Origin Stories: Lizzo Origin Story

Design by Sienna Leone

By Lily Suckow Ziemer

Lizzo (she/her) is one of the most well-known pop stars today, but unlike many, she had a slow rise to fame. What most people don’t know is just how infused the pop star used to be in the Minneapolis music scene. It was through her hard work locally that Lizzo’s reached her success today.

Although she was born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas as a kid. She was exposed to all genres of music throughout her childhood: gospel from her family’s church, pop, rock, and R&B from her parents, and rap as she grew up in Houston. She even became classically trained in the flute. 

But while she attended the University of Houston for musical performance, spending hours practicing the flute, she also started performing in rap shows. Eventually she dropped out to pursue this, performing in progressive-rock, R&B and hip hop groups. At this time, she became totally devoted to her music career, sleeping in her car and on the floors of recording studios. She speaks to this time in her life in “T-Baby,” singing, “Kick it in the subaru / Played a show, showered at the gym and slept at the studio.” In 2011, she moved to Minneapolis, where she took off in the local music scene.

Her first album, Lizzobangers, came out in 2013 under Totally Gross National Product, an independent Minneapolis record label. The album is an upbeat hip-hop record, with songs like “Batches & Cookies” and “W.E.R.K. Pt. II.” The next year, she worked with one of the most famous Minneapolis artists, Prince, on his album Plectrumelectrum, released by NPG Records. Lizzo signed to Atlantic Records in 2015 and continued to release music every year until 2018, when she experienced an emotional burnout. 

She came back with the single “Truth Hurts” in 2019, which quickly faded into obscurity. But in 2020, the single was catapulted into popularity after being featured in the movie Someone Great. Other songs such as “Juice,” a single from her 2019 album Cuz I Love You, also bolted to the top of the Billboard charts. Ever since, Lizzo has been unstoppable: she won three Grammys for Traditional R&B, Urban Contemporary, and Pop Solo in 2020, released the show Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (2022), and has continued to top charts with songs like “Rumors,” “About Damn Time,” and “Grrrls.” Today, Lizzo is a household name.

Growing up in Minneapolis, I have been hearing Lizzo’s music since the start of her career. When I was in middle school, my mom and brother became huge fans, playing her songs around the house and turning up the local radio station whenever she came on. She was a staple of the local music scene, but still relatively niche. When she blew up in 2020, everyone was excited to see one of our own on the world stage. Even though Lizzo has lived in many other places, she has a special place in the hearts of Minnesotans. 

The Minneapolis music scene is a thriving one, but largely unacknowledged by anyone not living there. But Lizzo is an example of just how amazing and underappreciated local musicians can be. No one would expect the next pop-icon to come out of the midwest, but she did. Her persistence throughout her career for over a decade is inspiring. She never changed for others and became a role model for many. She is the only mainstream pop star who is plus-sized and proud. Lizzo represents a new generation of pop stars. She makes me hopeful for the future of music– one that can include more diverse voices, and that can start from anywhere.