Roz Mansfield of YouTube Music on Duchess' When It All Falls Down.
I came across Duchess a month or so ago, around the release of her Elephant single. Her voice oozes soul and personality and immediately caught my attention. Luisa Phillips, to use her real name, is a 22-year-old South Londoner with an extraordinary story. One of eight siblings, she spent her childhood moving from house to house countless times, eventually being separated from her family and forced to leave college early to get a job, working as a carer for people with dementia.
She only has a handful of tracks out so far – her debut EP Early Days was released recently on Lost One Recordings – but you can already identify a wise-beyond-her-years kind of strength, rawness and determination in her lyrics. When It All Falls Down is the closing track on the EP, and sees Duchess take her unique mix of R&B, soul and hip-hop down a notch to show a more vulnerable side. With a killer voice, a solid debut EP under her belt and support from BBC Radio 1 and Capital Xtra, I reckon Duchess is one to keep an eye on.
