I have to admit, when I first heard that you were going to become a rapper, I was a little skeptical. But after hearing you spit, I was impressed. How long have you been rapping? Well, thank you so much. I definitely appreciate the love and all the support. I actually started rapping last year, but I’ve been writing since I was like 12 years old. I used to write poems, and when I hit the age of 14 or 15, I used music as my escape. I was going through so many different things in my life at that point, whether it was love or family issues. I’ve always been doing music, but I just officially started rapping last year. What convinced you to start rapping? Were you bored with modeling? Actually, modeling for different publications and in videos was a job. It was something for me to get more exposure and get my foot in the door. Music is in my heart. Music is what I wanted to do. I look at music as a career, not a job, and it’s not that I got tired of the whole modeling thing, but it was just that time to transition. You have such a pretty exterior, but your personality seems a little less delicate. Where did that tough mentality come from, DC? Definitely DC. I came up in the hood and the hood has always been there for me, that’s why in my music, I speak so much about the hood. It’s love in the hood, and the love there is not based on money or none of that stuff. My whole persona and aura comes from that environment. You once said in an interview that you compare yourself to dudes, not females, and that you don’t idolize Beyonce; you idolize Jay-Z. If that’s true, your aura is definitely authentic. Yeah, that’s funny, and when I made that statement I was infatuated with Beyonce, but I respected Jay-Z’s movement more. Coming up, I never compared myself to other females, and I’ve always competed with dudes. Even with whips, like my first car was a ’96 Chevy Caprice, and I wanted a bubble because all the boys drove bubbles. I wanted a bubble and I wanted to paint it pink and put the 23”s on it—back then, niggas was still on 22”s. I wanted to do it bigger; I thought about 24”s, but I had to still keep it feminine. So whenever I compare myself to someone, it’s usually a male in a position of power, because that’s what I’m striving for. Are men more intimidated by the way you look or the way you act? I really don’t know, but I’m sure they are intimated by how I compete sometimes. I know it happens because I do compete, but I don’t compete in an aggressive manner to the point where niggas just can’t stand to be around me. It’s more of a mentality thing, but it’s not excessive. I can actually be around, relate to, and have better conversations with dudes than I can with most females. But of course the intimidation happens, even in the music business. Do you think people take you less seriously as a rapper because you’re known as a model and sex symbol? People are skeptical at first. Being that I did come into the game from the modeling aspect people are like, “Oh, she’s rapping? I don’t know about that.” They’re so used to seeing the sexy layouts and the softness in the pictures that people don’t think I have anything to rap about. But they don’t know where I came from, and they never heard me speak, and don’t know my story, so one of the obstacles that I’ve faced is people not believing. Has that skepticism hindered you from being able to work with some of the top notch producers or mainstream artists? Yeah, definitely. It’s hard sometimes, but at the same time I do have people in the industry who believe in me, and then I have those that don’t fuck with me. All that is part of the game, but I’m gon’ let you know that I’m gonna let me work speak for me. When I first started out, I had so many people that didn’t believe. Once I put out this mixtape and they saw that I’m really serious, now more and more people are starting to support. The more I keep working and putting out good music, it’s gonna keep increasing. How would describe your sound to someone who has never even heard you speak, let alone rap? I have my own sound. I’m not really South, but I’m not up North. I have DC swag to my music. My music is something females can [relate to]; it represents female empowerment. That’s why I called my mixtape Boss Bitches World. Everything I’m doing music-wise is a movement to me, and I represent the boss bitches. Aside from representing females, I represent the streets and the struggle. Who are you working with and what kind of projects are you currently involved with? I dropped my Boss Bitches World mixtape and I’m currently working on my
second mixtape right now. For the first mixtape, I was addressing the critics, the haters, and just basically talkin’ my shit. On the second mixtape, it’s way more original beats and I’m just ready to talk more about my life and where I came from and my story. I read that you got kicked out of the house at age 15 for losing your virginity. Is that true, and if so, how’d you get caught? Actually, that whole thing was put out the wrong way. I didn’t get put out for losing my virginity. Coming up, I had a lot of issues at home, and I was going through a whole lot at home. I had to constantly move to and from different relatives’ homes and at the time, I was staying with my aunt. My aunt found out I had lost my virginity, but I lost my virginity to my first boyfriend, my first love, my first everything, someone I really, really loved. I had to leave [my aunt’s] house because of it and go back to my mother’s house, but I never got put out for losing my virginity. Around that time, there was just so much going in around my family, and the fact they really didn’t accept me dealing with a guy I fell in love with, I decided to leave my home and move out. But I never got put out. Okay, well I’m glad you got that cleared up. And I’m not trying to dwell on negativity, but let’s talk about Nicki Minaj. The industry has so few successful female rappers, and now the two with arguably the biggest buzzes have beef. What’s up with that? Actually, that whole Nicki Minaj thing was really blown out of proportion. They recorded me while I was being asked about her in my “Lip Service” interview, and the way they put the video out they titled it, “Lola Monroe beefing with Nicki Minaj.” But the whole situation isn’t that serious, it was blown out of proportion; it ain’t no beef. Where I come from beef is taken very, very seriously, so if it was beef, niggas would know. DC has never really had a mainstream, breakout rapper. Now you’re emerging and it’s possible that the first commercial rapper from DC might be a female. Do you think that will make it harder for upcoming male rappers from DC? My city has a whole lot of talent. Wale is another artist from my city who is doing his thing. As far as me being a female, I’m gonna hold down my city regardless, but there’s a lot of talent in my city. Different artists like Wale, Tabi Bonney, Raheem DeVaughn—there’s a lot of talent in DC. My whole goal is to be the female voice, the female representation for DC and I think it’s our time now. There was a time for the South, there was a time for New York, there was a time for the West side, and now it’s time for DC. What do you do during your downtime away from the music industry? Baby, I’m working 24/7. I don’t have time to do anything else at all. This occupies so much of my time that there’s nothing else that I do, and I’m being so honest right now. There’s been so much speculation about certain asspects of your physique not being real. Do all these repeated allegations bother you, or are you just glad to keep everybody talking? Like I’ve always said, it helps get my numbers up and I don’t mind at all. If you pick my Boss Bitches World mixtape I’m actually speaking on it myself. So none of the things people say fazes me whatsoever. I know you’re a rapper now, but would you ever get back in the video modeling scene for the right amount of money? Naw, I’m done with videos unless it’s a cameo for one of my homies. If Hugh Hefner offered you some ridiculous amount to pose nude would you do it? [laughs] Only if I’m keeping my bottoms on. That’s no fun. You wouldn’t do it even for a million dollars? Naw, definitely not. When you accomplish your goals in music do you plan to pivot into movies? Music is my 100% focus, and that’s what I want to do. But I’m definitely into doing movies. I actually have a film that I just did with 50, Before I Self Destruct, and then the other film with Wendy Williams, her life story. And I’m also working on Crazy Like A Fox. What advice would you give aspiring female emcees about the industry? You gotta push harder than these niggas. You gotta go harder than these niggas because it’s way harder for a female to be taken seriously. // Words by Eric Perrin
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