The Rapsody Poetic

Don’t blink or they’ll be gone. It’s an epidemic that’s been plaguing us for quite a while. We sometimes forget about it but I’d like to draw your attention to a new development, a possible solution to the problem.

What’s the problem?

An endangered species

A species whose numbers are so few, or are declining so quickly, that the animal, plant, or other organism may soon become extinct.

Female rappers were, for a while, in that number. I’m not so stupid to say that deforestation or not enough food is the reason for it.

It has been mostly because the industry has been dominated by the male of the species, an ever changing landscape, and females being pigeonholed into just rapping about sex and suggestive things. For a long while I believed they were a hair’s breath away from extinction.

Then, almost as if by osmosis, they returned.

Nicki Minaj, Kreayshawn, Jean Grae. They were women on the rise hoping to bring it back into the court of the ladies.

Another member of that movement is the North Carolina rapper Rapsody.



Rapsody was born Marlanna Evans on January 21. She is currently signed to 9th Wonder’s Jamla Records imprint under his It’s A Wonderful World Music Group (IWWMG).

She began her career as a member of North Carolina based hip-hop group Kooley High. Rapsody then embarked on a solo career in 2008.

Despite the fact that she’s only been active about three to four years the artists she has worked with reads like a who’s who of amazing talent.

Thus far she’s worked with Erykah Badu, Mac Miller, Estelle, Jean Grae, Phonte, Marsha Ambrosius, Raekwon, Murs, Geechi Suede (of Camp Lo), Big Daddy Kane, Rah Digga, Buckshot, Big K.R.I.T., Kendrick Lamar, Freeway, Statik Selektah, DJ Premier, and super producer Nottz.

Quite a list.

Rapsody’s first significant career breakthrough came with the release of her mixtape Return Of The B-Girl. She continued to build up a fan base with the release of Thank H.E.R. Now. This mixtape displayed her storytelling skills as she drew from personal experiences.

Her next project was For Everything, released on November 15, 2011.

Rapsody’s style tends to favor intricate rhyming patterns, metaphors, and wordplay. She cites not only 9th Wonder but Jay-Z, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, and MC Lyte as the biggest influences on her music.

As with so many her debut studio album is coming this year. This young woman is a part of the movement that’s bringing women back to the forefront of hip-hop.

Let the Rapsody continue…