Lizzo is not just queen of the Twin Cities’ hip-hop scene; she’s poised to take over the scene in a national way. The Detroit-born, Houston-bred, Minneapolis-based rapper/singer spits rhymes as easily as she coos soul songs. But most impressively, Lizzo represents the fiercest, strongest women in the game, like a next-generation Missy Elliot. Lizzo is unafraid to talk about some of the most important social issues—like race relations and gender equality—in her work. Here are 10 things you should know about Lizzo before her sophomore album Big GRRRL Small World drops on Friday, December 11. 

Melissa Jefferson Got the Name Lizzo in Eight Grade

“In Houston they had a thing where everybody would drop the second half of their name and put an ‘O,’” she recalls. Her rap group at the time (comprised of all her friends, of course) all followed the nicknaming trend, but Lizzo used the second half of her name instead.

Born in Detroit, Lizzo Grew Up on the Sounds of Gospel and Motown 

“I was raised with mostly gospel music in Detroit. We didn’t really listen to secular music or the radio, so I listened to a lot of Winans. My mom actually used to sing at the church with the Winans, so that was something really close to me,” she says. Other influences included The Clark Sisters and Fred Hammond, and later, even secular artists like Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and Destiny’s Child. But as for gospel, she continues, “I think you can have a spiritual experience when listening to gospel versus when you’re listening to R&B or if you listen to hip-hop. You really fell a higher power almost every time. It’s a gateway. I feel like I use my music as a gateway to spirituality on stage.” 

As She Got Older, She Began Rapping, Singing, and Mixing the Two

She explains, “When I did my first record, I felt like I had to sing my own hook. I had to be the Ja Rule to my J. Lo and the J. Lo to my Ja Rule! It was liberating, but at the same time, it’s really fun to collaborate. But I didn’t have any other resources at the time.” Lizzo continues, “I think I really honed both skills. I really enjoy rapping and I enjoy singing. So finding a way to marry the styles was a challenge, but I think it was a subconscious challenge that happened in between records where I had to find the actual voice.” 

Additionally, Lizzo is a Classically Trained Flautist 

In 2010 Lizzo graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in classical flute performance. “I have this deep love for insane progressions and Russian Romantic music,” she says, gushing that she was able to really compose and create music on Big GRRRL Small World than on other previous efforts.

Lizzo is a Fierce and Versatile Collaborator

Lizzo’s debut solo record LIZZOBANGERS, was released in 2013, but before that, she performed in a number of groups in and around the Twin Cities including The Chalice, Grrrl Prty, The Clerb, and Absynthe. She’s worked with Sophia Erism, Ryan Olson (of Gayngs and Poliça), Lazerbeak (of Doomtree), and even opened for Riot Grrrl heroes Sleater-Kinney and performed with Southern soul band St. Paul & The Broken Bones.

Bon Iver’s Justin Verson Even Makes an Appearance on Big GRRRL Small World 

BJ Burton, who works at Vernon’s April Base studio outside of Eau Claire, WI, executively produced Big GRRRL Small World. Vernon ended up singing and playing vocoder on "Bother Me." It was tracked in one take.

Another of Lizzo’s Projects Includes Her Own Record Label BGSW

She boasts it no fewer than 40 seconds into Big GRRRL Small World. Virgin Records released LIZZOBANGERS, but she—like many indie artists—reached a point where she wanted the challenge, responsibility, and ownership of doing it herself.

Lizzo is a Witty Pop Cultural Maven 

On Big GRRRL Small World, she name-drops everything from Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie” in “B.G.S.W” to her classical music roots in “The Fade.” Previously, she titled a song “Lizzie Borden” after a women who was acquitted for killing her father and step-mother with an axe, and makes thrift store purchases look worth of Anna Wintour in her 2013 single with Sophia Eris, “Batches & Cookies.” 

“My Skin” is More Than Just the Lead Single on Big GRRRL Small World—It’s a Movement

Lizzo recently penned a personal essay on her website about being a black woman in American in 2015. She emphasizes the personal elements like body image, but also the national implications spurring the Black Lives Matter movement. She writes that the song, “‘My Skin’ is a stance against the racial profiling of ALL ethnicities and the blind hatred that poisons our perceptions.” Lizzo concludes, “This is a summoning of bodies: all shapes, sizes and shades to unite in their pride, and wear their skin like the gift it is.”

When Lizzo Performs on ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Tonight (December 10), She and Her Team of Dancers Will Share This Movement with America

“I have dancers. They’re called the Big Girls. They’re the most amazing dancers and beautiful people. They have the most beautiful bodies and everyone’s going to fall in love when them when they see them on Colbert,” she exclaims. “It’s really important to me to not just talk about my skin—like the color of it, but the size of it. My skin is stretched out. I’m a bigger person and not what you normally see on television, and hopefully we’re going to change that.”