the Revolution of FRESH...: don't MISS out..

peace all! hello again, another week, another female to tell y'all about that's rippin mics! so much for all the where are all the female MC's questions, which btw..annoy the h*ll me..lol! because every week I write about them, and I rock shows with them, and build with them. so ENUFF. from this point forward, no excuses. if you don't know, find out. and while you're finding out, check out this one:

shouts out to all my folks in Chi-Town because she's one of your own! earning the name “Hip Hop” in high school, NeMISS has gone on to be honored as one of 300 international young women by the official New York’s Hip Hop Association. she has since toured with Hip Hop legend Dres of Black Sheep and opened for The Roots and Common, rocking everywhere from BB King's, NYC to House of Blues, Chicago to touring Latin America and Europe as a vocalist and dancer with Purelements.

The Song "Doin It", off the 2007 release of Subatomic Sound System "On All Frequencies" on which she was the co-writer and feature for such works as "NO Static" and "Doin It", was picked up by A&E Network and appeared on the syndicated show Dog the Bounty Hunter. Dog The Bounty Hunter | Crime Don't Pay | A&E Network | Subatomic Sound System

The pre-cursor to the "On All Frequencies" project was the 2005 NeMISS release of the Bottomline EP, which got her noticed by Okayplayer, AllHipHop.com, and other urban label interests, including Asylum Records.

this past summer NeMISS introduced herself to NY Hip Hop Community that didn't already know by rocking Lyricist Lounge, hosted by Jeru the Damaja and including performances by A-Alikes, Eternia, Duo Live and more, AND crushed Sputnik in Brooklyn in early September with MC Lyte, Jean Grae, Eternia, True Daley and Collette. She's also currently working with Daru Jones, Chris Rob, producer Richard Jame Goose (producer of Menya and Nyle Emmerson) on a mixtape and promoting her newest latest, Turn It Up.

so this sista on her grind took some time out to answer the few questions I had for her:

me: as a creative spirit what inspires you to write rhymes?

NeMISS: I like being able to play on words rhythmically, paint a picture when I write a rhyme, playwright when I write a rhyme and so create a scene for my audience when I write a rhyme. Such as life .... it is full of characters and actors and drama, tragedy, triumph and war and love and so thats the inspiration.... I aspire to be that woman that Stevie Wonder talked about in"Rocket Love" when he said "A female Shakespeare of her time, with looks to blow Picasso's mind" I mean if looks blew Picasso's that means that she wasn't pretty. That means she was complex and abstract and intresting.... the art God created within the journey of life has inspired me to reflect that; it inspires me to write rhymes about relationships, love and the message that God wants me to give to the masses.

me: in your opinion, have you ever felt any sort of discrimination b/c you're female? in other countries you've traveled to?

NeMISS: My travels to Europe and Latin America were brief in scope and no I never felt discrimination, if anything those experiences were at most professional. I think in El Salvdor I was exoticized, there are very few black people in San Salvador the capital so I would walk in their mall and they would ogle, but the people were warm, I mean really warm. I have never encountered such a warm people. Its a country that deported or expedited all the black people in the early twentieth century. From that stay it was hard to tell. The rap game in the states however is the opposite, Ive encountered sexism on every level almost 75% of the time when dealing with men in the rap game but I wanna give the brothas and my vanilla brother too a break, I have met some good men doing what I do as well. I don't like to focus on that, so much now I just want work on what I can do to break the barrier, and that is to continue to step my game up as an artist to be the best artist that I can be. Its like Racism, it will always be there...the struggle continues.

Nemiss at the Lyricist Lounge

me: what would you say or what advice would you give to other young women that want to do what it is we do?

NeMISS: A couple years back I rocked SOB's sharing the bill with Jean Grae for this show. I was psyched like Jean Grae! so I go up to her and I'm like i just wanna say respect, I love your flow, rah rah rah sis boom ba but less like a cheer leader groupy and more like a colleague, she just kinda accepted the love and rubbed me on my back...I knew what it meant then vaguely... but now fast forward three years later and I know exactly what it means...she was kinda saying you don't know what you getting into yet...and I didn't this shit is a beast its taking everything materially, spiritually and its all on the altar, the sacrifice. it means you really gotta love this what you do, its an uphill battle and no body is givin handouts. My advice to any young woman trying to do this and what I've learned is plant your seeds and keep it moving don't wait on Nobody, if I can be frank especially do not wait on a man....I repeat do, not, wait, on, a, man, to do anything for you! there are brothers out there willing to help and I give them much much props but be very careful. If you don't know the business LEARN! Also the business can be and usually is very personal, very, very personal. How you gel with someone means everything. Don't burn bridges and if for some reason you do keep it movin. Most importantly treat your career seriously, make goals short term and long. Even if you have one, pretend like you don't have a manager...I repeat PRETEND LIKE YOU DON"T HAVE A MANAGER or else they will be a crutch...nobody has your interest at heart like you and if for some reason they slip and you are not on point you will slip. Ask yourself not what what other people can do for you, nobody can do this alone, but go the extra mile with what you can do for yourself. Fight insecurity and fear and stay disciplined in your craft...there's more but tha'ts the gist...Oh yeah accept where you're at don't beat yourself up and still aspire to be greater than you were yesterday. Where you're at is where you are supposed to be and so what you have accomplished so far. Yeah.

me: what do you want to be remembered for?

NeMISS: This question is heavy. Its heavy because it makes me think about myself as finite and mortal...so thinkin about the end, but yet the legacy that's infinite. Honestly all I can tell you is the thing that leaves the impression on people while I'm here is my ability to captivate one person. When I rock I speak to one person and move the whole. My life relationships with people in my real life situation...is funny, I mean impersonal, sometimes to people that mean the most to me, I don't always let them in, if you have seen all the facets of me, you are someone that I trust wholeheartedly and I can probably count those people on half of-a-hand, but when I expose myself to the audience I try to create a personal relationship when I'm on stage. I wanna leave a legacy of touching individuals and allowing them to touch me through our sharing of the human experience.

dope. that's what it is. just dope. and if you wanna see and experience that connection and you're in NYC, NeMISS is one of the incredible women who will be rockin the She's So Fresh Showcase on November 5th, along with many more incredible sistas in Hip Hop!

now I have to take a moment to shout out all the peeps that are in ATL this weekend for the A3C Hip Hop Festival! especially because of the all day event: Women in Hip Hop that's featuring daytime activities from noon – 9 p.m. that are free, open to all ages and include youth workshops, panel discussions with: Professor Griff of Public Enemy on misogyny in Hip Hop, Women in Hip Hop Business with Stacey Epps, Tiye Phoenix and more; and a screening of the film "All the Ladies Say"! and we haven't even gotten to the performances! it's gonna be FRESH! so if you're in Atlanta this weekend, support Hip Hop support independent Hip Hop, and definitely support Women in Hip Hop!