Her name is Elianna. She was born on May 25, 2001, in Saitama, and Tokyo has always treated her like an outsider. She grew up there, speaks flawless Japanese, and knows the city’s streets better than many of the people who stare when she opens her mouth. That daily friction produced an artist, and a stage name that captures everything: 3Li¥en. A portmanteau of her birth name and the English word “alien“. She explained the origin to Dazed in June 2025. She used to work at a video production company, and her boss told her she looked like an alien and hustled money. 3Li¥en. She kept the nickname. She noted the boss later “acting real goofy” on her.
That shorthand says something essential about her. Not fully Japanese in the eyes of others, not fully Nigerian either, she grew up between definitions. She told Dazed in June 2025: “I was born here not understanding why I was the only Black kid in my school. People would touch my hair and act like I’m gaijin, even though I spoke perfect Japanese and did everything like the other kids”.
She tried to blend in, straightening her hair and dressing like a regular Japanese schoolgirl. Then she stopped. What gave her firmer ground was seven years spent in Nigeria, a decision her parents made and one she considers among the best of her life. She told Dazed in June 2025 that she started making music there, in a Nigerian church and school. Without that time, she says, she wouldn’t be who she is today.
In 2024, 3Li¥en debuted on “teamtomodachi – GALS Remix“, a girl-power rewrite of a classic by Yuki Chiba. She shared the mic with Renée Couto and Charlu. The video was shot the same day as the recording, after the three of them had known each other for just two days. They filmed in front of a Lawson in Shibuya. The vibe was exactly that: cool, grounded, no overreach. Eyescream reported in December 2025 that the MV crossed 4 million views on YouTube. TuneCore Japan cited 3 million on YouTube and 2 million on Instagram Reels earlier in the year. She described the day to Dazed in June 2025: stressful, everything happening at once, but also the feeling that if she could pull that off, she could do anything.
3Li¥en didn’t pick a lane. She told Dazed in June 2025 that she found no biracial female rapper in Japan to look up to, so she built her own reference from what she genuinely loved: MC Lyte and Lil’ Kim for rap, Hatsune Miku for the vocaloid and hyperpop side, Nicki Minaj and Lil Uzi Vert for the energy and nerve. She also carries deep gospel roots from her years in Africa. Eyescream noted in December 2025 that her sound moves from gospel and Afrobeat through to hyperpop and trap, with autotune as a tool throughout.
At Droptokyo in October 2025, she said her main source of inspiration is her mother. “The way she lives like a gyal, works hard. She’s luminous. She brought my energy up high, and I want to do the same for everyone.” Her motto comes from her father: “The best is yet to come.” She quoted it to Droptokyo in October 2025 and explained it works in both directions, when things are bad and when things are going well.
In 2025, 3Li¥en entered the Rap Star Tanjou 2025 competition on ABEMA and reached the HOOD STAGE. Japanese press, including KAI-YOU in June 2026, described her as one of the hottest rappers of the moment. In December 2025, the album High Energy came out, produced by Foux, a beatmaker known for his work with BAD HOP, OZworld, and LEX. Guests include Vingo (ex-BAD HOP), Bark, 7, Reichi, Candee, and Deech. She followed it with a 22-date national tour.
In 2026, the pace kept up. “Mooove Bitch” came out featuring ANARCHY, connecting her generation with a historical figure in Kyoto rap. The HIGH ENERGY Pt.2 EP followed, then the single “KILLA” with OZworld in August 2026. She also appeared on a Korean hip-hop program alongside Red Eye, a first step toward the cross-border ambitions she speaks about openly. When Dazed asked in June 2025 when she’ll know she’s made it, she answered without hesitating: when she performs at the BET Awards.
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