Eminem, the Beastie Boys, Yelawolf, Paul Wall, Insane Clown Posse, Vanilla Ice -- you've likely heard of a white guy rapper. Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliott, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, Lauryn Hill, MC Lyte -- chances are you're familiar with a black woman rapper. But white women rappers are a little harder to come by. There have been some notable ones over the years (Lady Sovereign, Northern State, and Amanda Blank, to name a few), but none that has lit up the mainstream or cracked the upper echelons of the Billboard charts. That's probably partly why the web is going nuts over its latest discovery -- a new white girl MC who isn't going to give Adele a run for her money anytime soon, but is pretty cool and you should still learn her name.
It's Kreayshawn, who was born Natassia Zolot and pronounces her nom de rap "Crishon." She's a 21-year-old Oakland native whose mom was in the punk band the Trashwomen. Until recently, she was a film student on a full scholarship who directed videos for other local rising rappers, like Lil B. On May 18th, she posted a clip for her jittery single "Gucci Gucci" on YouTube. Within the last seven days she's had love from the Fader, King Drake, and GQ. Drake direct messaged her on Twitter, and Snoop gave her a ring and invited her to the studio.
In a video interview Kreayshawn named Shakespeare and Napoleon as her favorite historical figures. She's said the first hip-hop album to blow her mind was Kool Keith's Sex Style. She's got a crew called White Girl Mob that includes her sister, V Nasty. According to her Tumblr, she likes weed, and according to her lyrics, she likes women. Last year's mixtape Kittys x Choppas was named after her two cats, Kitty and Choppa. Her track "Bumpin' Bumpin' " has a bit of a Ke$ha vibe. And that's pretty much all you need to know to thoroughly enjoy "Gucci Gucci":