Radar Band Of The Week No:60 – Kreayshawn

Kreayshawn

Weed, a million-record deal and beef with Nicki Minaj – meet hip hop’s new ‘it’ girl.

When she isn’t dissing Nicki Minaj and pissing half the world off with her very existence, Kreayshawn likes to go cruising round the block with La Roux. “When that song ‘In For The Kill’ came out people were like, ‘What is this?’” the Oakland rapper tells Radar. “I’d burn it for ’em on CD so we could go riding through the ’hood with La Roux turned all the way up with, like, hella bass. It was crazy!”

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Born Natassia Gail Zolot in 1989, Kreayshawn will have you either seething with rage at her misguided attempts to appear ‘street’, or rolling down your windows to undeniably smoking joints like ‘Bumpin Bumpin’ and the Minaj-trashing ‘Gucci Gucci’ (“Bitch you ain’t no Barbie, I seen you work at Arby’s”).

As part of the White Girl Mob with homegals V-Nasty and DJ Lil Debbie, Kreayshawn is far from being your typical MC. She’s the film-school graduate daughter of Elka Zolot, ex-guitarist in San Fran surf-punk outfit The Trashwomen.

“I didn’t notice how much of an influence my mom was until I started doing interviews,” she says, laughing. “Now everyone asks where my music comes from and I’m like, ‘My-mom-this and my-mom-that’ and I’m like, ‘Oh shit, she was really the one who really influenced me to make music.’”

As well as harbouring a love of cats that makes Bethany Cosentino look like a lifelong ailurophobe (take a wild guess), ’Shawn is currently plotting her debut for Columbia – with whom she signed for no less than a million bucks a few weeks back. She wants to “keep it classy”, and will do this by reducing her phenomenal weed intake.

“Before the first couple of interviews I did I’d be smoking a whole blunt and then all of a sudden I’d be like, ‘Oh shit, yeah, the interview.’ But I’d just ramble on so it’s not a bad thing really. I just can’t be running around going ‘I wanna get some food’ or ‘I’m tiiiired!’ anymore. This is my job now, baby!” And what are you gonna do with all the money you make, Kreayshawn? “I’ve been thinking about this actually. I’m gonna build a centre for kitties!”

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Alex Denney

Need To Know

For Fans Of: Odd Future, MIA

On The Road: Kreayshawn plays London’s Old Blue Last, September 14th

Buy It Now: ‘Gucci Gucci’ (out September 12)

Believe It Or Not: Kreayshawn is a Spice Girls fan and used to pretend to be Ginger Spice at school.

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