It’s often not enough to have a powerful voice in society. The most important thing is what is being done with that voice. LiL MC is a gifted bilingual Bay area-based female Hip-hop artist and coordinator of the women’s empowerment program at the Oakland-based non-profit, HipHop for Change Inc. As a rapper who has captured many people’s attention, Lil MC has used her voice as a tool for change amongst children and young people.
LiL MC teaches students from elementary to university level about female pioneers in Hip-hop and their impact on the culture. She had proven herself in the music world as a producer and competitor in rap battle contests. Her journey into the music world dates back to when she was seven, learning classical piano, and she spent her formative years mastering her sound and style. With her early exposure to music, she co-founded the quarterly all-women underground Hip-hop showcase, Queens of the Underground, highlighting the diverse female artists and entertainers ranging from rappers to poets, DJs, and MCs, amongst others.
The energy LiL MC puts into entertaining people is unmatched, and her cyberpunk world of Hip-hop music excites her core audience and fans. She possesses the unique ability to fuse different generations and genres of music to entertain her fans of different ages. Her witty wordplay, bold performances and profound lyrics have set her apart from typical rap artists in the Hip-hop scene at the moment. Her latest single, “Don’t Negotiate My Price,” was released on July 22, 2022, on all streaming platforms produced by Unlearn the World. The official video directed by Colton Coate also dropped on July 22 on youtube.
LiL MC never came from a musical family, yet she picked music up fast and naturally began to express herself musically as a little child. She learned how to play the piano by ear when she was five, and by her seventh birthday, she trained in classical and jazz piano. Throughout her childhood, she learned other instruments until things veered off course for her around her fourteenth birthday. She experienced some sexual traumas leading to PTSD and a lack of motivation in her studies and sports. She became a drug and alcohol addict, making her drop out of high school. Hip-hop rescued her thanks to her boyfriend, who helped her to see her ability to freestyle.
From the very first freestyle session she nailed, LiL MC became hooked and started to leave her audience astounded by every performance. She draws inspiration from artists like Biggie, Tupac, Lil Kim and Left Eye. Her love for rap was so strong that she presented her high school senior year exit project as a rap project. She ended up failing, and from that point, she decided that she would uplift young people in any way they needed to become the best they can be. “For many years, I was misunderstood, isolated and labeled a bad kid because of my interests and the things I loved. It is not right, and it doesn’t have to be so. I will continue to do my best to change these narratives and give young people platforms to rise and shine.
Despite failing high school and spending years as a drug and alcohol addict, LiL Mic did not give up. She found herself in toxic relationships and unhealthy sexual relations, had two abortions and had a child. Yet, she picked herself up and got accepted to USF to study psychology. Since then, she has been on an upward trajectory and has become an inspiration to many women and young girls. She hopes to continue to impact the world positively and champion initiatives that break people free from the mental prison they have been in all their lives. “Through creativity, we can become our most authentic selves and find the knowledge of self. We can also do the job of providing those that have been historically silenced with the platform to express themselves, and by being a role model for those who might be too afraid to speak out against injustice,” she said.
