When it comes to women in Midwest hip-hop, Lakeyah helps carry the torch in today's music industry — and she's proud of it. The Milwaukee native previously told POPSUGAR she discovered her love for music as a youth through singing and poetry slam, the latter being her gateway to rap pursuits. However, the "Big FlexHer" star credits her mom for introducing her to hip-hop greats like Wale, Rick Ross, Trina, and Lauryn Hill. Because of icons like them, and her career, Lakeyah's been able to thrive in several lanes as a hip-hop artist — including on TV with BET+'s "The Impact: Atlanta." She hopes more women in rap are able to achieve that level of success, too. Looking ahead, she sees more girl power in hip-hop's future.
What does it mean to be a part of today's generation of hip-hop?
Shout out to hip-hop in general, because it's really something that everybody wants to be a part of from all these different cultures. I'm just glad I was part of it being so young and being in the conversation with all these females rushing the industry right now. But it means a lot, though, like we've had so many great artists that have paved the way for us younger artists.
"I'm just grateful for all the representation, because there's a girl for every type of girl."
What has hip-hop done for you as an artist?
Hip-hop changed my life. It's paying my bills, it got me out the hood. It helped me in a major way, because I first started doing hip-hop when my stepdad had died; I was getting bullied in middle school, so it was a way for me to get it out on paper. You know, when I'm feeling like sh*tting on a hoe, it's a way for me to get it out.
What are you most grateful for in today's era of hip-hop?
Man, I'm just grateful for all the representation, because there's a girl for every type of girl. When I was coming up, I had to dig for that. I found Tink in the underground 'cause I'm from Milwaukee, she's from Chicago, so I was able to find her in my SoundCloud era when I was recording myself on my cellphone. I found girls like Dreezy and Sonta, all those girls in the underground, but these are girls that's in our face every day. It's a girl for every girl right now, and I just love it.
