Timothy Lee McKenzie, better known as Labrinth, is a singer, rapper, and songwriter whose music went viral after taking a huge part in the soundtrack of the HBO show Euphoria. Released in 2019, the second season of the show, which only came out earlier this year, had an average of 16.3 million viewers, which made his fan base even bigger.
Since the show blew up, you might’ve heard productions like “Formula”, “Mount Everest” or “Still Don’t Know My Name”, some of his most streamed songs – even if you haven’t actually seen Euphoria. Labrinth is also well-known for “All for Us”, a special track he produced in collaboration with the singer and Emmy award-winning actress Zendaya.
Still, after all this success, who is Labrinth beyond Euphoria? What are some of his other productions? He’s had an extensive and significant career since 2009 that’s definitely worth checking out.
HIS LIFE
Born in 1989 in London, Timothy has always been in touch with music. He was raised by parents who loved black gospel music and were musicians themselves. During his childhood, he was a member of “Mac 9” — a band formed by him and his eight other siblings, who were also very passionate about music. He began to pursue a musical career in his school years and has been in the music industry ever since.
HIS WORK
After having collaborated with Rihanna and Ed Sheeran in 2012, “Electronic Earth”, his first studio album, came out. Its genre is mainly hip hop and electronic music, and it features many guest appearances, which makes it an extremely multifaceted album. But it wasn’t until “LSD” — a musical group assembled by Labrinth, Sia, and Diplo in 2018 — released their first album together that he gained more recognition and became famous the way he is today. The singles “Genius”, “Thunderclouds” and “Audio” grew very popular in 2018 and got a music video each, making the group even bigger.
In 2019, his second album “Imagination & the Misfit Kid” was released, and although it didn’t hit the charts right away, its presence in the first season of the “Euphoria” soundtrack made it go viral. Unlike his debut album, this one has more pop genre songs, which usually have more potential to chart – just like the tracks “All for Us” and “Mount Everest” did. Labrinth described this production in an interview as a “concept collection about a child who sells his imagination to a businessman in exchange for success”, and it got very positive reviews from critics.
His work has been nominated for plenty of awards throughout the decade, and in the last few years he’s won “Best Original Song”, “Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics” and “Best Television Soundtrack”. He’s also got many songs trending on TikTok, the video-focused social network, during the past months, which makes even more people get to know him.
NEW SONG
Earlier this year in February, two new songs were released: “Yeh I Fuckin’ Did It” and “I’m Tired”, and both were featured on the second season of Euphoria. The second track was written in collaboration with Sam Levinson, the director and producer of the show, and Zendaya, the actress who plays “Rue”, the beloved character and protagonist of the show. If you’re fond of his previous work, you must definitely check these out.
Among Euphoria soundtrack and his previous albums, here’s a mix for you to enjoy more of Labrinth’s work and let him take over your playlists:
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The article above was written by Mariana da Costa and edited by Isadora Noronha. Liked this type of content? Check out Her Campus Casper Libero for more!