Rapsody

Grammy nominated emcee Rapsody talks about growing up in North Carolina, as well as her plans for the future!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quest Love SUPREMEA is a production of I Heart Radio
Fante come back road called sua sub Frema road called
Suprema Suprema role called Subprema Suprema role. I don't want

(00:23):
to alarm YEA or across hysteria. Yeah, but all the
great talents ye were born Aquarius Suprema roll call suba
road call. My name is Sugar, Yeah, I love McCoy tyner. Yeah,
and any rapper yeah from North Carolina call sapor to

(00:49):
Suprema road called subprima subprema role called it's l E M. Yeah,
and blacker than me. Yeah, ain't nobody, Well, it may
be roll call sua sub frema roll call, so prema
Sma roll call. They called me rap. Yeah, I'm on

(01:13):
this show. Yeah. Freestyle at the top. Yeah, that's all
I know. Sub Frema roll call, surem, sub Premo roll call,
sub frema su prema roadmarema road it all right, I

(01:38):
did it on the end. Yeah, that's cute. Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to another episode of the nerdiest rabbit hole in
informative program ever created from music. This is Quest Love Supreme.
I Am Quest Love and I B six three Uh
shout out to my team Supreme crew, Sugar Steve, who

(01:58):
I think is what five? Ten? Exactly? Well, it depends
what part of me you're talking to be five hr anyway,
and uh shout out to Layah, what is it? Five?
What you're about? Eight? That's right, that's good question. I
was gonna say you more like six ft when you

(02:19):
wrot the stilettos when Leonard, when Leonard Kravitz is in
uh proximity of you, are you gonna go way tony anyway?
Ladies and gentlemen, our guest today, I should pretty much
have music fans and real hip hop heads mad excited.
Hailing from North Kakallac, she made her professional debut on

(02:43):
ninth one his Dream Merchant project way back in two
thousand seven. That's Ever as a member of the KOOLI
High Collective and uh also releasing I Can't Forget Buzzworthy mixtapes.
She's pretty much been bubbling under, releasing the Idea of
Beauty four in two thousand twelve. Get notable co signs
from like Mac Miller, b J's Chicago kid Childs Gambino.

(03:06):
Of course, two thousand seventeens is Wisdom Laylor's Wisdom. I'm
sorry alright, I saw the name and just started saying
your name like you. Laylor's Wisdom with spots from k
Dot and Andrew in Pat and someone else named black Thought,
whoever that is the new Rock Nations. Signy got her

(03:27):
first round of Grammy nominations, and of course we cannot
forget two thousand and nineteens eve uh with an astounding
Metacritic score of nine. Let me just let you know, medically,
like Metacritic is kind of like it's an aggregate. It's
like rotten tomatoes. So a combination of everyone who's reviewed

(03:51):
your product, you get a basically a score. So to
get ninety is that some acclaimed that ship. Like you know,
I pray just to get eighties, Like eighties she's getting,
she's getting straight A's over here. You know. Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome to Quest Love Supreme. They want and only

(04:12):
Rhapsody what. I'm happy to be here. You're gonna for
yourself too, because I want to Bengals three right, they
running six straight up from the fingers to the net.
You know what it is. You were telling us where
your shan came from. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I actually,

(04:35):
you know what, I like the return. I feel like
it's gonna be a righteous return to Gold. Yeah. That's
something that I was not able to experience as a kid.
I was in the plastic phase of like you're African
medallion watching. Oh yeah, I wasn't allowed to have anything,
but I have to stop watch because I grew up

(04:55):
in the era where they would snatch your snatch, your
snatch everything, you're your sneakers. I couldn't wear Jordan's nothing,
hip hoppy, no King gold now nothing, so that's real.
But I could get a stop Watch. Yeah, nobody didn't
want that. So where did you? Where did you? I've
always liked go. I mean I went through the wood
dallion stage. I went through that you know, zu dation

(05:18):
after you paid that. But I've always been a fan
of Gold. I just actually left Rock Nation and one
of the security guards was like, the history behind Gold
and Egypt was that the kings who loved their wives
with adoring them at all this goal so you always
see the women wearing mad Yes, that kind of my

(05:38):
first time in Rock Nations. They're just having dice games
and it's the new daughter, New Day. I like your
Gold coo, because it's like you got the banks on
the chest, but then you were telling me you've got
the thrift on the arms. But it's all shining at
the same level of shine. Nice the tea, one of
the chess joints is thrifty. That what so she got tea?

(06:00):
Don't know what I mean as far as no, no,
not you, I'm not as far as yea, I put
it into bad. I've always rock fake goals like that,
keeping you there. You go this this this never TD
might be real. It's to Marry j Blige and uh
Simone collection. There was a Mary J. Yeah, she did

(06:22):
a collaboration with wife Simone. So this is the Sister
Love MG MJB collection. It's right here. And yeah they
got this, and they got the double never TD ear rings.
I got those. They got that fire Google when she's
literally Google, can we finish the episode first? Sister Love
MJB bringing out the credit card right now just to

(06:45):
get a sister some loves black business. We got that.
We got that all right? So where I start with
every episode of Question Love Supreme, of which, like, I'm
really interested in how your creativity is evolved throughout the years.
I always start with the question is where were you born? Oh,
I was born in Wilson, North Carolina. It's a small

(07:08):
city in the eastern part of North Carolina. But I
grew up thirty minutes from there in snow Hill, North Carolina.
And that's an even smallest city, population two thousand. Like
that's where I was born, around a lot of woods
and fields and you know, going to the girl stole
no shoes on, like playing with your cousins all day
and in the dirt. You know, your shoots out there.

(07:30):
You shoot him. I shot be begun. That's about it.
You know. I ain't do nothing more than that. But yeah,
that's that's how I grew up. I didn't go to
my first hip hop concert to Maybe I was thirteen
Montell Jordan's I don't know, does that count the bill?
He was the only rapper Bros. Williams, you try to

(07:54):
play my faith. This is how we do. It's it's
funny you mentioned that I have a friend who is
celebrating like a milestone birthday. So he's trying to have
like a nineties thing rap party and have like his
rap favorites and he's really in the nineties. R and
b and he wants to get the most bang for
his buck. The thing is is that Montell, even though

(08:17):
he's had other hits, you know, this is how we
do It's kind of black national anthem. It is, so
to speak, it's transformed to it's like everybody's now. But
that's the thing. But the problem is is I'm trying
to push him to get He could even get Montell
Jordan's or he could get Drew Hill. And I told him,

(08:39):
Drew Hill, you'll least get four hits at least at
least bro so you you got to well, they're the
same price, Drew Hill, what are we talking about? Question?
I'm sorry, that's next. That's next, tell me and uh

(09:00):
there's two recent pieces like pieces called girl you. I
don't forget what that's called, right, but at least he's
looking at me like, what the fun you Hill? You
least get four hits and the thongs. Yes, and with Mantell,
this is how we do it, even though there's been
other hits. You know, he's had other top ten hits.

(09:21):
I'm not trying and the talk show, yes, no, that's
Mantell Williams. And so for let's let's not totally rabbit
hole off the you know, the conversation. What I want
to know is okay for us US snotty Northerners that
only come on, now, let's keep it. You know, we

(09:42):
know we know like four cities. No, my my family
is from Greensboro. Yeah, y'all know, Charlotte, Greensboro, Riley probably
now all my families from Greensboro. But that's all I know.
And I know like in Greensboro not to talk to
any woman because I've heard that at least one out
before black women in that city is my cousin were going,

(10:04):
we don't want to get into the Yeah, yeah, yeah,
not at all. So, like what major city are you was?
It was snow he said, snow Hill, snow Hill. You're
not going to know the closest Raleigh. Raleigh is the
hour away, really, that's the that's the one that's maybe
Fayetteville maybe, Yeah, that's like an hour and a half

(10:24):
where j Coles from. So you're saying that it's more
so you're saying that the environment was more backwoodsye. Yeah, definitely,
like this was Daughters of the Dust or like, no,
just want to know the reference because I'm that's dope.
That's dope. That was dope reference. No, well, I'm just
saying about in terms of Okay, there's when when slavery

(10:49):
and the glas that were you going, Yeah, when slavery
was in it. There's some free to Africans that decided
to continue the tradition of of their life as they
knew in Africa by living off in the far woods.
Like really, my my peeps come from Mobile, Alabama. So
they started Africa Town and practice Erba religion and all

(11:11):
that stuff. But they did that also in North Carolina
and whatnot. So I was trying to know what Daughters
Does is a movie? Yes, oh yes, yes, yes, yes, no,
I need that deep bron me like that. Come on,
look at me, Look how I'm dressed. Baby? Are you

(11:32):
that far? Yeah? Maybe they had a corner store. Okay,
I see. You gotta ask about this second hop show.
She gotta redeem herself. How how big was your household? Like?
Are you the only child? Orgy? I'm one of five

(11:55):
three older sisters, one younger brother. Me and my brother
are a year apart. I'm I'm the knee baby, which
is next to last. That's that's some country ship. Yeah,
knee baby. Um, so I'm next to last. So yeah,
for sure? Are you the overchieving of the family? Um,
I think we all overachieves. I'm probably second in line though,

(12:16):
the the middle child. My sister man, she was valedictorian.
You know, she just did everything right. But I am
the overachiefer now because I always feel like the middle
child or the distinguishable's the last, the last. Yeah, I'm
the last girl. But all of us did good, like

(12:36):
I could say my parents did well. Yes, was your
first musical memory that concert? No? What was your first
musical member? My first musical memory was Michael Jackson. That's
the OH for like oh music period is Michael Jackson.
So that's what had me hooked from the jump, Like

(12:57):
man in the mirror, the girl is my all of that,
Like me and my dad would sit up on like
Saturday mornings and watch video soul tape them on VHS
and you know we watched them again during the week. Yes,
I do that. I watch your MTV raps like those
are my my biggest memories. But it all started with
like R and B and soul music. So Saturday mornings
cleaning up, you know that my mom's playing Tina turn

(13:19):
of Patti the Bell. My dad is a huge lutav
and Draws fan, so I've heard every Luthavan Draws song
that there is known to man um. But those are
my first musical memories. Remember the first album that you
purchased that I not just had in the house, but
the album that you wanted was the first album you purchased.

(13:40):
The first one I purchased was Aliyah's first album eight
at number the number. The first album that I owned
was Warringies Regulate, but my aunt had to get it
for me because of that sticker. My parents were not
going for that. Because she got it for me. That
was the first album that I had. But the one
I bought was Aliyah. It's called Rap Contrabands. When I

(14:03):
was young, I couldn't have the first utfo album there was.
There wasn't even that's crazy. There's the funny thing. The
funny thing was there was no cursing on it. But
on one of those on rock Sand's version of Roxane
rox Sand, which is like Buried on South Side B

(14:23):
she said like one term like all you received was
a kick in the ass, and then my dad like
just took the tape out, So I got one of
all the tape got destroyed. It. It wasn't even like
a bigger artist. Was like a local group that I
got from fourth grade. And then look was like a tist,
get a task, get a condimental basket. My mama came

(14:45):
through that door so fast. It was a white tape
with black letters. Look, I ain't think I was a boy.
I survived that day. So was it a religious house
old or I grew up with Jehovah's witness. So my
mom was Jehovah's witness. My dad was nondenominational. Still no, no, no,

(15:08):
I'm inactive. I'm more spiritual than religious. That's my life.
So yeah yeah, yeah yeah wow so uh man, m no, no, no,
but that's always I find it that those who are
in the entertainment business that I have to sort of

(15:29):
pass through the portals of especially with Jehovah's witness them right,
like have you found like your brothers and sisters? And
because Jill Scott used to be a Jill Scott Scott
Jill Scott General sound Way with T D E W. Yeah,
I know, Michael Jackson started and got some nice spoke

(15:55):
of my circle. Sorry, come over to this side. Wait,
when's the last time he went to kingdom? Go on, bro, No, no,
I'm only asking because past knees everything full, I've never
spoken to someone or what goes on, so I know
like most like the black of course with Black Church

(16:16):
experiences and Baptist churches like yeah, but was it was
it more conservative kingdom like kingdoms? It was? It was honestly,
it was like Bible school. Like you know, you have
you know of the Watchtower in the wakes when we
come to get the paper whatever. So a lot of
times they'll give you Bible readings. You go home, you

(16:36):
go through the Bible, find the verses they give you
the Watchtower. They'll have paragraphs that pertain to a certain topic,
whether it's life after death or what do you do
about blood transfusions? And you read through the paragraphs. At
the end they have questions. You go find the Bible
verses to ask them. And the next day, you know,
they'll have a main person that gives a talk, but

(16:57):
they're they're like the preacher, but we call it given
a talk. And then the set an hour you answer
the questions as a group and you sing hymns. Yeah,
sing song full of the hope. I don't know it that,
you know, you're just reminding me of when we did
the Prince episode. Um. His assistant has a really hilarryus

(17:22):
story of Prince dragt to Kingdom Hall and she was
shocked that she thought it was going to be like
a black again, a black Southern gospel hooting and Holland
music thing, and you know, the music was very proper
and you know, and Prince was singing it and she
just couldn't. She was like, who are you? Like, what

(17:44):
are you doing? So you're you said that Montell was
your first How old were you we went to this
Montell Jordan concert. I was in seventh grade. It was
Montell Jordan Boys. To me, that was the first concert
I went to. The first real hip hop concert I
went to. I was in college. I don't remember. It
might have been common common was, yeah, something like where

(18:06):
did you go to college? North Carolina State University. Yeah,
that's that's kind of the Yeah, I'll say that on
the East Coast, at least down south, at least like
North Carolina was definitely a a common no pun intended stop. Yeah,
there's at least five or six college stops that you

(18:26):
can make down. Oh wait, I'm about to tell you
a story, like there's one time when I met the
Ninth Wonder, this band I forget their name, oh Little Brother, Yeah,
I forgot. I have heard that story. Yes, yeah, thank
God for that rain storm. I want to well, I
mean the show was outdoors, so it was like an
electric electric storm. So we only did like one song,

(18:49):
and I felt bad for everyone that like stood out
there to watch it. So like, yo, who was Carolina
hip hop before a Little Brother before a Little Brother? Yeah?
But even then, that's just like, were there any to
your knowledge? Was there anyone? It's weird that, Okay, it's

(19:09):
weird that you're asking that because I know that in
there was a major migration of New York rappers that
moved down there. I know that special special. It was early.
Big Daddy came was early, and they were telling us,

(19:31):
you know back then, like yo, y'all better hurried down
and get some property before gentrification. Like you could you
could buy like a twelve room mansion with like marble floors,
Like you could get some scarface property. Yeah, for like
cheap to them, you know, Madland? Is it that way?

(19:54):
In an hour has caught up? In. I mean it's
it's still pretty affordable. H We're growing like rapidly, so
downtown might get a little pricey, but compared to up
here is still cheap. Now what city are do you even? Now?
I live in now? So are you? And you consider
that home? That's where you would like to stay. I

(20:16):
wanted to say, is that where you want to die? Well,
but that's where you want to settle down? Settle down
as a better word, I would I would like to
settle down North Carolina. But I definitely want to move.
I've been there my whole life, Like I want to
live in New York. I want to experience l a
like maybe go to Africa for a little bit. You

(20:37):
haven't done it yet. I find the South South Africa.
If I could take all my family that I moved there,
you see the type that would circle back and reinvest
in whatever Carolina has going on. Oh definitely definitely that's
home always, So you gotta reinvest at home. What was

(21:00):
your come to Jesus moment as far as knowing that
you had something, as far as a love for hip
hop culture, like this is what I want to do? Oh,
I feel like that was early, like like I was
around ten or eleven, Like, I fell in love with
it when I saw MC likes Poor Georgie videos. So

(21:22):
that's the first time, like I saw a female doing
it and it's just like, yo, that video was cool.
So that was that was the first time I was like, wow,
what is this? And then you know, you you get
more into it. Um, you know, listening to Warren Gy
like I said, uh Aliah's hip hop flavor style, Queen Latifa,

(21:45):
then you know, listen to Jay's Reasonable Doubt. But it
was Lauren Hill that really. Joe locked me in. I
saw the food, the food, He's a score. I knew
what I wanted to do. Then I saw that you
said it's funny. I always want to ask people as
you said that the score was your ship, but nobody
ever says anything. I'll blunt it the vocal, have the
remix a little I've heard blown her own reality and

(22:13):
its entirety. I couldn't get not so much. I mad
at you. No, no, no, it wasn't no, no, no,
many mis which one was all right? I'm gonna tell
you a little story. We weren't We weren't all right
in the beginning, all right, here's the deal. Yes there was.

(22:36):
Now that I'm older and wiser, I know not to
react off of ninth hand information, okay, And this is
me closer to my fifties than you know, like if
that Dave Chappelle's sketch where like, you know, twenty three
year old mirror is talking versus me. Now, Um, it

(23:02):
was just that, Yes, I felt some sort of way
like we were on tour together and it was a
dogg eat dog territory and they got out the gate first.
The score came out, and the score came out in
like February, and illadelf Half Life came out in September
ninety so they got out the gate first, had three

(23:25):
you know, they sold eleven million by the time we
came out. But I was a little salty, he really,
I was salty that their show slowly started to morph
into our show, which you know, when they first came out,
it was about the ritual with the you know they

(23:45):
were doing like voodoo rituals and all those things, you know,
representing Haiti. Yeah, they were lighting candles and there's something
what are he saying? But it's okay, what are you
talking about? He really serious? I don't remember. I remember
them in the Japanese No no, no, no no, I
just the interned. So here's the deal. My last day
internet rough Else Records, which coincidentally was Santy Cole's first day.

(24:10):
Santy was my replacement at Rolf Else as the intern
and upon leaving UH Chris Wartz pulled me to side
and said, hey, I know you guys are having a
signing party for you guys signing the Geffen records. Um,
how many acts you happened? We're like, well, we got
j with the Damager Gang Star is gonna come and perform.
Some local philiacs were really full. But then I thought

(24:33):
he did give me that money for our first video.
Why what's up? And he says, Yo, we got a
group that's sort of like in the lane of you guys,
and can we go and do like, you know, like
two or three songs whatever? And I was like, okay, okay,
I did it. Why do you want to add to this?
So here's the thing they get. They get to sound

(24:56):
check and the first thing I said was, now, let
me let me just preface by saying that I was
the family DVR, so it was my job, my uncle's
and my aunts and my mom and everyone. I really
didn't know much about programming a VCR and someone had
to program all their stories, so every Friday I had

(25:19):
to come and reprogram the stuff so they go watch
their stories during their week on VCR. So I was
very familiar with all the CBS soap operas. So when
she walked in, oh yeah, I was like, yo, yeah,
whoever heard yeah? And she looked at me like like

(25:43):
I was calling her out, like I think she was
expecting his sister act too, but I was like, it
seems like it looked at me like like I was
like I didn't realize that, like I'm about to blow
your cover that y're a professional soap opera actress. And
so no, and we became cool and we toured together.

(26:06):
But the thing was when they first started, they were
like lighten the stage with sages and and you know
when they finish was playing a guitar. Like I think
what we showed them. What we showed them was that, oh,
you can sort of do like the karaoke hip hop
tribute thing, which you know once we're like, well, I mean,

(26:30):
the thing was like okay, third verse, we're gonna rhyme
over this carros One break and the second verse We're
gonna do a break over this black Moon break and
that and when we you know, And as they started touring,
there was like then they called why am I wasted?
All right? Anyway? Hi, I needed to know why he
did finish it the whole school anyway. So my my

(26:55):
point is that, uh, I'll say that in nine nine
six it was it was tense. It was very tense.
So it's hard for me too as a as a
listener to listen to that particular album. Do you find
interesting he still hasn't listened to what I do because
it's well, here's the thing. It's so classic you can't

(27:16):
avoid It's it's almost like it's almost like Bruce Springsteen
is born in the USA. All but three songs are single,
so like, I know it all. That's the whole album.
That song, but you've heard Dancing in the Dark covered
Me and I'm on Fire and Glory Days and like
it's damn near thriller, like you know all the songs. Anyway,

(27:38):
this is not about me welcome anyway, So I will
say it is no or at least I'm man it is.
That's that's a nice fact, that's a good question at
the time. No, but I know all the songs like
I would DJ like Zelots and how Boys, I dare

(28:00):
you to throw a vocab and the next party? Can
we just can we just get it? I love vocab.
I know, I'm just saying nobody does blunt it. That
was back to my original point. Oh yeah, no, no,
but I was saying off that first record, I loved vocab.
That was that was my joint. That was my joint. Anyway,
So back to you, So you like Lauren Hell huh,
I'm trying to get back there. Yeah, she was a

(28:26):
big influence. So what was what was the community like?
And the one question that I'm glad that you kind
of what I call matrix dodge, especially with people that
are not that familiar with you, they're asking you all
the time, like, well, what's it like being a female
and rap and you know, an underground dada da da da.

(28:48):
But what was the environment? Because I'll be honest with you,
by the time that like the turn of the the
the millennia, uh, by the end of the nineties into
the early arts, like I personally was rather shocked that
there was a boom bap element or appreciation in North Carolina,

(29:13):
which really shocked me by when I listened to you
Know Little Brothers demo the first time, I was like, wait,
where they from? Same thing? I wish it? I don't
even hear right, So for me, like, how did you
avoid what we up north sort of associate most hip

(29:35):
hop from down South, which I guess you could say
in the nineties we thought that South was booty music
or that's you know or the early earliest stages of trapped,
Like how did you find a hip hop community that
was you know, about the aesthetics of what quote real

(30:00):
hip hoppers in New York strive to be. For one,
I think people have us a slight misconception like if
you look at North Carolina, we're more Middle East than
Deep South, so you know, and we're wanting we're probably
one of the states that have the most HBCU. So
at the time you got understand Naughty five runs straight

(30:21):
through North Carolina. So you have a lot of artists
or New york Is that are coming to come to
school in North Carolina and they're bringing the music with them.
You have drug dealers coming through their bringing the music
with them. So for us, it's like a melting pot too.
You've got people from Atlantic coming, so you know, not
only that's how we got the music. Like you know,
there was so much Northern influence where we lived, just

(30:43):
from the colleges and people that came through. You know,
that's a lot of what we listened to. So we
listened to boom Back, We listened to a lot of
New York music, but we all listened to Atlanta. We
also listen. So we're gonna think about North Carolina. It's
just a melting pot. Like you know, we didn't have
like a true Southern identity like a Texas you know,
but it's still a car culture so you gotta ride

(31:04):
to music at the same time. So I think that's
what it was where you know, everybody I know, like
we wore tims, you know what I'm saying. Like they
they had they were the headbands. They had some people
from the South of toxic at the New York accident,
Like that was heavy where I was from. Like my
cousin used to call itself nas because you know, the
music and everybody from the colleges that were in there,

(31:26):
but just heavily influenced on us. So speaking of I'm
jumping way ahead, but you mentioned car culture and writing.
I'm just gonna ask in the video for ye where
did that car come from? Oh man, we made a
call somebody, somebody brought that through like that's a rental
for day damn it that for the video. Yeah, they

(31:50):
rejoined with the mc m inside Yes, yeahsa Hill, I'm
about definitely. She dripped the inside out and seem but
somebody they own a car that people use the videos
and they let us, They let us drip it out. Okay,
I was I thought that was your personal ride. Now, no,
we ain't there yet. You know you will be there.

(32:11):
Let's start with the affirmations effects. But when you get there,
you probably won't want the car with mcm all open
it down. I don't know. That's kind of fire with Yeah,
the m c mcs come, this is too much. Listen.
This is the lesson that I want anyone listening to
learn that most of the times we come modest and humble,

(32:36):
and we need to be We need to be more
about I am as opposed to I am and own
it instead of Yeah, one of these days we'll get there.
But you know, this is funny because the three of
us have that whole twenty four hours between our birthdays.
So I'm really taking this to heart because I know
that's who you really are. You're fighting that anyway, you

(32:57):
know and rap you know you're you're born to Wait,
why am I fighting day? I was born? No, fighting that.
What you just said is a big deal for us.
Like we usually aquarium sometimes can be like I am
when we are dope ast fuck instead of being like
I am like that's an aquarium. That's right, that's something
I'm working on this, This is what I'm higher vibrations
and really owning a manifest I am stone right now,

(33:20):
not I am stone a stone. So what was your
major at NC State County? Yes? Really all right? Because
you know why because I was a mask com major.
And I always told like the younger kids when I said,
when you go back, when you go to school, like

(33:41):
intern with your passion, but do something. Have some kind
of business major and learn all the information you know,
numbers wise and formula wise, so you can you are
a business and you don't know how to you know,
run it. So when I get my taxes done whatever,
But I wish I had done marketing if I was okay, one.
I wish I had done marketing, but I did it
because I was good at numbers. My sister went to

(34:01):
school for accounting. You know, growing up in the South,
it's like get a job, get married, and get a
job like an accounting a doctor. And I was like,
I'm good with numbers. I'm gonna do that. But I'm
way more creative than I am with numbers. But I
didn't figure out that that's not what I wanted to
do until my junior year. And I was trying to
transfer the n y U. Until I saw that out
of state tuition. I relaxed real still on that one.

(34:27):
I tried to be a New York college student and
it wasn't I wasn't too successful. You noticed the difference
between the HPC used to tuition and then the big school.
You want wealth, I'm gonna just be over here at
I don't know some of them HPC. Now, Well, Spellman's
in the leader of the yes house. I went to Clark,

(34:47):
so no more of that. They have no more of that?
Ye Indeed, I was gonna ask Spellman doesn't have any
more of that? C word? One million dollar donation and
I don't know what they did with that money. I
don't even know her. His wife's name is on the
building anymore. We're talking about Yeah, we still doctor. I

(35:12):
mean enough cosby jokes over the years to start now
now you can't say it do the huss I know
what y'all was talking about. I know you didn't what
prompted the desire to go to New York? Like, what
did you So you're saying by your junior year you

(35:34):
wanted to get more serious about your music career. And
definitely I didn't know at the time we are at
that point or we were. We were just it was
more H two oh was an organization before it was
a hip hop group. So so explain was a hip
hop organization that we started on campus um where we
would throw like rab battles and free shows and you know,

(35:54):
we do fundraises. We didn't want for j Dellus loupus,
So it was just something for us to infuse hip
hop on campus and you get to use all the
campus um you know, speakers and all of that for free,
So you know, that's what it was. So you know,
anybody on campus and we extended to the community could
be a part of the organization. But you know, there

(36:15):
were five of us that just hung out more, the
music together more, and we ended up becoming Koli Hai. Okay,
that's what that that's how. That kind of so cool
as a collective as opposed to a group per seat collective.
They came, yeah, so how did you grab the attention
of ninfe wonder? At this time, it's a summer and

(36:39):
h two oh the organization we're doing a mixtape, so
you know, we got people from the campus, people from
the community. Everybody does something on this particular mixtape. I
wrote and recorded my first two songs. My best friend
knew that, you know, I loved hip hop wanted to
wrap so he was just like, yo, just do it
for fun. Everybody's gonna judge you. So I do this,
uh this, these two songs put on the mix tape

(36:59):
and another guy in the organization at the time is
Shadowy nine, like he's learning how to lose fruity loops
and all this. So he's like, well, nine, you know,
I got this organization, all these kids, do you mind
coming to talk to us? A Knife was like yeah,
So we go to you know, this guy's his name
is Fullery, who's in Cooley High. We went to his house.
It's probably like fifteen and twenty of US nine comes

(37:22):
at the time. He plays us um snippets of the
Minstrel Show because it's not out yet. I get to
hear genius. He's telling us about you know, how he
got with j and recorded threat like you know, we
just all these kids like can't fire and you know,
because he's at the time for us, like the biggest
thing from North Carolina outside of Pete Popo. And after that,

(37:43):
he listens to the mixtape top to bottom and when
it gets to my song, he it just caught his
ear automatic. He listened to it probably ten times in
a row. And I listened to us like, bro, the
what you heard? But obviously it's called The Life, Yeah,
the Life, and um he was like he looked at

(38:04):
everybody and it's sound like we got people that are
in groups that have been doing music for years that
you got shows that are traveling, and he goes, that's
your star right there. Oh. I remember him speaking on
you early. I mean way before social media, like I
don't okay player and like other platforms just texting whatever
that he was like, yo, I found the one I got.

(38:28):
Like he was super early, you know, with with with
planting the seeds, with with getting your name out there.
But I mean at the time, what would you who
were your your your idols or at least you're the
mcs that you kind of looked up to as far
as like getting your style from. And at that time

(38:51):
I went through want to ask like who are your
top five rappers? But I mean at that like I
went through different phases of discovery just because of who
I where was from. Like being in snow Hill, it
wasn't like, you know, like I said, you go to
a lot of hip hop shows and we had like
a record store on the corner. I could just go
get CD. So a lot of like hip hop artists
I might have got laid on like black on both

(39:12):
sides I didn't hear to I got in college, you know.
So at this time, my face J is still my
favorite rapper. But now I'm getting really deep in the
most Death and I'm listening to Common Resurrection so to
Live Quality, Like I'm really diving into their catalogs and
they're my biggest influences at this time. You know though
growing up, you know, and still Lauren, I listened to

(39:33):
Lauren Clean my teeth of nas Biggie j. But at
this time I'm really getting into the rocket sound. So
that at that point that's my biggest influence with what
Ninth third, Like, how long was it until you too
collaborated on his uh merchant. Yeah, so at the time

(39:54):
he said that this was maybe like Merchant volume two
right volume two seven? I remember that. So I met
him and he heard those two songs like September October
two thousand and five. Um, we did our first song
together maybe like five or six months after that, uh

(40:14):
tab one and Coolie High hit Ninth during Christmas one
time He's like Ninth jokingly throw up some beats and
he just I am them three beats like Merry Christmas.
So those were the first songs that I got to
wrap over of his um. The first then the next
song where you know, he was like come to the
studio like he always kind of took us on his wing.
He would just be random, like I would be at

(40:35):
work at foot action and I get a text like yo,
Ninth toes to pull up at the studio just out
the blue. So I'm just I'm like, bass, I gotta go,
Like I'm straight up. I was like I gotta go,
and they were like so cool and supportive of that.
They knew what I was a good worker. I was
so good they couldn't even front you remember Gerald Kermanchel's

(40:57):
story about that she was completely the opposite from North Carolina.
People were not total. He wasn't right. I was. I
was expecting your story to go a whole another way. Um. Yeah,
so you're was returning to Big Girl, your first your
first solo, first solo project. Okay, this summer January. So

(41:23):
how long did that take to formulate and put together
and execute? Let me see, I signed with Knife in
two thousand eight, two tho nine, and I worked and worked,
so we probably worked. I just was recording songs. I
don't think it was like I'm doing a project. I
was just recording songs. And I probably recorded songs for

(41:43):
two years. So we worked on it for two years,
just trying to get my cadence. I still had so
much to learn, like I go back, like tone of
my voice, inflections, keeping a consistent cadence or norm when
it's switching in the right spot. How is he as
a coach great? Like night? People gotta understand before a

(42:04):
Knife wanted to be a producing want to be a teacher,
so he's automatically just still super patient. Um so he
was super patient with me. Um, I would get more
frustrated with myself than he would. Uh. So he's a
great teacher, Like the way he explained things and broke
things down and you know allowed you, you know, to
figure it out too, Like I didn't have to be perfect,

(42:26):
but he saw enough growth was like, okay, we can
put out your first mixtape and just keep building on it,
like great teacher, phenomenal. Did you get to be in
the studio and make some of these songs with folks
in the studio? Was everybody like sending, Oh no, you
got to, like you gotta understand like when Night, when
Knife creates, he likes people and energy around him. So
and that at the time, the studio is on North

(42:47):
Carolina Central's campus, so it's open doors, so you you
might walk in some days it might be people in there.
And so like it was so much pressure for me
because I'm the opposite when I create. You know, now
I'm I'm more bucking right around anybody. But at that time,
like trying to figure it out, not being confident you
step in the booth and it's twenty people looking at
you like what you're about to do and then you

(43:09):
know you're doing it and then ain't all the way right,
so he keeps stopping you, trying to coach you, and
it's just like I'm going about to go crazy. He's
got folks like you got to be at the studio
with Row Digger, like Matt Miller, Digger. Jean Gray came
and worked on I think they were trying to work
on Phoenix at the time. I was there when Wile
and nine were working on Back to the feature. Big

(43:31):
Sean came through Me and nine were working on some joints.
What was it like working with Mac Miller? And oh
that was that was dope. That was easy. That was fun.
Not Mac pulled up. I don't even remember what year was,
might have been like twenty eleven. He was coming to
see nine or whatever and just you don't you've met Mac.

(43:52):
It's like, you know, how open, yeah, chill, his his
spirit is so you know, he heard like some songs.
He was like, Yo, you're dope, was like, let's do
some joints. Like it's just that easy. Like you know,
so when you collaborate with artists. Is it more just
like send me a sixteen or like or do you
work in real time with them sometimes? And uh, it's different.

(44:15):
Earlier on it was just like, yo, just send me
some sixteens. At the time, I'm just trying to prove
I could rap. Now now it's different, like for me
to even reach out, I gotta hear you on the song.
It don't even matter what your celebrity is. If I
don't hear you, like it could be a new artist
if I hear their voice, or they'd be dope on
this and I'm calling you. So it's it's gotta it's
gotta fit right. A lot of times, you know, I

(44:37):
tell them what the concept is, but you know, I
don't like the box people in because I want people
to be as creative as they want to be. So
in the same way, Kendrick called me and told me, like, Yo,
the song is about complexion. You know, you know how
it goes bet boom, Then I'm not trying to pigeonhole you.
So that's what it is for me. I like people
to be able to create how they create. And if

(44:59):
it he's tweaking and we worked on it or we're
just flipping and turn into something else, put a different
beat on it, and make it a new song. But
that's how we That's how I create. As hard as
to say, that's my favorite rhapsody verse, but damn that verse,
that complexion. Thank you awesome. Can I just ask one
more question because you were talking about it's your show too,

(45:20):
Thank you. I don't want to fast forward to to
eat or anything, but I just want to fast forward
for a minute on this subject. Because on that subject,
how do you propose to Queen Latifa, who doesn't do
features like that? Time out to how did you get out?
That's what I mean short, I'm not how did you

(45:43):
get that verse out? But we just pulled up to
a creer. We worked on she killed that then she
I wasn't expecting that. I thought, all right, when I
first earn it, I thought, Okay, she's just going to
sing the hook or something a lot of and then
when she starts spinning, I was like, oh wait, it's rap.
She changed the number. You know, because I'm similarly like

(46:07):
we had a situation where demoed Big Daddy Cane and
and instead wind up doing it himself. At first, I
thought that's what you you were headed to do and
I was like, oh, ship, like do you still have it?
I mean when the last time we've heard and between
a lot of picture, I'm just I do anyone super fire?

(46:33):
I didn't. I didn't realize how long? What was the
what was the process or at least the process of
because no, this is what I'm asking and I'm not no,
I'm not even being snarky. All right, here's the reason
for my asking. It's it's a lot of times when
you ask for a favor or verse, especially from someone

(47:00):
of stature, depending on how they feel about you. And
you know, there's some people that like if Terika asked them,
you know, I'll say that eighty five percent in time,
someone's gonna bring their a game. But then there's sometimes
when people just like maybe phone it in and that

(47:20):
I've had We've had a few situations where the verse
was phoned in and it's like well no, no, no,
But it was just like which one of us is
gonna say no, can you do it again? Like I
feel bad when it's that situation where you have to

(47:41):
and so yeah, like was all right, this is all
my ask. This is no question, no, no, no, this
is yes, was that her verse coming in the door?
And that was it? And no more? No we were

(48:01):
or was it worked on? And it was? It was
this is this is how it happened. She invited me
to a house to work on the on the verse.
I went to her and to her home in the studio,
we talked, he worked on the verse, and we got
the song. That song. It's fine. That's all I wanted
to know. I wanted to know more or less, like

(48:23):
how many takes and how many redrafts and rewrites and
that sort of because one one one draft stock. Okay,
can we can we ask about another hard to get person?
Can we ask? Can we ask about D'Angel ar that Wait,
I'm gonna tell y'all something. This motherfuckers something he started

(48:45):
and finish. I'm gonna tell you something. Me and D.
I just one day I decided to count the paces
from my house to his house. Currently, now me and
d have been neighbors. I'm gonna be known to me.
I didn't know that we were neighbors for five years,
and then we've been neighbors for ten years. And one

(49:09):
day I was like, wait, let me come. I have
a doctor's appointment. That's somewhere towards his crib. So's I'm
literally going to count the paces. Seventy six steps. That's wow,
the albums, the song title, I know what steps. We've

(49:29):
lived seventy six steps from each other for the last
ten years and we ain't been to each other's crib yet.
That's crazy. For the record six months in D'Angelo time,
So like, don't take offense. He Steve. Steve was like

(49:52):
one of the many engineers on Voodoo and Black Uh
but say Black Black Massiah. Yeah, so how didn't do it?
How did you get D'Angelo on the record? And he's
doing a lot on them, He's doing the arrangements on
the record. So it wasn't even like okay, because I
was listening, like send just this, he went in like

(50:17):
he's we even bobbing in and out? Whatever, How did
that happen? By the grace of God the universe, like
you don't even know it it was. It was, it's
all chain reaction. If we had to pick that sample,
if Jesse it didn't want to get on it because
we don't. We don't get D'Angelo like out of the gate.
I knew I wanted to do a Wu Tang flip
because of the Cold Bust record that I because I

(50:39):
love that Red Knife, was going through all the Wu
Tang sample banks and he ends up picking the liquid
sword joints. So he's like, this the one he sent
it to me. He's like, what you think. I's like,
let's run with it. So he's like, well, if we
do it, we gotta ask for Jesus blessing and asked
him to get on it because it's his bigger, biggest record.
Bet we do that. Jessus says yes, so that that's

(50:59):
a feat in it self for jess even one. Let
us do it and be like, yeah, I'll get on
it too. So we're in the studio mixing with Young
Gurgu like like mixing, and at the time, like the
Wood documentary of Mike's and Minutes is out, so they're touring,
so we're trying to schedule like how we can get
just in the studio to get this verse while he's
touring while I'm trying to meet deadlines. So he's talking

(51:21):
to you know, his man to handle that, but you know,
old boy on the other phone says as well, I'm
also working with D'Angelo and he happens to be big
fans of both nine one day in Rhapsody and I
think it'd be dope if y'all work together. So it's
just like, what, well, I mean what you want, Like
I'm ready to do like a whole new joint. Like

(51:43):
I'm like, what do you say? I could send him
the whole album, like we could do some new stuff.
I can send some beats like whatever he wants. And
he got something he could send it. I could finish it,
you know, And he was like, no, I think I
think the joint that you sent jiz A, you know,
would be dope. So he sent it to him. Umm,
I'm flying all over the place shooting videos, doing press,

(52:04):
trying to get ready for the album. So he calls
Ninfe at the studio and uh, he and Ninth have
a conversation. But you know, he talks about how he's
a fan that you know, how much Woutang and the
Liquid Swore and Liquid Swore song meant to him, like
everybody has a memory attached to that song, and how
much he loves Jess because you know, that was the
first person from Woo that he worked with. Um, So

(52:25):
it's just all these factors. So you know, he was like,
I love the record, I love to do it. So
you know we got him in the studio. You know
he likes to record on tape. M hm. We probably
waited maybe like two weeks. For two weeks, that's like

(52:46):
to maybe three at most, like but yeah, like he
probably went in the studio every day for like seven days,
even even when I we paid for the studio, but
when like we paid for a certain time, even when
that was out, he was like, I'm not finished. I'll
pay for the rest to finish it. I'm just like, yo,
this is crazy. I was wondering because, yeah, I was

(53:10):
wondering if he did his thing on tape because it's
all of his vocals are very speeded impressive. But yeah,
he killed it. He ain't featuring nowhere else either. What
do you do background vocals? And you said he arranged,
well mean, but he doesn't do me background vocals. It
just the way he played with his voice, like, yeah,

(53:32):
it was crazy, yeah, and that's majestic. It was ill
for me, is I I did like a mock cook
before I knew he was gonna be on it, like
the place hold it to hear him sing it like
I was like, yeah, I was like I thought he
was gonna write something new Like that in itself was
ill to me. But you know how to I mean
people we look up to our de'angelo's and think that

(53:58):
they you know, that there another level, but there's still
big time music fans, you know, and they fall in
love with something when they hear it, and they don't
need to change it. There's we created, you know, that's amazing.

(54:19):
So what I'm sort of skiven to your second album,
and so what was the process in the decision to
roll with the Rock Nation for yourself? Um, we we
knew that, you know, as an indie label, we can
only do so much like budget and marketing wise and

(54:39):
really getting the exposure that I wanted. So you know,
when we took the meeting with Rock One, I'm a
big j fan off Gate but walking into the building
and at the time, Shako Pilgrim was the president and
you walk in and of the staff of women and
it's so there's so many different coaches and we came
in with Layla's wisson probably and they didn't ask us

(55:01):
to change the scene. Why not one single thing? It
was always all right, what do y'all want to do
what you envision? Like what are you thinking of the music?
They never every even they didn't ask to change or
touch anything, and so to me, like the energy and
just how much they loved the culture. It didn't seem
like I've been a death chaml I think in Atlantic before,

(55:22):
but this was this was different. This was all about
culture and just music, and they were really about growing
with me, Like it wasn't pressured to have a radio
single or it was just like, you know, we believe
in you and your talent. We just wanted how can
we help? That's what it was. So that's why. And
how did How did you feel the morning that the
nominations came out? And I don't know what that feeling

(55:45):
for you, It's it's kind of Yo. Ninth was the
first one that hit me because I was in l A.
It was like five in the morning, so he hit me.
He was like, Yo, you nominated, you nominated? Uh it
wasn't too twice twice, So I was like, yo, what
like yo to be nominated, but to even not be
nominated twice like that was crazy. So for me, it

(56:08):
was just like people were calling me. I couldn't even
answer the phone. I had to just sit back and reflect, like, Yo,
we're here, Like this is a different bar to be
recognized at the highest lept level of music when a
War of award show, and then not having no Billboard
hits and no platinum records, and to be in a
category with Jay Z and kendrickam Are at the same time.
It's just like man asked not have to change nothing,

(56:29):
not even have to play on a tight dress. And
I cried a little bit, you know, but yeah, I
was thankful that I stayed the course of anything. So
I have to say that you're your whole process of
crafting the ev album, it's just some amazing as ship,

(56:50):
you know, like where where did the idea even come
from for crafting this this album as an homage to
the spirit of the black woman in America and the
world and their their effect like where Where's the Genesis
and the seed born? And last summer summer eighteen, I

(57:10):
was doing an interview for the Oxford and it's guy
named Lamar Wilson. He was writing a piece on the
lineage of Carolina musicians, and so he was connecting me
with Nina Simona roberta flat uh so I like, I
was just like, yo, I didn't. I never thought of
me connecting with them in that way because we just

(57:34):
seemed like to like I just look, I put them
up here like there's no way like reconnected. But the
way he broke it down, like you were both sold
for you know, you're both lyrical. You know you both
reflect the times and talk about what's going on in
the community, your storytellers. I was like, man, I never
thought about it in that way, like I do come
from their family tree, and it made me think, like, yo,
when I do interviews and people say, who were you

(57:55):
influenced by? Yeah, I said Crean la Teeth and MC
like Lauren Hill. But I talked about Sicily Tyson, talk
about UM. I talked about Nikki Giovanni, you know, Maya Angelo.
And I'm just like man, when I think about who
I am and who I'm inspired by. Of course, you
have your village, your mom, but there are so many
black women that I look up to and um and too.

(58:16):
It gave me away creatively to show that there's so
many different sizes of me too. You know. People like
to say or kind of put me in the box
sometimes based on the music that I made that, you
know I had. We were in a studio what time,
and to dude was like, yo, we thought like a
party for y'all. It's just like burning instance and y'all
listening to my dude and all this, and I'm just like, bro,

(58:36):
like what are you talking about? Like I grew up
on Luke. I listened to Go Go, growing up, like
I'm from snow Hill, North Carolina, Like that's the sticks,
like Boom's falling, like we we listened to everything. So
there were so many sides of me. So it's like
this is a way where I could take a different
woman to not only describe like my different personalities, but
also talk about them and continue their legacies and say

(58:58):
that we all are coming we all come from a
family tree. I think after I did that interview, like
I went home and I'd always wanted to do a
song about being a tomboy, especially in this day and
age and what that looks like. And I did it
because of the way I started the song when Aaliyah
was alive and I was like, I'm gonna just call
it Aliyah, And as soon as I did that, it
all just clicked together. Yeah, the conversation, it's like, oh,

(59:21):
I got this song a leader, I could do this
with this This felicious shot taught me about motherly love.
Nikki Giovanni taught me the power words and blackness like yeah,
and the videos, which I also feel are crucial components
to the vision of that, Like what were the concepts
for the um well, not the concepts, but you know

(59:43):
as far as like I personally want you to make
a video almost for Yeah, I'm trying to make it
happen right now. We just did a Phoenie too long ago. Yeah,
we did a Phoenie. UM, I still want to add
to it. It ain't all the way right, So so
part you got a pen? What videos do you have
for which? Um, Yeah, Oprah, Efta, Jafeni will be the

(01:00:06):
third one. The next one I probably want to do,
uh Cleo will be Aliyah Serena. I want to do
one for every song, like as I see it, So
no problem putting this list together. Interview. Was it just
for spacing on the album or just spacing the first draft?
We had twenty three songs, you know, we knew like

(01:00:29):
it's too long because people that they can't digest music.
You know the same way like they tap Out said,
at first, I was going to do a part one
and a part two. Um so sonically, you know we
have this one in the part two is gonna be
It was gonna be way more soul for more boom
bad heavy. That was gonna be like Felicia Rashaw DJ Spinderella,

(01:00:51):
she has a song, Um who we are going to
get a sequel? Harriet. I was like, I got different ideas,
that's all. It's more music coming. Um, I love you
what It's so journal route and you said I'm not
gonna do the Harriet sounds like yeah I was. I
was like, Harry, you want to do I name it?
But yeah, so but this there's I did like forty women.

(01:01:14):
As far as where you are right now, like what
do you feel that your goals are, Like do you
have do you have a five year plan as far
as like this point from now, like developing other acts
or like just make more music or definitely make more music.
I think this foundation of everything. But I want to

(01:01:35):
expand artistically because you know the way I write, Like
I want to get into not only writing songs and
I want to write films. I want to get behind
the camera and produce documentaries. I was in a in
a rock office with Todd to day. He was like, rap,
you need rights RB pop records like you know, so
you know, I definitely want to try it. Like I'm

(01:01:56):
just like, let's try and see what happens. Um, just
but just do a lot more things artistically. I thought
about starting a label. I don't know how I feel
about that yet, but um, Missa Hilton's son, Nicole Brown,
he's an m C. So I want to help. I'm
helping it because you can produce his album. That will
be my first time like taking that role. Yeah, just

(01:02:17):
like really expand on that but always putting out giving
back to what was given to you. Okay, I see that. Well,
you know again from the bottom of art, we really
thank you for your your your talent and your wisdom
and all that blackness, all that queenness. That's what I'm thinking.
You can't really say that. I'm just speaking for they
can for the sisters, thank you, and we can say

(01:02:45):
that to can you didn't so I was just Jewish
thank you. Can we say that? Have you been to Egypt?
Because I'm I'm trying to get that we should be together. Yeah,
there would the sugar Steve, Yes, I would pay. Well,
that is you actually paid for us to go. That's

(01:03:09):
another episode, of course, Supreme. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you
one more time, Raps, did you give it up all right?
Or behalf of Lay and Steve and Boss Bill and
yes even unpaid Bill and fan Tikolo who incidentally, uh,
it's still out getting cigarettes and he said he will
be back, be back home any moment. Uh, this is

(01:03:33):
we need cigarettes, so hurry up man. He said he's
going to get some smokes. And two years ago he's
fixing his bathroom. Now now it's now it's getting some cigarettes. Alright.
This is course love, and we'll see you on the
next go round, of course, Love Supreme. Thank you. For

(01:03:59):
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