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Where are you from?
Jah-Jah-New York. Brooklyn.
How long have you been rapping?
Jah-Jah-I guess I took it serious
in 2000. I was always hanging out with real hard-core
underground rappers from Brooklyn that's how it is. I
was so encouraged meeting Redman and The Beatnuts, Redman
called me out in his song back in 97, "Jah Jah I go Ca
Ca," so I have these people, people encouraging me. I
was never really feeling it because I never felt like
breaking boundaries. We had only had Vanilla Slice. I
thought it was going to be ridiculous, I started getting
phat with it and I turn around and Chubb Rock is giving
me beats and all of my friends are producers and I met
with a lot of people. It just started coming and that's
how it was. Hip-hop was my life. It saved me from a lot
of things. I had always done poetry. I never was like
"I'm going to be a rapper." I take photos also. Its more
like just key shit. I'm in galleries, but as far as commercial
work, my style is more like underground I shoot mosh pits
and boxers. I boxed for three years. I'm very cool with
gangstas and shit… people with guns. It's very bling culture.
I'm very into that.
Has any of your photography work been printed in magazines
or anything?
Jah-Jah-Sure, sure. I've been in
magazines. I was in a magazine called Arena. They
put in four pages of my pictures and put in there that
I was a rapper. It was right next to Pharrell. It was
a huge spread. I've been in a lot of European magazines
and Brazil.
Tell me more about Brazil.
Jah-Jah-I blew up in Brazil, I wasn't
getting any play here and the underground scene here in
New York is very masculine. They hang around in a lot
of possee's. I was getting passed around, it's like everyone
wanted to have me as their token mascot. Its like nobodies
talking for real anyway. They don't want to give you beats
and they want to charge you at the last minute. The production
was not that original. I dealt with some kids in the projects...One
of my friends was encouraging and we would hang out in
the streets but you couldn't take those beats to the studio
cause he had an attitude problem. He wasn't at that level.
I said I have to make moves. I had this friend in Brazil
and I said "Yo, do you have hip-hop people there," and
she was like, "No, I only have rock connections," and
she had big rock connections. I said, "No you gotta have
hip-hop." She thought about it and she knew this guy who
was the biggest promoter of hip-hop in all of Brazil.
I had already did an album and I was on Texas Justice.
I already had a little physical thing. She brought him
my CD and there were all these old school beats and the
guy got all happy and sent me three producers from Brazil.
You have such an incredible flow. You are a great rapper
and have such a great style. Why do you think more people
don't know about you?
Jah-Jah-Because there is a lot of
hate in the industry. In Brazil, I am real famous there.
I can get booked easy there. I'm big in Europe. I'm doing
crowds of 2000 people. I don't want to be caught up in a
particular scene. I'm really interested in being an artist.
I'm an artist and I'm from New York. Plus, it's a very sexist
industry. There are only about 5 or 6 girls that are out
there. Definitely, a little racist. I'm not racist. I love
black people. I'm black inside. I have friends boyfriends,
everything, I tell them I'm black I stand up for black people
I'm very pro human rights. I will stick somebody in their
face with this. They may be a little scared of me because
I'm a little hardcore but at the same time they know the
truth but they are taking white girls from all over the
world and trying to train them. Aint nobody got skills like
me. I got over 200 songs. I got friends on the streets.
I got respect on the street. They call me the female Tupac
here and I'm in Brooklyn I'm where Biggie and Lil Kim came
from. People who know know. People say it takes 7 years
before an artist is signed. I'm not really worried.
I'm a white girl. They may be a little afraid to put
on a white girl. What I'm trying to do is now build a
buzz on MYSPACE. I've been on the charts maybe 3 months
now. People will see that and you cant deny talent. Really
its about what is great about America. The truth will
prevail and it is power to the people. There are possibilities
that an artist can explore. If they want to go to top
unsigned artists they are going to see them. Top 10 hip-hop
or regular unsigned I'm usually in the top 20. I'm getting
the hits and people are starting to know that I exist.
Ultimately, The truth will tell people have their own
rights to decide if they like this music. It's not what
the video is telling me. It's not what the radio is telling
me.
Dorrie Williams-Wheeler is an author and the webmaster
For Thabiz.com.
Jah Jah interview copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler,
and Thabiz.com 2006
Visit Dorrie on the web at http://www.sparkledoll.com/
or add her as a friend at MYSPACE.
Jah Jah interview may not be reprinted, copied or distribute
without permission. You may link to this interview.Interview
copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, thabiz.com February 2006.
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