KREAYSHAWN
As one of the most unique voices on the American hip-hop scene, Kreayshawn like many artists of her generation owes her success to a YouTube video gone viral. The 21-year-old female rapper was born in San Francisco, California, as Natassia Zolot to a teenage single mother and lived in some of the roughest sections of the city. When her mother moved in with an Oakland boyfriend who worked as a DJ when Natassia was she was 10-years-old, the young artists began to experiment with the boyfriend's turntables, mic and drum machines to delve into her hidden musical talent. It was here that Natassia would develop her unique skill of creating her own beats, freestyling and working with unique melodies to craft her own version of hip-hop.
After dropped out of high school at the age of 16, Natassia signed up for Job Corps, a training program that landed her a GED and a full-time job at IKEA and soon began to save up for a laptop and a camera. Due to her connections on the internet and a brief stint at The Berkeley Digital Film Institute, Natassia hooked up with DJ Woogie, who has worked with Soulja Boy. He mixed her first mixtape, Kittys & Chopppas, for free and Natassia decided on Kreayshawn as her stage name.
It was during these recording sessions that Kreayshawn laid down the track for "Gucci Gucci," which would become an internet sensation. After being online for only eight days, Kreayshawn's first single would garner more than one million hits and soon attracted the attention of major record labels. After two weeks, she would sign a major recording deal with Columbia Records and began working on her first studio release.
Kreayshawn's first album was released on September 14, 2012, dubbed Somethin' Bout Kreay. Although the record would only climb to No. 112 on the Billboard 200, the release was critically acclaimed and produced plenty of interest in the rap and hip-hop community. With the new singles "Breakfast (Syrup)" featuring 2 Chainz and "Go Hard (La.La.La.), Kreayshawn created her own refreshing blend of throwback hip-hop combined with modern influences to create something wholly unique. Hot off the heels of her first release, Kreayshawn has become a very in-demand artist to work with and has a long list of collaborators who she will be working with over the coming years and a huge legion of fans eagerly anticipating her next album.