Lu Kala is the stage name of Congolese-Canadian R&B/pop singer-songwriter Lusamba Vanessa Kalala, born on July 21, 1995, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Raised in the city of Toronto, she began her musical journey in 2013 by penning songs for other artists, collaborating with kindred spirits such as DVSN and Jennifer Hudson. She had her breakthrough as a solo artist in 2019 when she performed her 2018 debut single "DCMO (Don't Count Me Out)" at Toronto's Canadian Music Week, later winning the grand prize at Royal Bank of Canada's Emerging Musician Program. The single was praised by numerous specialized media outlets and a French version was made available on streaming platforms in 2019. She continued to garner critical acclaim in 2020 with the singles "Body Knew," "Want You," and "No Smoke," all of which were included in her highly anticipated studio debut, Worthy, later that year. In 2022, Lu Kala scored her first charting single with "Pretty Girl Era," which peaked at Number 25 on the Canadian R&B charts, followed by a feature on Latto's "Lottery" in 2023.