Femcee of the Week: Tiye Phoenix

Tiye Phoenix is more than just an emcee. She’s a singer, producer, pianist, and teacher. As she mentioned she’s also a walking history lesson. While talking to her I got to learn more about her music and talents but, I also learned a tad bit about ancient Khemitic history. If you listen to her music I’m sure you’ll learn something too.

Where are you from?

I was raised throughout my childhood in Baltimore and I moved when I was 24.

Where did you move to?

LA.

How is the Hip Hop scene there in comparison to Baltimore?

The underground Hip Hop scene in LA has always been progressive and experimental.

Are you still in LA?

No, I’ve been on the East coast for 10 years. I only lived in LA for 4 years and I’ve been back ever since.

How long have you been rapping?

Professionally, I’ve been rapping for almost 20 years. I’ve been doing creative writing and poetry since grade school.

Did you start out with poetry and then later crossed over to rapping?

Yes.

Are you currently signed to a label?

Yes, BabyGrande. They put out my album.

How would you describe your music?

It’s Hip Hop music with a lot of different elements in it. It’s raw uncompromising lyricism with diverse musicality.

You just dropped a new album titled, “Half Woman Half Amazing”. Can you tell me about that?

Yes, it came out May 2009. It’s a take on Nas’ lyrics. Nas has a song called “Aint Hard to Tell”. It’s a classic song off his debut album, Illmatic. He has a line in there where he says, “Half Man Half Amazing.” Obviously I changed the man to woman to make it more appropriate to me. It actually speaks towards the balance of your identity as a person. Your emotions vs. your logic. Your human side vs. your so-called super human side. Your assertiveness vs. your nurturing side. All the songs support that concept. So every song is a reflection of some attribute of who I am as a person. They support the concept of my woman side and the so-called amazing side. The amazing side is like the super human side. The super human songs reflect my lyrical powers and braggadocio.

That album just came out in May. Are you working on something new or are you just trying to push that album?

Right now I’m promoting that. All of my performances and everything are geared towards that. I host a show called The Thursday BBQ on Beatminerz Radio (4-6pm www.dabeatminerz.com).

Have you always done radio or is this new for you?

I did radio once a long time ago but, this is visual as well as audio. So you can watch the show as well as listen to it. It’s in Ustream.

What’s the story behind your name?

Tiye was the name of a pharaohist. She was Tutankhamen’s grandmother. She was known for her contribution in the Khemitic society. She did a lot of remarkable things creatively and politically. She rose from so-called humble beginnings. She’s definitely one of the more respected people in Black women in antiquity. It’s just great to take the inspiration of her name and to take that energy on.

A phoenix is a bird that makes its appearance throughout history. It’s known for its song. It goes into fire and emerges from fire even more young and fortified than it did before it actually went into the fire. The phoenix is symbolic but, it renews itself every 7 years. It makes an appearance in Greek and Khemitic history.

Tiye and the phoenix are both Egyptian legacies. So I put them together. With that name I represent ancient Egyptian culture. I believe it’s the cornerstone of Western civilization. It’s been many scholarly debates about rather or not that’s accurate. Upon my personal study and research I’ve always believed it to be accurate. For that reason I feel like there is some aspect of me with that name that allows me to be a walking Black history class.


You mentioned Tiye coming from humble beginnings. Would you consider yourself to be a humble person?

I’d like to think that I am. My personality has evolved over time as I’ve grown into my womanhood. That’s how things are suppose to be. The more you learn and the more you experience in life you’re not suppose to have the same identity. You can pretty much stay the same with respect to your good qualities but, the more you learn you’re suppose to progress.

One thing I can say about myself is that over time I’ve learned to be more comfortable with who I am identity wise. I know humility is a much respected quality. I definitely believe that at all times I should try to maintain humility.



That’s a good quality to have. In Hip Hop people tend to boast a lot or have really huge egos. That’s just a huge part of Hip Hop.

Braggadocio is a huge part of Hip Hop. It sometimes is a requirement because emceeing has been so battle oriented.

Would you consider yourself a battle rapper or are you more so a lyricist?

I don’t knock people who compete lyrically but, I just place my emphasis more on songs. I feel that has the greatest impact on people. Not saying that battling is not a respected art form because it is but, my emphasis is just on songwriting. I try to be as good as I can in song form.

On one of your tracks, “Just Go” you refer to rap being womanless. Can you expand on that?

I feel like it’s underrepresented with respect to female presence but, at the same time I don’t believe that it should just be this flux of emcees because they happen to be women. It’s kind of a double edged thing. I think quality and innovation is more important than gender. I’d rather have one or two females who are in the spotlight in Hip Hop that are bringing new ideas than to have 25 females who are doing something I’ve already seen.

Besides rapping is there anything else that you do?

I’m a pianist; a grand champion beat battle winner, and a producer. I produced the title track on the album.

When did you start playing the piano?

I started taking lessons when I was 7. You can go on YouTube and see me play. I don’t do it in every show but, there have been a few shows where I’ve decided to play the piano.



You already mentioned that you have a radio show that you do every Thursday. Besides that do you have any upcoming performance shows?

Yes. I’m performing at Drum the Evolution of Music Showcase on the 31st in Manhattan. I’m also performing at the Rock Steady Crew anniversary this Sunday. August 6th I have an all female showcase.


Do you have anything else you’d like to add?

Regardless of the criticism that Hip Hop receives I am optimistic about the future because I feel that the world itself is changing. Some people think change is scary but, I think it’s great. I think we’ll see those changes that happen on a global front be reflected nicely in Hip Hop.

You can learn more about Tiye Phoenix at www.myspace.com/tiyephoenix and www.Twitter.com/tiyephoenix