Ms. Jade

Q- How did you get into the hip hop lifestyle, and what influenced you to start rapping?

A- I grew up listening to a lot of old school Hip-Hop artist such as Queen Latifah, that’s where I got my influence from.

Q - What was the turning point that made you realize you wanted to make this your career?

A- I used to battle, when cyphers were the popular thing to do. I used to kill every battle, and that was when I knew I had something. After that I knew I could do this forever.

Q- Was the music industry at all what you expected it to be when you first started out?

A- I didn’t realize it was so much hard work and that politics came along with it. For example, doing drops with certain radio stations that may be in competition with another radio station, and having to put out certain songs because you couldn’t put out the hard stuff first.

Q- How did you get introduced to the Timberland Beat Club movement?

A - My manager, Charlie, and also Omar. They made a lot of connections for me in the industry. When we initially went to shop some beats, and went to New York I was signed to a production company. The person I was working with was friends with Jay Brown who works with Electra Records. He told Jay Brown, “I got this young girl from Philly, she’s the truth,” so we waited in the studio for about five hours. I rapped for him and he was floored. Then he said, “Missy is up stairs,” took me up stairs and I rapped for her, she called Timberland on the phone and I rapped for him. They asked me what I came for and I told them, “a deal.”

Q- When you first started under the Beat Club movement you and Bubba Sparks were the first artists to represent that label. Sparks first single “Get Ugly” was noted for representing who he was as an emcee. Some critics felt that your singles “Big Head” and “Ching Ching” didn’t fully represent your lyrical abilities. Do you agree with this, and what were your creative reasons for those singles?

A- There wasn’t a whole lot of lyrics in the song and I don’t think it represented my lyrical ability. It represented my commercial ability.

Q- It was quoted, that Bubba Sparks and Timberland said they were surprised and disappointed because the album didn’t do as well as expected. Do you feel Timberland dropped the ball on your project?

A- At the time, I didn’t think it was his fault that it didn’t do numbers and I have a strong belief that everything happens for a reason. When I put out “Philly Girl” people were checking for me, but because I took so long to release the album nobody was checking for it then. A lack of promotions and a lack of putting out different singles that could have showed my lyrical ability had a lot to do with it.

Enveonline - After that, it seemed like you remained close with Nicole Wary, Tweet, Missy and Bubba Sparks but out the clear blue we stopped hearing from you music wise. What actually happen during that time?

Ms. Jade - I never fell back from the music scene, and I still wrote and did underground material. Basically life happened when I came back to Philly, and I felt like I had to start over. There was a time I wondered if I still wanted to do this, but I never stopped writing, and I never stopped spitting. People just didn’t see me as much.

Q- What changed you mind to cause you not to give up?

A - I think God doesn’t put talent in your face to waste and I can’t just throw what I have away because things don’t happen the way I want them to.

Q- Was it your choice to not join Timberland’s Mosley Music Group?

A - No, I just haven’t talked to him in years and when he started the Mosley Music Group we weren’t speaking. He didn’t reach out to me and I didn’t reach out to him.

Q- Why do you think the industry is leaving female artists out or not giving them the same chance as male artists?

A- It seems like only one female can reign supreme at a time. It can’t be a lot female rappers and I think that’s a problem. There are tons of male artist from Wiz, Common, Kanye, Jay Z, to Jeezy that are big.

Q- What female emcees do you listen to and support?

A- I support all female artists because I know how hard it is for females. I like Missy, Shawnna, Lady Luck, and I love Trina. Right now, I’m on Lox, Jadakiss, and Styles P.

Q- We are in a new era of hip hop and a lot of major labels aren’t getting behind the artist like they use to. How do you adapt to this?

A- Independent is good for me, that means I don’t need to chase that major label around for a deal. I need to just put out as many songs and mix tapes as I can to build my fan base back up. My fans can always reach me through Twitter or Facebook. I like independent over the major labels right now.

Q- Philly has bread some great artist such as Cassidy, State Property, you, as well as many others. Is there anyone from Philly you are currently working with?

A- Chris and Free are on my mix tape. Freeway just did a show with me. I like to stay neutral and be cool with everybody as long as I can call them up and get a verse because they can always call me when they need me.

Q- What projects are you working on?

A- The premix is about to come out and then, “Straight no Chaser” is my next mix tape. I just started song writing and trying to get some R&B songs placed. I’m just trying to stay in the loop of it all.

Q- What does hip hop mean to Ms. Jade?

A - Hip Hop means everything to me. I speak the language of hip hop, I can express myself. I write it down and put it behind the beat and it shows who I am.

Follow Ms. Jade on Twitter: @Theresalmsjade

“Basically life happened

when I came back to

Philly, and I felt like I had to start over. There was a time I wondered if I still wanted to do this, but I never stopped writing, and I never stopped spitting. People just didn’t see me as much.”

“Hip Hop means everything to me. I speak the language of hip hop, I can express myself. I write it down and put it behind the beat and it shows who I am.”

“...there is a difference to rap and to have the ability to put together words that rhyme. I don’t think it’s that hard.”

NITTY SCOTT

INTERVIEW BY DESHAUN JONES & AZARR JOHNSON

Q- In Doobies X Popsicle Sticks, you talk about your first summer in the game. What was your favorite part of that summer and why?

A- The hip hop festival, I felt a part of something that was bigger than just me. I connected with the same people who inspired me to do what I do now. As a new artist, to share the stage with someone who was an influence… that was crazy. It was a beautiful day, the weather was great, I was back stage politicking with Rah Digga, Shawn Price, and Kendrick Lamar. It was a whole community of likeminded artists rocking out on a summer day.

Q- What are some emcees that inspire you?

A- I’m definitely inspired by Slum Village, they’re from Michigan and I’m from Michigan. “Fall in Love” by Slum Village is my favorite record of all time. Also, definitely Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, and Black Thought inspired me. I’m just a big fan of lyricist and real dope word smiths that have longevity. People that I was able to watch evolve overtime, grow and experiment with sound… I respect that very much.

Q- Break down the difference between a rapper and an emcee, in your opinion?

A- For me, there is a difference to rap and to have the ability to put together words that rhyme. I don’t think it’s that hard. I think an elementary school child can make a poem with words that rhyme. In order to be an emcee, a person needs the ability to “move the crowd,” to really rock the mic. I have a line about it where I say, “Easy to kill it where you’re singing alone, but can you move the crowd when the crowd don’t know the song.” That’s the truth. An emcee can get in front of a group of people that do not know his or her record and still have the people walking away amped and feeling apart of the show.

Q- How do you embody the culture of hip hop?

A- I felt like I have been able to find the balance of being able to move the culture forward with respect of the roots. Some people fell like there’s no way to do it without being outdated. You can still have respect for the values of the artist who paved the way for you and also be a part of the modern day scene. I feel like I’m able to bridge the gap. I can use my influence to carry the torch of the legacy and expose it to my generation. Lifestyle, individuality, and community are all a part of hip hop culture, before we called it a culture.

Q- As an independent artist, how are you helping the Boom Box Family move through the commercial industry?

A- I remain creative. I guess the state of hip hop leaves you with grass root options. It forces you to wear many hats, which I am open to doing; it makes me a more rounded artist. I feel like the internet did help to saturate the situation, where anyone can throw a mix tape up on “Datpiff.” The radio is completely corrupted now; it’s all driven by money. It’s like the internet still belongs to us and we take complete advantage of that. That’s what we do as the Boom Box Family, we keep it very organic. We take our time to build a solid fan base as opposed to following a trend. We want to be timeless.

Q- How does do you empower not be that “Duck” you rap about?

A- The message I want to promote to the young females is, “If you’re beautiful, that’s great. But, that’s not it and you’re not entitled to a life of riches.” I’m out here really pursuing something that not only benefits me, but others as well. I have my own business, I’m twenty-one years-old, I’m driven, and I’m not looking for a man to take care of me. I feel I can represent something for a lot of young girls. When you turn on the TV, you see all these examples of what you can be and there’s not always a positive influence out there.

Q- In previous interviews you talked about what labels were interested, but you remained independent. What made you feel uncomfortable about those labels?

A- Holding off on a label was more about making a statement for the indie side of things. I’m trying to be a barrier breaker. I fell like if I was just to start off looking for that cookie cutter formula of success, I don’t think that would make me special. I just think that would make me a part of the system. For me, to stay true to myself and to continue to empower the listeners to exercise their right to support whatever they want is more important.

Q- What is important to you about being yourself and not conforming to the industry standard of how a woman should look?

A- As a woman, we have always been subject to criticism since the beginning of time. If you go back to biblical days they talk about how a woman should conduct themselves, it’s always something that’s been debated in society. I always have to be myself. I fell that every woman should be able to be herself regardless of what she is representing.

Q- What is the BYOB project?

A- The Bring Your Own Boom Box Tour, that’s something that we are still putting together right now.

Follow Nitty Scott on Twitter: @NittyScottMc

NYEMIAH SUPREME

INTERVIEW BY DESHAUN JONES & AZARR JOHNSON

A: As a kid, riding on the bus to school, I listened to Dipset and G-Unit mixtapes. Something about it just captivated me.

Q:How did you get introduced to slowbucks, what advice did they give to you to help your career?

A: I went to high school with Bucks, we have always been cool. Since I’m from Queens, I met Slow before they were even Slowbucks, I always saw them around in the summer. They helped me get a job as an assistant to Juelz and had always encouraged me with my music. When I went to the studio they gave me space to do whatever I wanted.

Q:You were featured on some big records with Jim Jones, what did you take away from that experience?

A: Anything I want, I can have. Being able to work with someone that was a part of the dipset movement helped me realize that I need to take myself, as a solo female artist, very serious.

Q:It's a new era in hip hop, there are a lot of new acts coming out, what is Nyemiah Supreme contributing to this new era of music?

A: I’m a performer. I love to put on a show for my fans, you’ll see me dancing and bouncing around. I’m not going to just be standing and rapping your ear off, I try to bring a whole performance that will show you all I can do.

Q:What artists influence you?

A: TLC and Salt-N-Pepa, the live female rappers that would be rapping to you and still dancing. Lloyd Banks, I love how he puts his words together. Others like, Juelz Santana, Camron, and Jay-Z, the real New York artists always influenced me since I’m a New York artist.

Q: On your "Bad" mixtape you had a wide range of music from party songs to relationship songs, how will your next project differ from this one?

A: My next project is going to be a little bit more hyper. It’s called “Wow,” so be sure to look out for it. It’s going to be little bit more energetic and more live. I am really fun outgoing person and I’m going to let that show through my music this time around.

Q: How do you plan to stay ahead of the competition?

A: The same way I got into the industry, I am independent, I’ve been grinding and pushing myself in and that’s how I’m going to stay ahead.

Q: What's the hardest part about being independant?

A: When you’re backed by somebody there are more resources available to put your music, freestyles, and music videos out. I’ve been getting all the support by the word of mouth, but it is hard to have all the same resources that other artists have.

Q: How did you come up with the name Nyemiah Supreme?

A: Nyemiah is my real name, but at first I was going by Supreme because the meaning of Supreme is the upmost highest in authority. I was working with a producer named Rockwilder when I told him my real name, Nyemiah, and rap name, Supreme, he then said, “Oh, Nyemiah Supreme, “I stuck with the name from there. A: I think there is a lack of faith in female artists. The industry is so dominated by men, and when a woman comes up there is a pre conceived idea that a woman is hard to work with. There are other expenses that women will have that men don’t need, for example all the glamour is expensive. When you have to pour money into a female theres always the issue that she might not end up being worth it. Nikki proved that it can be worth it.

Q: Do you think it can be easy for a women in this industry to get notice if they are more provactive?

A: If a woman wants to rap and not be sexy she can still make it. She just has to put that in her mind that she can still do it. You have to go hard, if you don’t you’re going to get walked on by others. Just be you, and its going to work. Don’t let the idea that “sex sells” to stop you from being who you want to be.

Q: Who is an artist that you would like to work on a track with?

A: I would like to work with Nikki. She is fun and I like her energy on a track. She has an interesting sound , when it’s not just music, its art.

Q:What's next for Nyemiah Supreme other than the mixtape?

A: There will be more shows, especially outside of New York. I want to show everybody that I can rap!

Follow Nyemiah on Twitter: @Nyemiahsupreme

“...I am independent,

I’ve been grinding and pushing myself in and that’s how I’m going to stay ahead.”

Q&A with Precious Paris:

INTERVIEW BY DESHAUN JONES

& AZARR JOHNSON

Q- A few years prior, you had the chance to work with 50 Cent, how crucial was it for you to persevere while waiting for that second chance to come?

A- Naturally, as a struggling artist you get discouraged. There were times when I would quit or when I just did not want to do it anymore. Ultimately, I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t try to go all the way. Then, if it doesn’t happen, at least I tried.

Q- What was the greatest adversity that you endured during that time?

A- Sometimes feeling stagnant or the people that you’re working with are not looking out for your best interest. Also, I found it difficult to learn how to separate the good from the bad people within my circle. I try to keep positive people, with positive energy on my side, not the people that have hidden agendas. There are a lot of road blocks, haters, and a lot of people who tell me I can’t make it.

Q- Precious, what does hip-hop mean to you?

A- Everything, it’s all I know! I eat, sleep, and do everything hip-hop.

Q- What was your strongest attribute that you contribute to G-Unit?

A- A lot of us in G-Unit are from Queens, including myself. 50 and I have the same story, except mine is from a woman’s perspective. There are different struggles that I’m going through because I am woman. However, our stories coincide because we are going down the same road. I fit in perfectly and I don’t want to be anywhere else.

Q- When listening to your latest mix tape “From Paris with Love,” it was one hundred percent hip-hop. Unlike most artists, you avoided sounding commercial. Is it important for you to appear as only a hip-hop emcee?

A- I remember meeting Snoop Dogg a long time ago when I was in a club, although I’m sure he doesn’t remember meeting me. His record came on in the club and everybody was jumping to it, and this is a fifteen year-old record. I asked him how he did it and he responded with, ‘I spit from my heart.’ That’s what I did for this album, I didn’t care what people thought, nothing fake or fabricated.

Q- In the song, “Everything is Ok” you portray a lifestyle of coming from poverty to making it. What has changed for you since you have been signed?

A- A lot of things have changed. I don’t have to drive anymore, I just get in the back seat and I go. I’m not late anymore! I can’t just go out to the club anymore and chill with my friends. My lifestyle has changed, but not enough!

Q- What goals are you hoping to accomplish?

A- My overall goal is to be a boss. I want to have a label under G-Unit and Ryder Gang. I’m focused on my future and making sure I’m staying in the game.

Q- With the success of first mix tape, how do you plan to follow it?

A- I don’t feel the first mix tape was successful and I feel like I can do better, but that’s how I always feel. I’m always looking at what’s coming up next, and how I can improve. You say it’s successful, but next time I want more.

Q- What was the best advice that 50 Cent gave you?

A- He taught me the four qualities that I needed to have to be an artist; great music, stage presence, your look, and your personality. He said, ‘If you have that, you’re good.’ I just work on everything, I’m a perfectionist.

Q- Why do you think it takes a female artist longer to become successful in hip-hop, today?

A- The game has changed. Labels don’t want to work with you anymore. They expect you to come in ready without having to put in time and effort. Some of the women that come in expect to have everything served to them on a silver platter, and that’s not how it goes. I’m focused and I’m not playing.

Follow Precious Paris on Twitter: @Preciousparis

“I remember meeting Snoop

Dogg a long time ago when I was in a club, although I’m sure he doesn’t remember meeting me. His record came on in the club and everybody was jumping to it, and this is a fifteen yearold record. I asked him how he did it and he responded with, ‘I spit from my heart.’

Titles Are Played Out -Nina B.

Jesse Hagen

It’s a Hip-Hop adage that seems to be becoming increasingly more true with each passing month: every time you see Nicki Minaj’s face on something, a promotional team somewhere gives birth to the next big female rapper/pop singer/fashion icon.

To be clear, this phenomenon is generally a positive one. Hip-Hop as a whole has long misrepresented women, if and when it has attempted to represent them at all. 2012 has already seen a greater proliferation of female talent (beyond hook-singing) in Hip-Hop than any year prior, and for the masses of talented young women rhymers out there, the trend will hopefully continue onward.

That said, with any new cultural or subcultural development, it takes time to set standards and build a bustling community. Often times, the best way for such a thing to happen seems to be an organic process that sees older pioneers making way for younger talent who they help mold and shape artistically (think MC Serch:Nas, Jaz-O:Jay-Z). Such is the case with DJ Jazzy Joyce, herself a pioneering female DJ, and Titles are Played Out, a new EP from her protégé, Nina B.

The project displays some promise, but isn’t entirely cohesive. This admittedly may be more a symptom of current music media’s hyper-coverage, which scrutinizes a new artist’s every move, right down to their most mundane Tweet. Cohesively structured debuts were more common when the developmental stage of an artist happened backstage, before the curtains went up.

So yes, Titles Are Played Out, like many modern debuts, could use a bit more seasoning, but there are some noteworthy moments. “How Y’all Want It” opens things up with digital synth blips, sword-swing sound effects, and a rapid electronic pulse served over a bevy of stomping drums, which combine to form a fitting backdrop for Nina’s impressively frenetic flow. Most of the beats, courtesy of Joyce, are undercooked. However, with cheap sounding synth filters, the album sounds like it was recorded on lackluster equipment, but that doesn’t mean the production is uninspired. “Hey Girl” has a trace of bounce and jubilance that has been noticeably absent from Hip-Hop since as far back as Lupe Fiasco’s “I Gotcha.”

Throughout, Nina’s confidence in her delivery is deserved, as she makes the most of her limited production value, proving herself to be a capable lyricist. Still, her subject range is limited, and she could explore into some of her chosen topics with more depth and zeal.

Like many up-and-comers (male and female), Nina B. has not yet learned the slight subtleties and distinguishing factors that help artists transcend that intangible line from commoner to legend, and that’s all right. Female emceeing is still such an unexplored art form (especially from an album sense), that many of the hallmarks set by male counterparts have yet to be set for female rappers.

Nina boasts some undeniable talent on Titles Are Played Out, but the project also shows a need for experimentation followed by a period of refinement and definition. The important part for Nina is in scoring that initial invitation to the table. Now she just needs to make sure that for the next potluck, she doesn’t bring take-out pizza again.

29 enveonline.com/OCT 2012 MAYA B INTERVIEW: PART 2 BY AZARR JOHNSON

Q: How did you get your start in the industry?

A: My little sister is singer; she has been signed to Sony when she was fourteen years-old. She has had a couple deals on the table, her last deal which was with SRC when she was about eighteen years-old. I was in college, interning at the radio station in New York, I was more behind the scenes at that time. I didn’t really know yet that I had the ability to get in front of a camera and interview people. I was still like on my business shit, thinking that maybe I could do marketing and promotion, be on some tour shit, or manage producers. That was one of my first jobs when I came to New York, managing producers. I will never manage anybody again in my life! It’s like managing another human being is such a big responsibility, because I can barely manage myself, and then I have check somebody else who’s not going to listen to me no matter what I say. Then, I started to do DVD magazines called Fuack and it was a financial magazine just focusing on videos. Kind of like what Smack DVD and the Cocaine City’s, all those magazines. It was kind of like a big thing to have a video, so we kind of did one that focused on the entertainers, and how they got it, how they kept it, all that kind of stuff. At that time I was just a partner in and a producer. I started helping with the segments and I started being the one asking all the questions. From being behind the camera I started to develop relationships with artists, I carried over my promotions background from Lawson into New York.

When I saw people, they kind of liked me, and they would give up information easily. It was not because I was dooping them or trying to instigate any situation, but just on some real shit. Like, I don’t ever try to start any beef, I think that’s what people like that about me. I’m comfortable, but I am going to ask you what I want to know. I don’t give a fuck about what everyone else wants to know.

Anyway, that’s how I got to New York. It was a crazy, crazy ride that just kind of fell into my lap. I was always working a 9 to 5 in some sort of marketing or internet marketing job, which really helped get me prepared for the online boom. As soon as I got my online show, I knew how to syndicate. I was really one of the first people to syndicate, which means you don’t just broadcast your show on only your channel or website, you send it to everybody. It’s how you get other sites to support you and then in return you support whatever they’re sending you. I was able to develop these relationships with other artists. That whole thing gave me an edge on everybody else, who didn’t understand how to optimize their online efforts. I really knew how to optimize that shit, to where search engines would pick it up, all the big sites would pick it up. I send my shit to Media Takeout still, every show that I do on this is 50 radio gets blasted to Media Takeout and TMZ. I want my shit out there.

Q: Where is your sister now?

A: My sister actually just moved back to Miami. She was in New York this whole time and we lived together. When I first came out here, she was living with her boyfriend, she broke up with him and I broke up with my boyfriend in Boston, and then we moved in together. There was nothing else for me to do in Boston and we both just started all over again. My sister was working and wrote a lot of records for Kelis. She [Kelis] did some shady shit to my sister. It has been corrected, but it was just so blatant.

Q: Do you want to elaborate on that?

A: Kelis stole a record from my sister; it was painful for me, because it was my sister’s single on SRC back when she was signed. It was her sound and I just remember being there when she made it and it got her a deal. She sold that record to Kelis. When Kelis took the credit for writing the record and she definitely did not write the record. The album came out, and I remember my mom bought like 20 of those fucking CDs and when we looked inside, we didn’t see my sister’s name. I was in tears.

Q: Would you like to talk about the other dude that was part of the roundtable?

A: I don’t know what Big Lyte is actually doing now… we didn’t have fallout. It was just his convictions in the past that were hindering us from

Q: How did you get Hynaken to come over there and why did Rosenburg drop off?

A: Rosenburg wasn’t doing my show, he had his own show. I think itwas just too much for him. It’s hard when you know you got to wake up at 4 or 5 A.M. for work and then to also be at the G-Unit offices once a week at night. I’m pretty sure it didn’t mesh with his schedule that well. I definitely fuck with Peter Rosenburg. Hynaken came into the picture from “Truestories Radio”. I was always a huge fan of “Truestories”, they’re funny as fuck. I like Hynaken’s interview style and he has sat in on a few of the syndicate shows, he always brought a funny kind of twist to it.

Q: Do you ever run into artists that he has problems with?

A: No!!!!

Q: Angela Yee has a term, “Hoes Be Winning.” How do you think terms like this one reflect on women in the hiphop industry?

A: We are following this formula that men have created for us. They’ve made us into sex objects and we have adapted to it. That is the problem.

Q: When we talk to some of the female emcees in the game, they talked about guys who were trying to get with them. Have you had to go through a situation like that?

A: Okay, this is how it is. I’m a cool chick; I’m not a video model, I don’t look like one, I’m just a cool chick. I can watch sports, play video games, and I’m not asking for anything, I don’t feel the need to even go there. I am the queen of curving, I’m too focused on my work right now.

Q: So, you don’t messed around with anybody in the industry?

A: Yeah, I have because it’s unavoidable. I don’t make it a habit, though. I don’t fraternize with the rappers at all because they are the biggest birds of them all. You should hear how they talk about chicks! Since I’m cool with all of them, I hear everything.

Q: What was your most memorable interview?

A: God, there are so many, probably the one with Raekwon and Inspectah Deck. Inspectah Deck is such a smart individual, when we did the interview and the Wu album just came out, people were not happy with it, but he was just being completely real. Like, this is Rza album, this is what happened; I really respect when people can go all out because they want you to understand. I hate when people are just closed off, I will just be wondering ‘why the fuck are you here?’ Get yourself out there so you are known.

Follow Maya The B on Twitter: @Mayatheb

“...I really respect when people can go all out because they want you to understand...”