Witch prophet
Ayo Leilani aka Witch Prophet is a queer, East African, singer-songwriter, as well as the President and CEO of Heart Lake Records Inc.
As Witch Prophet, she provides her fans with a soundscape of vocal layers, loops, raps, and harmonies on a bed of hip-hop, jazz, and soul-inspired beats produced by her wife and business partner SUN SUN.
File next to Erykah Badu, Greentea Peng, Lauryn Hill and Portishead.
She has shared the stage with and opened for acts like Sudan Archives, Tash Sultana, JPEGMAFIA, CLIPPING, JELEEL!, Shabazz Palaces, Pierre Kwenders, Begonia, Snotty Nose Rez Kids and Lido Pimienta to name a few.
She has toured Europe independently twice; playing shows in Paris, Amsterdam, London, and Berlin, as well as performed at North American and European music festivals like: Montreal Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Winnipeg Jazz Festival, Guelph Jazz Festival, SXSW (Austin, Texas), School Night L.A (Toronto Edition), Beloved Festival (Portland), Soul of Brooklyn (New York), Vancouver Folk Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, PRIDE (Toronto), New Skool Rules (Rotterdam), MaMA Festival (Paris), The Great Escape (UK) and more.
In March of 2020, Witch Prophet released her Ontario Arts Council funded sophomore LP “D.N.A Activation”. An ode to her Ethiopian and Eritrean ancestral roots, fusing Jazz, Hip-Hop, Soul and RnB with songs sung in English, Amharic, and Tigrinya. Praised by press and music lovers alike, DNA Activation was shortlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. She has since released a deluxe edition of DNA Activation featuring remix tracks with rappers Stas THEE Boss and LATASHÁ.
The video for her song Tesfay directed by Leah Vlemmiks was nominated for the 2021 Prism Prize and was an official selection at the 2021 Rhode Island International Film Festival as well as the 2021 SXSW Music Video awards. Tesfay was also nominated in the UKMVA’s Best International RnB/Soul video category alongside Beyoncé, Cardi B, Normani, The Weeknd, and Bryson Tiller.
In the winter of 2021 she was featured on limited edition wine bottles by Ontario winery ‘Jackson Triggs’ through their ‘Local Artist Series’ initiative highlighting amazing up and coming artists from coast to coast. This wine was sold across Canada. She was also a part of FIDO’s ‘With Care’ initiative ‘Off Mute’. An intimate 1 on 1 , artist to artist interview and performance series alongside Lido Pimienta.
On May 1st 2023, Witch Prophet released her deeply personal and intimate 3rd studio album ‘Gateway Experience’. Funded by Ontario Creates, Canada Council for the Arts and Radio Starmaker, ‘Gateway Experience’ is an 11 track, neo-soul/alternative r&b/ trip hop vibe with songs focusing on the connection between the human brain, dreams, seizures, god, and other worldly abilities. Gateway Experience was long listed for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize.
Coinciding with the release of ‘Gateway Experience’, Witch Prophet was also the subject of Loveleen Kaur’s 2023 feature length documentary film ‘Leilani’s Fortune’. A film documenting the singer's rise and evolution as an artist, as well as detailing the unique challenges the Toronto-based alt-R&B singer has overcome. ‘Leilani’s Fortune’ won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Film at the 2023 InsideOut Film Festival.
Most recently, Witch Prophet was the recipient of the 2024 Women In Music Canada ‘Rising Leaders Award’. She is currently working on her 4th studio album.