Kalifa

Le1f, born Khalif Diouf, is an American rapper and producer from New York City, widely recognized as one of the pioneering openly gay voices in hip hop. He came to broader attention in the early 2010s with a string of mixtapes and EPs that mixed abrasive, experimental production with sharp, playful lyricism, helping open space for queer artists within a genre that had historically been hostile to them. His sound draws on club and ballroom influences, glitchy electronic textures, and unconventional song structures rather than conventional trap or boom-bap.

He runs the label Camp & Street, an offshoot of Greedhead Music, through which he has released much of his own material and supported other artists. His debut studio album, «Riot Boi», arrived in November 2015 and brought together collaborators from across the underground rap and electronic scenes, cementing his reputation as an artist unafraid to blend genres and challenge hip hop conventions.

Songs like «Wut», «Koi», and «Boom» showcase his percussive flow and taste for unusual, danceable beats, while later tracks continued to explore R&B and pop textures alongside his rap roots. Le1f remains an influential, if still cult, figure whose subversive style and visibility as a queer artist have had a lasting impact on how hip hop treats identity and performance.