Her debut track "Hard to Love Somebody" got the attention of a publisher, who eventually passed it on to rapper Nas. After hearing the track, Nas approached Arlissa to feature on it. "Hard to Love Somebody" was chosen as Scott Mills' record of the week on BBC Radio 1 in November 2012. Arlissa was named as one of the BBC’s one to watch for 2013, when she made the longlist for the Sound of 2013.