It’s hard to come up if there’s a lot of people doing the same thing. That’s why I feel like I’ll make it, because there’s not a lot of people doing what I’m doing. There’s female rappers, but they’re more like Lil Kim – sexy with it. They just kinda talkin’ about what they can do in the bedroom or whatever.
Are you more of a tomboy? Or headbussin’ type music?
That too, but I don’t know. When I was little I used to be more of a tomboy. Today I might have on a lil’ top or whatever, but you’ll never see me in some Lil Kim shit, for real. That ain’t really something that I’m thinkin’ about. That’s just how I am.
Do you think it’s harder for a woman to be taken seriously in the music industry?
Oh, always. I could be fully dressed, having a regular conversation with somebody, and they’re still gonna be like, “So, whassup?” They supposed to be a promoter or whatever and they always tryin’ to talk to me. A lot of people will be like, “You need to be more sexy,” or, “You need to do this…” but other people will say, “Don’t let nobody change you. Just be you, you can make it just being yourself.”
You’ve got the single out now, “It’s Whatever,” and your style sounds real similar to Miss B, who’s also based out of Atlanta. She’s got the single “Bottle Action.” A lot of people think both of those songs are by the same artist. Have you two ever thought about recording together?
I’m really down for anything, so if she came to me or if somebody in my camp thought it was a good idea, I’d do it. It’s crazy because she comes from the same place I come from, we came out with the same type of single, and I guess she used to sing, so even though I don’t really know her it might seem like we’re the same person. I really can’t be mad at people when they’re like, “Where can I get your bottle song?” At first I was like, Damn, how can they get us mixed up? But after I read her article in your magazine, I was like, Damn, she sounds just like me. That’s crazy.
Have you ever “hit that bitch with a bottle”?
Well, you know, I don’t wanna put myself out there like that (laughing). But “It’s Whatever” ain’t just a song, it comes from real life.
Was there one particular incident that caused you to write “It’s Whatever”?
Yeah. I went in the club and saw this girl, and me ain’t her ain’t never been friends. I already know I don’t like her, so I go to the other side of the club tryin’ to do my thing. Basically, she came over and tried to act like she was dancing with a guy but she was bumping into me. Next thing you know, it all broke out. I’m like, Bitch, you know me, and you know how I get down, so don’t try that shit in the club just cause you got some folks in here! You’ll still get your ass whupped, just like you would if we was at school. Don’t play me, you know? That’s how the song started out.
What were you two fighting over? A guy?
I don’t think I ever fought ‘bout no guy, really. You know, they call me the female pimp (laughing). I ain’t never fought over a guy. If anything, I’ll give him to you and he’ll be giving me yo’ money. I ain’t about to fight over no dick. Nah, it was just school stuff.
What does it take to be a female pimp?
You’ve gotta be headstrong and have a good talk game. You gotta be able to talk a nigga into anything.
Anything like what?
Oh, you tryin’ to put me out there! Okay. Well, I ain’t really wanna put her out there, but I learned from my momma. My momma could talk a man into anything. I hang with a lot of guys, so I get to see a lot of stuff that the average female don’t get to see. I take their game and just flip it on their ass. The stuff they’ll tell a regular female is the same stuff I tell niggas, and I have them doing whatever I want ‘em to do. That’s all it is, really. I just take the stuff I learned from them and use it on them.
What kinds of things do you get from guys?
Whatever I want. Jewelry, money, cars, rental cars, whatever. Anything.
How many guys are you pimpin’ right now?
(laughing) She tryin’ to put me out there! Now, see, if I tell you that – first of all, they’re gonna read this article and question themselves, like, Damn, am I one of her hoes? If I tell you what they done got me, then they gon’ know!
Who’s the ideal guy for Ms Cherry?
I think I’m different from the average female because I ain’t really tryin’ to get married and have kids. I really don’t even like kids, so I don’t want an ideal guy that I’m gonna be with forever. I don’t even want that. Like I said, I hang around all guys, so I don’t trust no guys. I don’t even know one that I trust, because I see the way they be with their girls. They be like, “Oh yeah, I love you,” talk to ‘em on the phone all day, but they still doing all kinds of crazy stuff on the side. So I couldn’t even find myself in a position to trust somebody like that.
Back to the pimpin’ game – what about getting backstage to shows and events? What’s your strategy for that?
I have a lot of passes from different events, so I might take one in case I gotta put it around my neck. I look mean, like, Don’t ask me shit. I walk right by ‘em and that usually works, unless I got somebody with me that’s lookin’ guilty.
How did you come up with the name Ms Cherry?
Cherry has been my name forever. All my friends call me Cherry. Some of my family is like, “What’s your real name, anyway?”
What’s your real name?
(laughing) You want my government? What are you, the police? Nah, but Cherry is something my mom came up with. She had me when she was young. She wrote Cherry on my birth certificate, but since she was so young, my grandma was still telling her what to do. She was like, “Hell naw, you name her Cherry and she gon’ hate you for the rest of her life. Everybody gon’ be talkin’ ‘bout her.” So she took I toff and named me right after her, so me and my mom have the same name. But she’s always called me Cherry. When I started rappin’ they just added the “Ms” cause I’m the first lady on the label.
Do you hear a lot of corny pick-up lines because of your name?
You know what? People say that so much that it just began to get lame. It’s not even funny no more. Yeah, they say, “Do you taste like cherry?” or “Let me pop your cherry,” all types of stuff. It’s like, “Nigga, shut up!”
Your single “It’s Whatever” is getting a nice buzz. Is your album complete?
Just wrapped up the album Rhythm & Streets, it’s coming out in February. I’m also gonna be performing in February at the Phillips Arena for the Laila Ali fight.
Any features on your album?
Yeah, I have a couple features. I didn’t really go all out with the features, cause I wanted y’all to get to know me first. If you get a feature with T.I. or whatever, people are only listening cause they wanna hear T.I. I wanted people to listen for me first. I don’t know how that’s gon’ work out (laughing) but we’ll see. There’s a few local features, like Skywalker and Jazze Belle. Skywalker, they call him Rick James. He sung a hook on this song called “Mind over Matter.” I’m trying to get Pastor Troy to crank it on up too.
What events do you have coming up to promote your album?
Besides the Laila Ali fight at the Phillips Arena, we’ve got Club Celebs in Jacksonville the whole Super Bowl week. It’s a lounge, that’s Streetwize Recordz’ club that we built from the ground up. That’s gon’ be real big, and me and Laila Ali gon’ be real big. Next month I’ve got so many things on my calendar. We’re doing this thing with BET’s Wrap it Up program, that’s cool. We talk to the high school kids and do some shows locally. It’s really for the kids, but it’s cool for me too cause I can slip in that Rhythm & Streets plug.
What do you like to do besides music?
Right now music is my life, but I went to school for art education. I like to do art too, so as a rapper I’m interested in things that the average person isn’t interested in. When they pick my pictures and graphics, I’m like, “Nah, don’t do that. Make it like this.” I’m really into everything, even with the production. That’s just me, I’m real picky with everything.
Why did you decide to sign with Streetwize Recordz?
It was the owner of the label, Big T. He believed in the label, and I believed in it with him because of the type of person he is. Other people were like, “I met so-and-so and he can put you on,” but if it’s somebody you don’t know, you can’t really trust ‘em and you won’t be comfortable in that situation.
Anything else you want to plug?
Streetwize, we got this group called Trademark. Oh, boy, they fire. All the girls like ‘em, and all the guys like ‘em cause they talkin’ about real street stuff. You can check out my website, www.mscherrytv.com .
