Arlissa

Arlissa Ruppert, better known as simply Arlissa (born 21 September 1992 in Hanau, Germany) is an English singer-songwriter of half German and half American descent, raised in Crystal Palace, London. She has released three singles, collaborated with Nas and was listed on the BBC's Sound of 2013.

Career

Arlissa began writing music while still at school, studying for her A-levels. At 19 years old she was signed to London Records and then with Jay Z’s Roc Nation. She explained how she 'was writing and recording with a friend. He got some people from London Records down to the studio and they offered me a contract the same day'. Her representatives also played some of her music to Roc Nation in New York, where Jay Brown agreed to sign her.

Arlissa’s track 'Hard To Love Somebody' gained attention from a publisher, who eventually was passed on to Nas, who had previously worked with Amy Winehouse. After hearing the track Nas approached Arlissa to feature on it, and she flew out to Los Angeles to record the collaboration in person. On working with Nas, she said, "the whole experience was completely surreal, it’s been an incredible opportunity'. "Hard to Love Somebody" was chosen as Scott Mills' record of the week on BBC Radio 1 in November 2012. Arlissa was named as one of the BBC’s one to watch for 2013, when she made the longlist for the Sound of 2013.