q&a Rasheeda (Atlanta, GA)
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asheeda can answer to many titles: good wife, great mother and respected part time radio personality at Atlanta’s V-103. But unfortunately, successful rapper is a bullet that she has struggled to add to her resume. Her relentless grind has earned her deals with major labels like Motown and Jive, but politics and misunderstandings have prevented her from getting the best return on her investments. Now with a new vision and a joint independent venture through her home D-Lo Records and Big Cat Records, the underdog MC is finally set to release Georgia Peach. Riding off the strength of her position-switching single “Touch Ya Toes,” Rasheeda is happier than ever, independent and loving it. You’ve been on major labels most of your career. What brought about the decision to go independent this time around? I was on Jive, and we didn’t mantle the situation. The majors I’ve been dealing with, the focus wasn’t there, and they still don’t get it. I don’t have the time sit around as they play games. What are they not getting? As far as the female rapper game, the label’s focus is about what is hot at the moment. If I have a record that is hot, the minute another rapper comes along, they change the focus. They don’t realize that it takes more time to break a female artist. A lot of times, I’ve come with hot singles, but you got to put out the time and effort to make it work. What does it take to make it work? It takes a little extra everything. When you are an independent artist and you get the major label deal, the [label] needs to kick into high gear. I’ve had records with 1000 spins. Then when majors come, they say they gonna help. But they do the opposite. As a female, I need a video. I need promotion and marketing. Female rappers need our records to be worked. We need more time. What else attracted you to going independent? Nowadays, when a major scoops you and you don’t do well, you get dropped after one single. But say you sell 200,0000 units independently, you got money in the pocket. You do it on a major (and) you don’t see nothing. A lot of big artists that sell two million copies don’t even get royalty checks. A lot of a lot of independents need to learn and get their game right and make money on their own so that one day they won’t need the majors either. Have your experiences pretty much made you give up on the idea of being on a major label completely? I’m not opposed to working with a major, but the only way I’d get back with one is if we have our own dollars and we get do what we gotta do. The majors [are] in NYC. They don’t know what’s going on in the South. I’d rather do the distribution with marketing and radio myself. What do female rappers have to do to get taken seriously and made a priority? It’s just more so just getting the respect of record companies. But also on radio, if they don’t play the songs, the fans won’t know about us. Females being consistent is another thing too. It’s a constant grind and struggle. It’s only a couple females that have made it. But it can break for us. It’s hard; you have to come out right too. Do you think that female rappers still aren’t being taken seriously because a lot of other females cannot relate to most of them? Not every female is occupied with money and sex. It’s just how the ball bounces. Most rappers seem to change with the time. So you defiantly want to see someone who you can relate to. I look at it as of now the game has flipped. You have the Shawnnas, Missys and Kims who all do their own things, but as females, we look at ourselves as sexy and we want to be sexy. Not all of us are about going to the extreme to prove that, though. What causes some female rappers to bite the bullet and just go to the extreme? To each its own, real talk. It’s so hard to make it. I can understand why people go that route to make it. You always gotta go through something bad to get something good, but as a female, I gotta make my 40
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mark. It’s about females being portrayed. Period. As for me, I’m gonna be heard whether I’m talking sex or not. I can look sexy, but it’s about how I portray it. Let’s talk a little about the album. The album is called Georgia Peach. I got Akon, Nitti, Stokely, Jasper and Swin producing. And I have songs with Gangsta Boo, Diamond and Princess of Crime Mob and Pastor Troy. It’s a grown and sexy album. You’ll see the growth. You can pop it in the deck. I got songs like “See Me Naked” and I got stuff like “Every Nigga Can’t Trap.” You’ll hear the growth. “See Me Naked” is like, “Nigga, you just wanna see me naked.” All these dudes out here tricking, acting like they trying to do something, stop fronting. You doing it just because they wanna see me naked. And with “Every Nigga Can’t Trap,” one day I was in the studio and I was listening to a mix tape, and every nigga was talking about trapping. Half these niggas ain’t never seen or been in a trap. What has kept you motivated through the turmoil of your career? It seems like every time I get a bad hand, every time a door shuts in my face, another door opens up for me. But that will be a part of my history when my name finally gets big. I wouldn’t even be where I’m at right now if it wasn’t for the blows I’ve taken in the past. Other rappers look at me like I’ve really been through a lot. It’s so many fans that love Rasheeda and people don’t know about me. But if I don’t continue to work, people will never know me. But as far as I’ve gotten, it’s been because of work, so I’m not quitting. How has motherhood affected your career? My son is a big inspiration. He’ll tell me, “Mama, that’s tight,” or, “That ain’t tight.” Motherhood also helps me stay busy and focused. Plus, I get to teach my son through the music. He is really starting to get it. He’s asking is that real? Is that the truth? He likes T.I. and Jeezy and with actually meeting them, he’s luckier than the other kids because he gets to see them when they are normal. He knows not to curse too. He knows what the bad words are. But he usually listens to the clean versions. I tell him the videos are like a movie. Plus, him seeing me in the videos, he gets a clear understanding of what’s going on. Do you think other children his age understand that much of this music is fiction other than real life? I don’t think other kids are getting that understanding. We as parents we have to take the time to listen to the music and see the messages but also make sure they listening to the positive stuff to bring out. - Maurice G. Garland (Photo: M. Shawn Dowdell)