Le-Lo Thee Illest

Lorenzo Samuels was born and bred in Cape Town, Mitchell’s Plain on 06 December 1991.
He attended Lentegeur High School and is generally addressed by his stage name Le-Lo Thee Illest. He has always had a deep passion for hip-hop and the rap culture.
It was not until 2007, aged 15, when he started writing his own music and subsequently joined the group Xoduz as a “hype man” – gradually gaining confidence in being a part of the Cape Town music industry. Samuels is quoted as saying, “I’m just tired of rappers degrading women, women are queens. There is a message in my music. My songs uplift people and are mostly based on my true life story.” Le-Lo is a positive influence in the music industry and hopes to make a huge difference in communities.

Le-Lo Thee Illest: The Story…
A local newspaper, The Plainsman, did a full spread interview on Thee Illest following the release of his first single in 2012 titled ‘In It To Win It’.
Later, he took part in Good Hope FM’s Freestyle Cypher, hosted by DJ Ready D. He went on to feature Sharnie Fabz on his following single ‘Ghetto Girl’. He subsequently dropped other singles, mainly: Conqueror, Overdose, and Life In The Ghetto where he featured Adeeb Jacobs, YoungGoofy and Queen Lee B, respectively.
Upon building momentum in the Cape Town music scene, Le-Lo landed interviews with UCT Radio, Atlantis Radio, Mutha FM, YOH Radio, Good Hope FM and Bush Radio. Furthermore, Le-Lo has also appeared on CTV and has performed at the Kite Festival, Blisters For Bread, Mitchell’s Plain Festival, Mamre Blommeskou, Community Chest Festival and other prominent events around Cape Town. Le-Lo released even more singles such as Main Man, Real Deal and shot a video for his song titled Jy’s Wys.
It was inevitable for Le-Lo to have aspirations of owning a record label because of his love for music and delivering meaningful messages through song.
He founded his label and later registered Orion Rising Star in the year 2020 – the year he dropped two singles ‘Cape Flats’ and ‘Star’.
Behind him the following individuals:
 Big Ron – Beat Producer
 Lestunner Bangerz – Executive Producer