#WCW: LION BABE


Woman.Crush.Wednesday

#WCW
Jillian Hervey




Government Name: Jillian Hervey
AKA: Lion Babe
Insta Name: lionbabex
Occupation: Artist, Singer, Front Woman, Lioness
Age: 25

Location: NYC

Personal Style: 90's Grunge, Soulful with a dash of funk
Personal Sound: "Fierce R&B singed with soul"


The Girl, Her Hair


Power to the curls! Love her mane! Rooar!
Fun Fact: Her mane is actually hand-crafted by celebrity hair
stylist Chuckie Amos.


=LION BABE=


Jillian is the vocalist for her band Lion Babe with producer Lucas Goodman. We're pretty sure they're dating, we can tell their chemirsty must be like...fire ;).  If they're not then they are the cutest couple to never exist.

"Just like the city that bore this duo, their sound is a cultural melting pot. It’s heavily driven by the influences of Lucas Goodman, one-half of Lion Babe and main knob-twiddler. “’70s soul, ’90s hip-hop, glam and psych rock, dub and reggae,” reels off Lucas, reversing his eyes to look backwards in his mind, before getting down to retro-specifics; “Funkadelic, Wu-Tang, J Dilla, T Rex, Hendrix, Lee Scratch Perry.”" (OTW #458)
"The actual name Lion Babe just kind of happened, it made a lot of sense to both of us. For me personally I had several experiences to lead up to that name. During a safari to South Africa, I saw a lioness and had a very real exchange with the animal. At the time I was in college figuring out who I was, getting more confident in what I wanted to do in my artistry, finding myself. That experience of being in the wild in a place where life initially began for all creatures gave me a overwhelming sense of connection. Surrounded by nature and seeing that lioness sparked the necessity to really own my sh*t. From there I knew I wanted to literally change myself and my hair extensions was the first thing to go. Transformation comes in a lot of different forms, but going natural really helped me love myself. The lion became a part of me. I really embodied it, I feel strong." (Examiner)

 "Whilst Lucas might feel at home polishing the reverb on his hi-hats or crate-digging for lost samples of the ’60s, Jillian is the performer, the stage junkie. Clad with mane-like hair and full on lycra, she’s like a gold-dipped Kate Bush from the Kalahari, with pitch-perfect pipes and a Badu-ist delivery." (OTW #458)
"Starting as a dancer and visual performance artist, she had sang little aside from high school a capella until meeting Lucas. “[This is] my first project as a singer/songwriter,” she begins, “the first beat he gave me was ‘Treat Me Like Fire’ and after we made that, we thought it would be best to keep going.” Her response to that beat was to fire back with soul. Neo-soul, with splashes of R&B, creating a sound that is danceable, nostalgic and lyrically flammable." (OTW #458)

LION BABE
TREAT ME LIKE FIRE



=That Girl...Her Style=


"I try to infuse all the techniques I had with choreography into song writing, so it constantly varies and of course is ruled by improvisation. I really respect Badu, she is a rhythm goddess to me. There’s never a time where I listen to her and I’m like “oh, she’s off, I’m not feeling it.” You feel it. You feel that inner rhythm within her. Those people are the people I really take from. It goes back to James Brown. Lucas turned me onto to Flying Lotus. People that spew out rhythm. Growing up the two major soundtracks my mom would play was Tribe Called Quest, The Anthology and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It’s funny because those two albums had such a strong influence on me without me even realizing because when I look back on my music, it's all over the place. Everything is in there. Most importantly, I just love, love. I love, love songs, jazz like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Their tone is the sound of their heart and nothing feels stronger than when you hear that."(Examiner)

"The first movie I ever saw was Singing in the Rain. That movie and The Wizard of Oz were the first movies I ever watched, and I still watch them. Old Hollywood has always been magical to me. I miss music. There’s a timelessness when it comes to those kind of sounds. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was huge for me. That was actually one of the first times I kind of switched gears. I grew up in a town with a bunch of white kids, which is totally fine, but I listened to ‘N Sync, Spice Girls and whoever, but that was kind of the first time I was like “woah, what is she doing? How did she make this?” Every song, I learned every word. I would listen to that thing on loop. That really changed me. That’s when I was like that’s how I want to sing, that’s what I really want to do. She changed the game for me. " (Examiner)
She gets it from her mama,Vanessa Williams!
 "My dad, he worked with everyone so even the stories he’s been telling me my whole life made me have a certain appreciation for people in 60s and 70s soul music and rock and roll…. His favorite artist was Jimi Hendrix and him again, as a lyricist, changed my life. Castles Made of Sand was one of the most beautiful songs I’d ever heard ever and I just loved the imagery in it. I went through many stages like most do growing up. Still to this day, I don’t put myself into one category. My itunes goes all over the place. I’m very eclectic…with everything. Lucas has such an extensive knowledge of music and he has exposed me to a lot. Maybe down the line, we will know the adjectives to describe our sound but we are still playing around. Our histories always have a way of reinventing themselves."(Examiner)


Ray-Ban x Lion Babe x Kate Moross 
Video

"I love vintage Chanel and Prada. When I was growing up my mum had a Prada backpack, which she’s now given to me. I love it because it reminds me of when I was little. I think Balenciaga has some really interesting stuff too, but I’m a diehard vintage girl. Whoever the designer is, if it’s been worn, or it’s from a different time, it means more to me." (ELLE)

Jillian's Make Up Tip! "You definitely need to have red lipstick no matter what. You can have a great outfit, but it will always give you that extra little pop. I also love perfume. It doesn’t even matter what the perfume is. I like to smell sweet."(ELLE)

Live Performance
LITTLE DREAMER
Want more Lion Babe? Sadily we are all still awaitng a EP, but it's all good because the duo just realeased a new joint Jump Hi feat. Childish Gambino. :) :) 

NEW JOINT
JUMP HI FT. Childish Gambino 



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