“Hip hop is holding on by a thread.”
That bold statement is how Reverse Spin
recording artist ChinaBlak feels about the
current state of rap music. Hip-hop has always
been about people’s lives and telling stories
that peered into the streets and told the truth
yet it has somehow become disconnected from
its roots - ChinaBlak is now a part of the
game and she is that bridge over troubled
waters!
Equal parts spit-fire rapper and soulful singer,
ChinaBlak is the deliberate and delicate
balance of soul and skill that’s been missing
from the industry since Lauryn Hill laid down
the mic. She’s MC Lyte meets India.Arie with
some Nina Simone thrown in for good measure. ChinaBlak is the goddaughter
of all that’s great about music, rolled into one. That’s “the ChinaBlak
experience,” her debut project on Reverse Spin Records.
The multi-faceted artist, who has been singing since she was a young girl in
church – her interest in rapping began at the young age of 10. “I used to do the
ciphers with the boys, the beat-boxing. It’s been in my spirit to do it. I felt like I
could bring a change to do it.” ChinaBlak’s eclectic blend of musical styles
makes her hard to peg and she loves that.
“I know that people want to find labels, but my music is the alternative. I am part
R&B, part hip-hop, part reggae, all music. I speak, I sing, I write from my heart and that’s just real.” With songs like the energetic and uplifting first single ‘HEY NOW’, the party anthem “COME ON LET’S DO IT” to “BRIGHTER DAY,” which allows her soulful alto to shine, to the grimy “READY FOR WAR,” where she puts the industry on notice. ChinaBlak is a true artist, not to be pigeonholed like people who still search in record stores for new projects. She knows that people look for good music everywhere and that’s what you find on “The ChinaBlak Experience”…GREAT MUSIC!
“I stay motivated by life. It (life) pushes me to express it and try to make change
through my music and speak to the people and open an ear. I’m very fun-loving
too and we really need to change our perspective. My music covers the full
spectrum.” From soulfully melodic tracks like “BEAUTIFUL” to the thumping reggae track “I RIP, I BLOW,” ChinaBlak catches the ears of R&B music fans and hip-hop aficionados alike. The gifted chameleon was born in NY to Haitian parents, hopes to continue to broaden and expand what hip-hop is and can truly be. “I flipped the whole idea of just being a ‘hip-hop artist’ and I am now music, from a hip-hop, grassroots, next level. It made it more interesting for me to create when I removed the limits from myself - I freed myself to go into my background. It’s not just standing on one side. I can give them a whole bunch of me.
It keeps me focused to show that I am this woman…I am LadySaw (the Queen of
Jamaica Dancehall). I am M.I.A. (London-born, Grammy-award winning artist).
I am the full spectrum. I get to look at it in a totally different light.”
ChinaBlak is also in the game to represent for women at a new level. “There
aren’t too many stand-up women in the game anymore. I feel strong in myself
when I take the stage and show up, strong, in the game. They don’t know what to
expect. It feels like people are longing for a strong sistah in the cipher again;
someone who respects herself and believes in herself. I get the real love from the
gut, not the groin! It actually makes me feel powerful because that’s the way I
want to be seen!”
ChinaBlak speaks her mind! “Hiphop elected Barack Obama. Hiphop comes
from the streets, that’s grassroots music. They are in the streets most of the time.
Hiphop is the door not just for kids but everyone.” That kind of heart for the
game is what drew NBA superstar and Reverse Spin Records President Earl “The Pearl” Monroe to sign her. “She has a sound that is so strong that it begged to be heard.” ChinaBlak remembers, “I got signed through a friend I met who was a conduit while I was taking some legal classes. He was a musician and we vibed on the music tip. The first day, Earl Monroe wanted to sign me right away. The cool thing is that I didn’t know Earl Monroe and we met and connected. I wanted to sign with this man because of his passion and his spirit. Then I found out who he really was (NBA Legend); when I signed it was pure connection and it was the best way. I wasn’t blinded by the light. I got to know him as the person.”
ChinaBlak’s broad perspective comes from looking at life from a different angle.
As the parent of both a child she birthed and a foster child she raises as her own,
she understands perspective. “For most of my life, before, I was very fortunate. I
never lived a life of struggle. When I crossed into that adult thing, I had to walk a
whole different path. I had to find my way. I had to figure it out and that was
rough. I had to go through the struggle before I got stable. I got to meet all these
people who had worst stories than me. I made it through and it motivated me to
stay positive. I lived in Covenant House myself at one time, but I wanted to
express to people that things can get better.”
ChinaBlak calls her music “outbursts of inspiration.” She quickly adds that “I
want people to believe that they can move nations! I want to touch the world.
That’s what outbursts of inspiration are about. I want people to know that things
will always get better!”
