Ms Banks - 4C (Official Video)

Photo Credit: @gabevisuals

Ms Banks Announces Debut Album South LDN Lover Girl.

South London rap powerhouse Ms Banks has finally lifted the lid on her long awaited debut album South LDN Lover Girl arriving 13 February 2026. The first single “4C” is out now setting the tone for what promises to be her most honest and fully realised era yet.

A decade into her career Banks is stepping forward with renewed confidence and vulnerability. South LDN Lover Girl sees her push beyond her comfort zone blending Afrobeats hip hop and soulful melodies as she embraces every side of her artistry: the sharp tongued rapper the storyteller the party starter and importantly the lover girl.

Speaking about the project she reflects on the tension between her South London upbringing and the softer parts of herself that rarely get visibility: “You never really see the words South London and lover girl put together… deep down inside there is a girl that wants to love and be loved.”

That honesty shapes the album’s themes drawing on her experiences as a second generation African girl growing up in South London navigating identity love hardship and resilience.

Lead single “4C” is a bold empowering celebration of Black womanhood. Centring natural 4C hair the track flips beauty standards with witty defiant lyricism and genre blurring production. Banks calls it the perfect introduction to the album’s narrative: “I felt really empowered… I am proud of my hair and all the positive rhetoric surrounding it.”

Across the record she explores love in all its complications from heartache to healing. The title track confronts the impact of crime and addiction on young women while collaborations like “WAR OUTSIDE” with Strandz and “NO LOVE” featuring Tiggs da Author bring her trademark authority and slick delivery.

For Banks this album is about more than music; it is about visibility honesty and telling stories often pushed aside from Black men’s mental health to the lived realities of her community.

Born to Nigerian and Ugandan parents and raised in South London Ms Banks has long been a dominant force in UK rap with headline collaborations global tours and accolades including Forbes 30 Under 30. Her previous mixtape Bank Statement topped the UK Hip Hop and R and B Chart and she has accumulated over 250 million streams to date.

With South LDN Lover Girl she is not just levelling up she is showing the world every layer she has fought to protect.