American rapper
Taylor C. McLendon (born 1995), known professionally as Ivy Sole, is an American rapper and record producer from Philadelphia. Ivy Sole has been a member of Indigold, Liberal Art, and Third Eye Optiks. Ivy Sole has been mentioned as an example of the growing movement of non-binary artists.
Early life.
McLendon grew up queer in a Southern Baptist Church and received all of their vocal training in a church setting. McLendon was raised in a predominantly black neighborhood, but attended a predominantly white magnet school.
A week after their 18th birthday, McLendon attended a Mac Miller concert featuring Rapsody and Nicki Minaj, which they cite as their inspiration for pursuing a musical career.
Career.
Ivy Sole began their musical career by joining three different collaborations called Indigold, Liberal Art, and Third Eye Optiks.
In 2016, Ivy Sole began their solo career with the debut mixtape entitled "Eden", which would be followed by the extended plays "West" and then "East". NPR noted that Ivy Sole tackles mental health issues in their music video for the track entitled "Life" off of the extended play "East".
In 2018, Ivy Sole released their debut full-length album entitled "Overgrown". Pitchfork did a review of the track entitled "Achilles" off of the album "Overgrown".
In 2020, a live recording of "Overgrown" entitled "Overgrown* (Live from Philadelphia)" was released.
Personal life.
McLendon moved to Philadelphia in 2011 to attend the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. They graduated with the Class of 2015 with a degree in business.
Describing their sexual orientation to "Billboard", McLendon stated: "I like women and I like men. I like women a lot though. Women have me on my ass, which is rare — I feel like I'm a very calm and collected person." McLendon identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.