BOMBCHELLE & KWEEN KASH by Dirty Angel

HEAVY ON THE GRIND

(The sequel to “Young & Hungry”)

Featuring BOMBCHELLE & KWEEN KASH

By Khalid Strickland a.k.a. Dirty Angel

Their numbers were once plentiful, but over time the female rapper has become a rare species.  Today’s most prominent femme emcees are known more for their court cases, acting careers and love lives than they are for their music.  Others have languished in record label purgatory, or loomed in the shadow of an obligatory male rapper.  How many rap crews have had a “first lady” who was more of a novelty than an actual artist? All is not lost, however.  Jean Grae, a highly-skilled, incredible emcee who just happens to be female, has earned respect and garnered a huge following.  Remy Martin got wise and finally went the independent route, signing with Sure Shot Recordings to release her long-awaited debut album.  And now there are promising young draft picks entering the game, determined to leave their mark.

Bombchelle, a promising first round draft pick.

Bombchelle, hailing from Somerset, NJ, doesn’t just rhyme.  She also guides her own career as manager, promoter and booking agent.  Bombchelle’s constant grind lead to her debut album, “Blowin Up”, selling over 15,000 copies and counting.  DJ Juanito (of New York’s #1 radio station, Hot-97) hosted Bombchelle’s recent mixtape, “Time is Tickin”.  To top things off, ‘Chelle’s well-penned lyrics are filled with substance; her song “Get Tested”, for instance, details the consequences of unprotected sex.  However, she never comes off as being preachy.

“I would describe myself as a reality rapper,” elaborates Bombchelle during our recent interview.  “I mean, it took me a long time to come up with that ‘cause I was going back and forth.  Like, my music is very conscious and not all of it is positive.  But there’s a message in it, no matter what.  There’s a message that I’m trying to inspire people with.”

 The rap music that gets played by the mainstream media is just a fraction of hip-hop’s vast terrain.  “Under-the-radar” artists like Bombchelle bring a vitality and artistry that most en vogue rappers lack.   

Says ‘Chelle, “There’s a lot of great independent artists and unsigned artists that have a message, and it’s just the mainstream that’s lacking that; because underground is not lacking that.  When I go to shows and I meet people and I network, I meet a lot of real people that are passionate about what they’re doing.  I think the major industry is lacking that passion right now.  And that’s why it’s going so commercial and so going so away from where hip-hop originally started from.”

Kween Kash, a prospect with plenty of upside.

From the mighty borough of Brooklyn, rising star Kween Kash has been doing what it takes to ensure that her name rings bells.  I witnessed Kween’s hunger first hand when she performed at The Remote Lounge in L.E.S., Manhattan not too long ago.  While the video for her song “New York Bounce” played on the lounge’s many television monitors, Kween Kash rocked the packed house with her unique hip-hop, reggae and soca fusion.  Lively and confident onstage, Ms. Kash has conquered tough crowds at NYC’s Club Pyramid, Speed and Soul Café; she’s also ripped Miami’s Hard Rock Café.  A fixture of the NYC underground rap scene, Kash serves as host for many hip-hop events and competitions.  Kween Kash made an appearance on MTV’s popular show TRL to spit a verse for rapper/actress Eve, whose response was favorable.

During our interview I ask how important her live performance is, to which Kween Kash replies, “It’s very important to me.  Not a lot of people do (live shows) anymore and that’s the essence of hip-hop.  So you can’t even really call those people emcees who rely on dancers and hype-men and people to help them do what’s supposed to be their job.  I go up there with myself, my microphone, my ad-lib track and I give it 100 percent.  And that’s what a real emcee should do and that’s what I consider myself so the live performance and the show is very important.  I’m very high energy anyway and I’m very serious about my music so I need that to come across when I perform.  I always make new fans when I do that.”

Kash recently appeared in The New York Daily News after participating in the Hip-Hop Culture Center’s rap marathon, where the rappers attempted to drop bars for 24-hours and break the world record for continuous rapping.  The only catch: no profanity in the bars.  Verses without curses aren’t a problem for the Kween.

“Initially when I started rapping I would curse and used some vulgarity here and there just to express myself,” says Kash.  “But as I started doing it more and got a little older I realized I didn’t have to do that at all or as much as I did.  Really you have no idea how many kids listen to you. If I can just filter (my rhymes) just a little bit so it’s positive messages getting through to them, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

What happened to the days of fierce female emcees like MC Lyte, Antoinette, Lin Que, Queen Latifah and Boss? What happened to the women who held hip-hop down along side the men?  Although there are some female rappers in the game currently making noise, their numbers are small and record labels aren’t exactly signing them in droves.

“I don’t think it’s just hip-hop, I think it’s just in general,” Bombchelle explains bluntly.  “If you look in politics and things of that nature, there’s always fewer women.  Women… we’re still a minority in the workforce, period.  We’re definitely getting up there.  But, that’s still an issue.  Why is there no female rappers out there that are selling platinum records every year? It just doesn’t make sense to me ‘cause I meet plenty of women out that are doing their thing.  I’m glad you addressed that issue because a lot of people don’t.  I’m definitely trying to open the doors for other women once I get where I want to be.  That’s part of my mission too ‘cause I’m a single parent and I want to inspire women; whether you have kids, whether you have no kids, if you have a drive and you have motivation you can make anything happen.”

 Kween Kash echoes Bombchelle’s sentiments, adding, “In general, society has really become separated by gender.  It’s really weird.  I can’t say ‘cause from what I’m hearing, it’s a few key people that’s not putting us on, so to speak.  I know there’s a demand for us but… if that person who’s in charge of playing the videos won’t play my video, then I don’t know really what to say or what to do.  I think the guys in the industry need to speak up too because don’t you want females in the industry with you? There’s enough (gay rapper) rumors going around.  So you know… get the sisters in there, we deserve a piece of the pie too.”

For more information on Bombchelle, visit www.myspace.com/bombchell.

For more infomation on Kween Kash, visit www.myspace.com/kweenkash and www.kweenkash.com.  

For more stories and work by Dirty Angel visit www.supremearsenal.com and www.myspace.com/blackpacino.