PATIENTLY WAITING:
| KENNY THOMAS | MISS B | RASHEEDA |
| It’s not easy to break into the rap game when you’re from a small Southern city like Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It takes persistence and creative marketing skills – two qualities that Kenny Thomas has in abundance. As both a producer and rapper, he’s been pursuing his musical dreams since he was thirteen. He released two albums in Alabama, “Still Dirdy” and the mixtape “Unkut Vol. 1,” selling over 4,000 copies of each through the tried-and-true trunk/mom & pop distribution method. Frustrated by the lack of local radio support, he began promoting in Atlanta and landed a spot on the So So Def Unsigned Hype mixtape with his single “Call Grady.” Kenny prides himself on using unorthodox marketing methods. “I don’t wanna give out all my ideas,” he laughs. “But we promoted ‘Call Grady’ by riding around Atlanta in a van. We had a loudspeaker in the van, so we’d pull up in front of the clubs – the gutta clubs, the Buckhead clubs, wherever – and just fling the door open and play the song. Radio DJs heard about it, and it picked up from there.” Even though “Call Grady” is a club joint, Kenny describes his style as lyrical and “street conscious.” “[When people hear my music], they don’t believe I’m from Alabama,” he laughs. “I have to pull out my license!” Encouraged by the success of his most recent single, Kenny plans to release another album in early 2005. While many artists are seeking a major deal, Kenny loves the independent grind. “My ultimate goal is to set a good example for independent artists,” he says. “I want them to be like, ‘Oh, he did it this way. We don’t have to get fucked with a major label or get a bad deal. Kenny went to Kinko’s and printed up his own flyers and his own CDs, so we could go that route too.’” (Kenny can be reached at 205-333-0779 or 404-438-7831) - Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com | Born and raised in the ATL, Miss B (short for Miss B’Havin’) describes her style as “R&B/pop/hip-hop” and started her career singing in a group called Protégé. Still, it took a crunk, rowdy club banger to get her big break. Inspired by the success of songs like “Headbussa,” Miss B recorded the official 2004 anthem for feisty women, “Bottle Action,” which is gaining airplay on mixtapes and radio stations throughout the country. “I don’t fight, I don’t argue, I just hit that bitch with a bottle,” she raps, recalling last year’s incident that she used as the basis for her single. “I was meeting a couple friends at a club, and a friend of mine worked the door so I didn’t have to pay to get in,” remembers Miss B. “I went around the long line, and these chicks was like, ‘Who the hell does she think she is?’ Later, I was sitting at the bar waiting on my peoples and this girl came up like, ‘Oh, she think she all that!’ I ain’t say nothing until she reached over me. I just grabbed the first bottle I seen and hit her with it. She was bleedin’ and she hit the ground, but I had witnesses that said she started everything. By the time the police came I was gone!” Still, Miss B emphasizes that violence isn’t her way of life. “This is just a stepping stone for me to get in the door,” she says. “This isn’t really who I am.” Apparently, it worked, since “Bottle Action” enabled her to ink a deal with Playmaker/So So Def Records. She’s currently focused on recording for the So So Def Dirty South All-Stars compilation as well as her upcoming debut album. With the current shortage of stand-out female MCs, Miss B caters her music towards women, but doesn’t plan to sex up her image for attention a lá Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown. “They do their thing, and I do mine,” she says. “But I’m more hip-hop punk. It’s very sexy, but it’s punk at the same time.” - Photo and words by Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com | Rasheeda, better known as the Queen of Crunk, started her music career as a part of the female rap trio Da Kaperz. They dropped an independent album in 1998 which featured Ludacris (“before he was Ludacris”), Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat, and Kurupt, among others. After touring to promote the album, however, the group disbanded. Rasheeda headed back to the studio as a solo artist and recorded “Do It” with Pastor Troy, a huge record that attracted “crazy attention” from major labels. Her label, D-Lo, signed a joint venture deal with Motown in 2001 and released her album, Dirty South. “Motown was just getting their feet wet with hip-hop. From a career standpoint, it didn’t take me to the point I anticipated,” Rasheeda admits. “I learned a lot, though, and it was a good experience.” When her deal with Motown fell through, Rasheeda once again headed back to the lab as an independent artist and recorded “Vibrate,” landing her a single deal with Jive Records and a remix with labelmate Petey Pablo. Rasheeda has proved that she can hold her own in the male-dominated “crunk” arena. “People started calling me the Queen of Crunk ‘cause I was hangin’ with the big dawgs,” she theorizes. “I’m not just a crunk rapper, I’m an artist. I have lyrics for days. But crunk is just a high level of energy, it has nothing to do with being a lyricist or not. I got the name Queen of Crunk from doing these shows and giving 200%. I’m not just standing on stage with a miniskirt on looking cute.” - Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com |