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If you haven’t really heard of TwoLips yet, get ready. That’s definitely about to change.
Born Kianah LongChase and growing up in New Mexico, TwoLips is an artist now based in Los Angeles who genuinely defies easy categorization. And no, this isn’t some clever marketing line; she simply is too many things all at once.
She raps, she sings, she paints, she dances, choreographs, performs as an aerialist, and acts. Somehow, she’s woven all these threads into a music project that genuinely stands apart from almost anything else coming out of LA right now.
Her sound pulls in alternative rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop, and electronica. Sometimes you’ll catch all of it happening within the same track. One minute, she’s giving you something warm and deeply soulful, the kind that makes you want to just close your eyes and sway. Next, she’s dragging a distorted guitar riff right through a rap verse, making it feel urgent and alive in a way a lot of music just isn’t.
You hear people say her sound is where the mosh pit meets the ballroom, and honestly, once you’ve listened, that description just clicks.
She’s been steadily building her work for years. Her first EP, Yellow Gold, introduced her as this soulful, funky presence with a voice that could absolutely command a room.
Then Psychowave came along, pushing her sound further into tribal jazz rap territory and really broadening the sonic landscape she was creating.
And then there was FRIEND ANTHEM, her collaborative EP with LA artist Def Sound, showing yet another dimension, one that truly thrives in creative partnerships and spontaneous energy.
She’s played Echo Park Rising and SXSW, building up a really devoted following. She’s been one of those artists that people “in the know” have been keeping a close eye on for a good while now.
TwoLips also brings a perspective that makes her stand out even more. As a Black and Indigenous woman, she speaks quite openly about her background, her politics, and what it means to create art in these pretty turbulent times. She’s put it plainly: “I’m not political; I’m politicized. I make warrior music.”
And that’s not just a phrase she tosses around for effect. You can see it in everything she does, from the visuals she chooses to the way her songs often lean into discomfort, rather than trying to escape it.
If you’re just looking for a good place to start, her latest single “PPL R” is probably the best entry point. It kicks off with a scream that quickly gives way to a buzzing, restless bass line, and honestly, it just doesn’t let up from there. She herself described it as a commentary on connection in the core of a crumbling empire.
It’s confrontational, yes, but it’s also incredibly catchy. That kind of tension is really where TwoLips excels.
And all of this is leading somewhere big. Her debut album, Die On Every Hill, is set to arrive on July 24, 2026, coming out via Final Girl Records. We’re hearing it’s a record that purposely ends without a neat resolution, because for Kianah, the whole point is to keep fighting. It doesn’t tie things up in a bow, because the issues it talks about aren’t.
That level of honesty, especially in a debut record, feels pretty rare these days. So, if you’re the kind of person who really enjoys discovering an artist before the rest of the world catches on, now is absolutely the time.
TwoLips is the real deal.
