Lola Leon's "Tramp Stamp" is not about a tattoo. Actually, the single, written and produced by Leon alongside Oscar Scheller, seems to spring from the membrane between corporeal form and concept. The song, Leon's second track released this year following "T-Shirt," explores the deeply feminine power dynamic between power and cruelty, between weakness and vulnerability. "I'd never shed the blood of a harmless creature," she croons over a hypnotic melody. "I'd rather sacrifice a limb of my own."

If the Tramp Stamp of yore permanently marked a woman as a sexual deviant, Leon's "Tramp Stamp" seeks to find the permutations of "deviance." Are moves towards control and autonomy really categorically bad? Leon seems to ask of the listener. "I can't shake it but I won't erase all incantation," she admits.

“‘Tramp Stamp’ is about emancipating myself from the negative perceptions placed on me and on women who express themselves freely,” says Leon of the single. “It’s about generational trauma, witchcraft and the dichotomy of womanhood. I wanted to immortalize and uplift those who suffered in my bloodline, and clarify between what’s inherent and what’s chosen.”

Lola’s lyrics are strikingly juxtaposed against a soft, whimsical melody. A lingering echo followers each verse, leaving a hanging thought that blends seamlessly into the next like a constant stream of consciousness. It’s an experimental, thought-provoking structure that captures listeners in a peaceful and hypnotic trance.

Bouncing between the creative hotspots of New York, London and Los Angeles, Lourdes “Lola” Leon grew up in an environment where music and artistry were simply inescapable. Her time studying dance at the University of Michigan and Purchase College only deepened her devotion to the arts, and she returned to New York with an expanded network and fresh aesthetic that catapulted her career.

Leon’s multi-hyphenate resume spans choreographing her own music video for “Spelling,” composing an original score for Ottolinger’s AW26 Paris runway show, and fronting major fashion campaigns for prestigious houses like Miu Miu, Yves Saint Laurent, and Burberry. And just four years after the debut of her first single, Lola has showcased her music across the globe, commanding stages from New York City’s legendary Webster Hall to the sun-drenched crowds of Cali Molí in Ibiza.

Leon's "Tramp Stamp" follows a dimly lit path towards autonomy with no destination in sight. We will not find Leon at the end. It seems we must join her on the path.