Rapsody Breeding Ground Feature - The Symphony of Rapsody - Interview.

Just when the “femcee” was beginning to be labeled an endangered species emerged was Rapsody, smooth delivery, intelligent word play and wit in every song. The North Carolina Native shows another side of the spectrum that we call hip-hop with a point to prove, and she does it well. The young woman dubbed, “9th Wonder’s Secret Weapon,” is quickly becoming a favorite of the industry’s elite.

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The consistency shown by H.E.R. thus far has been recognized by some major hip-hop heavy hitters making Rapsody a common factor on the list of “Who’s Next.”

AllHipHop.com: I actually heard that your musical versions stem more from spoken word. Is that true?

Rapsody: That’s kind of how I got into it. That was my transition. Before I started rapping I was writing poetry and watching Def Jam Poetry every summer. That was just my transition into it, but I’ve been listening to hip hop since I was young.

AllHipHop.com: Who was the first person’s musical influence would you say sticks with you to this day?

Rapsody: Um, wow, I can’t remember the first hip hop record I heard, but the first person that really grabbed me was MC Lyte and that was the “Poor George” video. She was the first one that had me stuck as a kid, seeing a female do it.

AllHipHop.com: What area did you grow up in?

Rapsody: I was born and raised in the eastern part of North Carolina. I think one thing that really shaped me about growing up here is that we’re situated in the middle east coast, so we’re heavily influenced by the northeastern movement –New York, Philly, Virginia, and DC, as well as Atlanta, and Texas, and the west coast. North Carolina is big melting ? , but what was even better than that was because I had older sisters and cousins that I would be around all the time, so that’s how I got into the music because I was too young to really get it or be exposed to it by myself; I had to have somebody pass it down to me and because I was always with them or hanging with them or they would babysit me and they were always playing hip hop. If I didn’t have that, anybody passing it down to me, it would have been a different outcome.

AllHipHop.com: At what point did you take music from a hobby to a career?

Rapsody: When I went to college we started a hip hop organization and this was before I even wrote my first rhyme, but one summer we got together and we made a mix tape and that is when I wrote the first two songs I ever done. I knew music was something I always wanted to do but did I have the confidence to do it per se? No, but that was just a fun way for me to do it without being judged. This was also around the time I met 9th Wonder, so he heard those songs and said “You have a lot of potential, you can be a star, but you just have to work on this and this and this.” I think that was my turning point where I was like I don’t want to do this just as a hobby; I really want to pursue it and learn the culture and art of it and see how far I could go. I would say the fall of 2005, around 2006, was when I knew I wanted to make it my career and I started to put in work to reach that goal. Having 9th as a teacher made it a little easier.

AllHipHop.com: What kind of influence is it having someone as influential as 9th Wonder in your corner, telling you those kind of things?

Rapsody: Wow, I can’t even describe in words what that means –his status; he’s a legend. He’s made classic albums with Little Brother. He worked with Jay-Z and he has a Grammy with Mary [J. Blige]. To have someone like that tell you that you have the potential and see that light in you, it boosts your confidence and really makes you believe that maybe I really can do this because he has a love for your music and knows what to listen for as opposed to some random person on the street telling you they like your music, which I don’t take for granted, but to have someone like 9th tell you that, that’s a big boost in your confidence. To have him in my corner giving me advice on how to flow, or how to breathe, or delivery, or what to listen to to practice, it sped up my growth because he’s done it before. It’s not something I had to figure out myself which might have taken some time or I might have led myself in the wrong direction. He was like my cheat sheet in a sense. He quickly told me what to study and what I needed to do. He brought out what was in me that I didn’t know I had. It meant a lot to have 9th. It means a lot, now, to still have 9th in my corner. I can’t really describe what it is.

AllHipHop.com: What do you think is the reasoning behind so many artists having college degrees now?

Rapsody: I think everybody has a dream of going to college. It’s only natural to go to college and better your education. It’s a good experience –you learn a lot; you meet different people. Everybody should go to college, I think. That’s if you want to, you should be able to. Just growing up, for me, my older sisters went to college. I grew up watching A Different World –that made me want to go to college. I think it’s a natural thing for anybody to want to go to college to pursue a career in whatever they want to do. Do rappers necessarily have to go to college? No, but it’s a good experience and just the image of it –having a degree and joining a fraternity makes people want to go to college. Rappers are intelligent people. To do this art you have to have a vast vocabulary. You have to be good with your words. Do you have to go to college to do that? No, but most rappers and emcees, especially the ones that have long lasting careers, are smart, educated people. I just think they kind of go hand and hand.

AllHipHop.com: Thus far, what has been your favorite song that you’ve recorded?

Rapsody: Wow. There are so many. If I had to choose one, though, I’d probably have to say “Lampin’” which is on Thank H.E.R. Now. It’s produced by Eric G. That’s my favorite one so far. The beat is a crazy beat; it’s very soulful and emotional. I’m just talking about the growing pains of transitioning from a broke, independent artist to wanting to reach your goals. That’s probably my favorite one so far.

AllHipHop.com: How long did it take you to record Thank H.E.R. Now?

Rapsody: We started initially in February; we’d do a song here, a song there. My label mates were working on their projects and I didn’t want to get in their way. I’d say the last two weeks before I went on tour and two weeks after I got on tour, maybe like a month, we worked on it really hard and we banged out 12 to15 songs within that month. The rest we had done throughout the year, from February until now. It’s hard to say, but initially it’s been approximately since February.

AllHipHop.com: After the release of the project what is your main focus going to be?

Rapsody: I don’t want to say I have expectations for it, but if anything I can get from this, if it did better than Return of the B-Girl, if it reached more people, a lot more downloads, just to know that people are getting to know the brand and getting to know me as an artist and pushing the promos. Hopefully I’ll have my own tour, whether it be a college tour of east coast tour, just to hit the road and rock out, those are my two main goals.

AllHipHop.com: How was the tour with Mac Miller?

Rapsody: The tour was incredible. That was my first solo tour and being on a big tour like that, Mac is great. He’s a real humble, funny dude. That’s my family. The tour was great. Every city was sold out, just meeting new people. Everybody showed love. I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot going on tour with him as far as how to perfect my show and what his age group likes because he has a young crowd like from 11 on up. They like to have fun and party and dance. It was a great experience. I had a lot of fun. I told him I’m ready to go back on the road; I miss it now. It was great.

AllHipHop.com: Are you going to be attending some of the music conferences later in the year like A3C again?

Rapsody: Yeah, we’re working on going back to A3C and hopefully we’ll get down to SXSW again next year. We’ll definitely be at A3C. Performing? I don’t know, but I’ll be out there.

AllHipHop.com: What are your links?

Rapsody: Facebook.com/RapsodyMusic, Twitter.com/RapsodyMusic, and RapsodyOnline.com or IWWMGroup.com.