'He Inspired Me To Do More And Own Things': Musician Rapsody On Nipsey Hussle, Kendrick Lamar, & Queen Latifah
(CBS Local)-- There are a lot of good MCs out there and Rapsody wants to be in that conversation.
She doesn't want to be labeled a great female MC, but instead one of the best on the mic. The North Carolina-born rapper drops her third studio album on August 23 called "Eve" and all of her songs are named after inspirational black women like Michelle Obama, Serena Williams, and Maya Angelou.
Rapsody has worked and toured with artists like Kendrick Lamar, Queen Latifah, and Mac Miller. She also has learned a lot from people she watched from afar like the late Nipsey Hussle.
"Nipsey was humble. He not only took his art to entertain, but also to teach," said Rapsody in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "Me and him had the same way... we took the marathon route. We slow built our fan base, we slow built our brand. We didn't compromise our art because we wanted to build legacies. He wanted to be a businessman to give back to his community. He inspired me to do more and own things and own your art."
One of the highlights for Rapsody during the construction of her new album was collaborating with Queen Latifah.
"I was in Atlanta with T.I. and I got a text that Queen Latifah is about to call you," said Rapsody. "She has this ill Jamaican voice and is real down to earth. She is fun and makes it comfortable. She is one of my biggest inspirations. I went to to LA and I went to her house and we worked on it together. She told me stories about her and Tupac. It was a really dope time."
Rapsody has been nominated for a Grammy Award twice and one of the biggest believers in the 36-year-old from the jump was the 13x Grammy winner Lamar.
"Kendrick is a genius," said Rapsody. "You can tell he is still the young kid from Compton that likes to joke. He likes to laugh and fun, but at the same time you get the genius out of him. He really thinks about the music and is creative. We only worked on one song together, but we've emailed back and forth. Whenever I need advice, he is the one I hit first. He is straight forward and patient with me."