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November 2, 2007 10:14 am
Since wowing audiences at last spring’s SXSW music festival with their special blend of Southern-style rhymes and booty-shaking, throwback, electro club beats (courtesy of British producer David Alexander), Yo Majesty is popping up on cool-hunting radar screens nationwide. When you factor in their unique sound, outrageous live performances (they’re notorious for ending their sets topless), and the fact that the duo are lesbian rappers in a historically heterosexual, male chauvinist industry, you’d be lying if you said you weren’t intrigued. Straight outta T-Town (i.e., Tampa, Florida), Shunda K and Jwl B. hold court here, enlightening us on how they’re reinventing hip-hop and why the fashion world is going to be the next to join their royal cavalcade.
With so many different ways to classify your music—from rap and R&B to rock and gospel—how do you describe your distinctive sound?
Shunda K: We bring the truth, not this bubblegum crap that you hear on the radio—and the kind of response we get is, “Man, that was refreshing.”
Jwl B.: We started this genre of music—sonic hip-hop. We are the queens of punk rock, rap, rock ‘n’ roll, and soul.
Your live shows are becoming somewhat notorious for their, um, showmanship. How would you describe a typical Yo Majesty performance?
SK: It’s just about the people. They come expecting to see something, to experience this freedom, and we give them insight, encouragement, and a chance to loosen up a bit. By the end, we got people on stage, taking their clothes off, and sweating.
And you guys have been known to partake in this “freedom” every once in a while, I hear.
JB: Yeah, but it’s not conscious at all—I don’t have anything pre-planned, like “tonight I’m gonna take off my shirt.” That’s just the way I get out my pain, I let it all out on the stage. And then I leave it on the stage and I feel better. It’s not to make us more famous.
As an all-female, openly gay group, do you feel like people will pigeonhole you—herald you as the new Salt ‘N Pepa, or say that you’re using your sexuality as a gimmick?
SK: If you want to compare us to Salt ‘N Pepa, well, praise the Lord! I’m honored. They’re definitely somebody I listened to. But you can’t hate on us for keeping it real—there’s so many gay people in the music industry who keep it secret just to sell a record.
JB: And we’re not a “gay group.” We’re a “professional group.” If I were doing an interview on “Oprah,” I would say, “Yes, I’m a gay woman, but I really don’t want to talk about that.” I want people to see me as a writer, as a composer, as an artist. Not “Oh, that gay black girl who shows her breasts.” I want people to be like, “Oh. That’s Jwl B. and she can bring it.”
What can we look forward to from Yo Majesty in the new year?
SK: Hopefully another single before the year’s up, and then we’ll drop our first album in the spring. We’ve also got a new song called “Hott.” It goes, “Hot, hot, hot to trot. Work it supermodel, work it.” It’s gonna be all over the runways, you’ll see.
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