artist from Chicago just was on the radar and Natanya’s new album Attitude Era I loveeeeee her music like so so much she fire.
I’m always writing tho and I stay on untitled organizing projects and writing but getting inspiration and enjoying listening to music is a must.
Chef Talk: The unreleased folder saga continues.. How many unreleased songs are you sitting on?
Lena X: Yoooo not even songs we are sitting on a couple eps.
I love making projects/eps and locking in with one producer. I’m really tryna stay in the pocket
I think that’s important as an artist, the ability to make enjoyable cohesive projects and I wanna work my way up to be able to make that classic album my city falls in love with.
But when I tell you like time heals all was off a 9 track ep I wrote in like 2 weeks.
We got a GHETTO SOL collective album in the works too
Chef Talk: Talk about that process with working with one producer for each project. Who are your go to producers?
Ghetto SOL be my go to I’m lucky to be able to work closely with people I love and trust
All members of ghetto SOL and my favorite people to collab wit
Hitman, Director, and Kid Cocoa produced for me ode and I think it’s soo cool to work wit other people but that’s where home is . I’m also lucky to attract so many talented people in my life because a lot of more producers have been hitting me up and they’re insane too!
And wavyaffection. And releasedatdream. Was allll produced by my blood cousin (M.Bouzi) like my grandmother nephew produced them beats like 10 years ago he knew I was rapping and one day he sent the pack and I kid you not first song I made was quarterzip
IT WAS FATE
But most times producers send a beat pack sometimes I pick around because of a project I’m working on and it’s all different producers on shorter eps. I like to one wit one to get that sound to really take a short span of time and create a moment that listeners can bask in. One of my favorite rappers and dear friends Kiiren Aamer did this so well and I deadass took his formula and applied it to what I had going on
I think as a upcoming artist a priority gotta be to build the discography cause one thing they never gon saw bout me is that I was one thing or we didnt switch the flow up. I rebuk.
Chef Talk: Looks like community is extremely important to you.
Lena X: Community is extremely important and that’s what hip hop is really about
Like my dream with the music is not necessarily to chart or to get Grammy (don’t get me wrong a Grammy cool) but I think the ultimate form of accolades or love I could receive is real support from the community like those songs that everyone dancing to, singing at the cookout, on campus at the parties, in the car, or at the cypher I want my music to decorate people homes and to supply their memories with hope and the times that they down I want my music to be shelter
Chef Talk: What artists should people be listening to right now?
Lena X: Def me lmafoooo Ashé. Everyone in ghetto SOL
Kid cocoa just dropped an ep Orange coffee
Hitman just dropped his project Black as Ebony
KHESANG is singing a beautiful ballad on that project as well on Eve
Shamar Stoddard: The Director is a jack of all trades full sounding music if you like tyler if you like childish gambino he your guy
Ace Allure (over you by Dj Kanai & Tj brown)
DIDAMI (to be a girl) are fierce clever and just smooth definitely in the lineage of Foxy Brown I would say Rah Digga too
They fire and watching their freestyles on the on the radar inspired me to pick the pad up fisherrrrr.
That new Stoic album featuring CJ Fly, Life of Thom, Ovrkast and just so many amazing artists. The album is literally crazy
Oh and Of course, Forbe$, he's literally crazy my favorite song by him step into the light real hip hop shit!
Yo FERGIE BABY toooo. That new freestyle he just dropped
NYC IS IN GREAT HANDS I’m telling yalll
Kiiren Aamer is also an amazing artist ppl need to get in tune wit especially our project 007 and my fav project by him is fin_aid pck3 he was like a big brother to me putting me on game and the way he would take 6 songs tg in his do series fin_aid pcks and create a full sounding universe was just really special
Chef Talk: Fergie is providing that NY energy that I grew up on (Dipset era)
NY is fine. I think the indie/underground is in NY is very healthy space right now.
Lena X: I agree strongly. It's so many NYC artists so talented and passionate and even tho capitalism likes to trick us it’s room for everyone to eat!!!
We can compete for the sport of it, but in terms of lack of there is scarcity in opportunities when it comes to what our culture provides.
Chef Talk: I appreciate you sharing those artists, I’ll definitely check them. Now you said you have a few eps in the tuck.. Is there a particular project or medium you’re most excited about right now?
Are you planning on dropping again before the year is out?
Lena X: Before the year is out, yall def gon hear a ghetto SOL ep us rapping together im so excited bout that and def gon drop some more singles
2027 you mos deffff will be getting a project from me no question. I’m tryna challenge myself not to give yall everything at once. I got ADHD andI am working on multiple projects at once and every time I make a track/project I wanna drop. Me and Dufillm got a finished project. We just bout to start dropping untitled links man
I just love making music I love the process I love calling my friends or my mom and playing the song for the first time. I remember I played my mom quarterzip for the time, she was hype yooo!
Chef Talk: Priceless moment right there. One of my fav records of 2026
Lena X: Yooo thank you. It was literally the last song of 2025 I wrote. And I freestyled that hook too man LMAFOO
Just feeling it like I’m in the car wit my mom just left the doctors and then went home recorded the record. I loveeee that song truly. I think it’s a good reflection of my artistry personality wise cause it’s so blunt.
God bless my ex she ain’t mine but I love the.. I was wildin yo
Chef Talk: Is that how most of your songs are created? Freestyle a bit then put everything together?
Lena X: Sometimes I wouldn’t say most tracks cause I have specific moments I went off the dome and really made the song
I’m a writer first. That's where I’m comfortable especially as a Black studies major and reading and writing a lot in school so a lot of times I’m going through beats and I’m writing like 8 bars at a time and then I switch the beat to keep my attention. I def write not really in order sometimes too like I would listen to a beat write some beats down and kinda pull it tg like that too. Wavyaffection had shorter beats so I was challenging myself to freestyle when making the songs first. Like paid interlude literally I have a mic and speaker in my room turned it on freestyled the song and then recorded
Chef Talk: That’s a dope process and doesn’t allow to be stuck on one track
Lena X: Facts. Paid was the first song of 2026 I made. I was hype because I got a Lil Nali co-sign from one of my fav artists. I remixed her song RIP and made once a blue moon. I was hype she dmed me showed mad love told me her fav songs off my album “gville (fall set)” and that interaction inspired me so much I just had to write so I freestyled paid and that’s why in the song I say “Nali all day wit a nigga” cause she got that song all day that song is literally addicting no lie.
The media I consume influences what I’m making so much
Chef Talk: Are you watching any shows, movies right now?
Lena X: Ngl.. I am watching the same things over and over right now, it’s American Dad but I just finished the different world spin off. I loved it. I love movies and tv like I love mystical themes like Game of Thrones, Harry Potter & Merlin It’s so many references like that in my music too
Chef Talk: Dope! Now it's time for Chef's Special - Rapid questions! First answer that comes to mind.
Chef Talk: What song best represents you right now?
Lena X: “Sofa Joy” - Natanya
Chef Talk: Studio sessions or live performances?
Lena X: Ooooooo.. Sessions
Chef Talk: Dream collaboration?
Lena X: Ooooo.. Off the dome, Janet Jackson. My super super dream collab.
Chef Talk: Favorite meal before or after a show?
Lena X: I’m loving the questions cause I be so hungry after cause I can’t eat before.
A cheeseburger w cheese fries
Chef Talk: Clutch! What’s one record you always have in rotation?
Lena X: “Can’t Lie Right Here” by Justin Bieber ft Drake
Chef Talk: What’s one thing people might not know about you?
Lena X: I’m a twin!!! To a very smart annoying amazing brother with great music taste.
Fun fact he the reason I kept discolites on wavyaffection
Chef Talk: I’m a twin too with twin daughters. CRAZY! lol
Lena X: WHATTTTTTTT
Chef Talk: Yes lol
Lena X: That’s fire. My mom always saying we do weird twin things. She right, twins in sync!
Chef Talk: Lastly.. What’s the secret ingredient to your sound? 👨🏾🍳
Lena X: Damnnn not the secret ingredient. Flossy energy is the secret 🤷♀️
Chef Talk: Before we go, is there anything you want to say? Shoutouts?
Lena X: S/O out to Ghetto Sol! S/O to the ancestors, our fallen brothers and sisters that pushed us to this point, too many names to list but each one is in engraved in our hearts.
S/O to Sunday Dinner Records ! WE JUST COOKED ON CHEF TALK!!!
Thank you so much for having me.
Chef Talk: Lena X you are truly a dope artist and one of my fav new artists of 2026. Thank you for your time. I’m def looking forward to what you have in store for us all in the future
Lena X: Yooooo thank you sooo much really appreciate it much love.
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