THG 62 ReeCee Raps 

[00:00:00] DJ And?: Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Hilltop Glove Podcast. Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Miss Risi Raps.

[00:00:21] DJ And?: Risi is a musical artist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, currently located in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was voted female Hip Hop Artist of the Year in Charlotte on the, in the 12th and 13th annual Queen City Awards. With her being a one of Akin and one of Akin on and off the stage, RISI has a unique retro flow with a new age twist like none other before.

[00:00:44] DJ And?: She's goofy, genuine, and not afraid to be herself. Since launching her career in 2018, she has performed on hundreds of stages, which has led to her being named one of the hardest working artists in her. Risi has performed at the NBA's first music industry night with the [00:01:00] Charlotte Hornets Speed Street Festival, North Carolina soulful Vegan Fest, and has opened up for Devin.

[00:01:06] DJ And?: The dude she often gets compared to artists like Left Eye, Lauren Hill, Erica Badu, and more. But she is truly in a lane of her own. She has been performing with her brand Dope Diary of a Pothead since 2019, landing several gigs throughout the. Risi recently started her event company Dope Events, where she curated artistic events like dope concerts and jam sessions.

[00:01:31] DJ And?: Her recent EP Dope is now available on all streaming platforms. Thank you for joining us today. How you doing Miss Reesey Raz. 

[00:01:40] ReeCee Raps: I'm good. I'm doing really good. Just yeah, it's been a busy few weeks, , but yeah it's been a good thing. It's been successful yeah. I can't complain. How you 

[00:01:49] DJ And?: doing, man?

[00:01:50] DJ And?: I'm excellent today myself, my co-host Tamaya, yes. Hello, and Mike, we are glad to have you with us. 

[00:01:57] ReeCee Raps: Yes, I'm glad to be here. Yeah, I'm [00:02:00] excited about it. Excellent. It's definitely good. Good timing, . Perfect. 

[00:02:04] DJ And?: Perfect. Just to start off, first, we always like to ask our guests, just so our audience has a little bit more understanding about your background and where you're coming from.

[00:02:12] DJ And?: If you could just tell us a little bit about your childhood and what it was like growing up. 

[00:02:17] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. I'm the youngest of five. To six . Ooh. Big fan though. Big fan. Yeah. I got, three brothers, three sisters one pass. But yeah, it's kinda, so it's kinda difficult to say, yeah. What exactly how many, but yeah, I'm the youngest, so I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

[00:02:39] ReeCee Raps: I started out just. Going to school, regular stuff. I actually was started out performing in my granddad's group called the Unspeakables. Okay. So it's a lip syncing group, so I'll start performing with him. So cool. That's . Yeah. It's a listen group. It started with Al and Chip mu songs and oh, peace Dave and like [00:03:00] me, my 

[00:03:00] Mic: brother, and 

[00:03:01] ReeCee Raps: then like another girl, we were blueboard of chip months.

[00:03:03] ReeCee Raps: So that was like, probably, that was my first performance. Like it's four and I got that on video, everything. So it's on my page somewhere. And but then. it moved to, like me being a member of the group, I was the youngest member. I was the only one of my siblings that was the actual member of the group.

[00:03:19] ReeCee Raps: It was me and my mom that were remember, oh man, my, some of my uncles and the other people, my gran knew it was about 20 members of the group. And I was doing that from when I was like five until when I moved from Pittsburgh when I was almost 13. That really started me out performing and music.

[00:03:34] ReeCee Raps: And I would perform everything from Alvin Chima, pointer Sisters, Patty LaBelle, all types of different songs. Just like my granddad would get me, I would rehearse the songs. We'd have rehearsal every week. I eventually was like, yo, I deserve to get paid. Like everybody we had free. But I found out other people were getting paid.

[00:03:55] ReeCee Raps: It was like, hold on. I thought we were just doing this for 

the. 

[00:03:59] Mic: You were doing it for [00:04:00] Joy. I 

[00:04:00] ReeCee Raps: was, yes, I was. But he started paying me for it too. So these were my first, I'm the one selling the records . was doing three songs and shows, outfit changes, and everybody else, the rehearsals, people would be missing rehearsals sometimes.

[00:04:13] ReeCee Raps: I'm like, no, I'm here. It's good that I didn't have no bills or anything. 

[00:04:20] Mic: Sorry. Yeah, we got a quick question. Okay. I know. So sync perform. So 

[00:04:24] ReeCee Raps: you were doing sync, perform lip sync, performing. , 

[00:04:28] DJ And?: how do you rehearse for 

[00:04:30] ReeCee Raps: lips sake perform? Is it more 

[00:04:31] Mic: or less same what you do every morning in the car? , but like my, 

[00:04:37] ReeCee Raps: is it, my granddad was real particular about, I believed they had costume changes about how he wanted his shows.

[00:04:42] ReeCee Raps: We used to make fun of them because, He, it's like you wanna, you want us to do a hand motion for every word? 

[00:04:50] Mic: That's old school. That's all. Learned the performance aspects. Yeah. Like first. 

[00:04:54] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. Yeah. We do. Yeah. We doing, we first All people would think we actually were [00:05:00] singing a lot of the time. That's how good. Yeah. I believe it. Yeah. And they did festivals. Like this was something that was birthed before I was even born. It's a family thing. Yeah. Wow. See they were in the papers and stuff like in the Regatta Festivals, which is a big festival in Pittsburgh. So I just was the kid member that was like, yo, I, you were mi you and Michael 

[00:05:18] DJ And?: Jackson.

[00:05:19] DJ And?: You Michael Jackson. They're like, yo, Mike Jack, come here. 

[00:05:22] Mic: Can 

[00:05:22] ReeCee Raps: you sing for us real quick? Yeah. But I was a singer, but I actually did like to sing in private, like at that point, I would I had wanted be a singer as a kid, Uhhuh like before I went through puberty and stuff, and I always been writing, , just been a writer. I've writing anything from like poems to like little songs. I think I wrote my first song when I was like in fourth or fifth grade. Wow. No, I was in fifth grade, so I wasn't writing them consistently, but I did write. Two songs that year. So it was like, but it was a like over, it was just, trivial things, that a kid would write about the first song.

[00:05:59] ReeCee Raps: But Life [00:06:00] school, it's just friends. . Yeah. The first one was like, I was, my dad was going to the store and I wanted some Cheetos, . Cause I wrote a whole song like that's a hit. I don't want Fritos, Doritos, I want me some Cheetos. Okay. Shit. Reese. 

[00:06:17] DJ And?: Wait, Reese, you are normal. You know this right? 

[00:06:19] Mic: You know you are not normal, 

[00:06:22] DJ And?: which is so cool.

[00:06:23] DJ And?: You're the first person I think we've ever spoke to that has been performing from that young of a age. Yeah. Older people. This is this is, and when we were teasing you about Michael Jackson's, because normally that's something that they did back in the day. Like you would start off, like you said, at a young age and you would go and you'd perform for adults, 

[00:06:41] ReeCee Raps: right?

[00:06:41] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. It was like I was that kid. I was that like secret. Wasn't put her in the game. Put her in the game. Yeah. And my grand actually nicknamed me Reesey, so that's why I used that name. Oh. Cool, cool. Yeah, he was excellent. Actually the only one that caught me that my whole life and there was a big period in my life where [00:07:00] I didn't do any of this at all and I was just living like a normal person.

[00:07:03] ReeCee Raps: So it's funny that you say that that I'm not, cause it's I felt that, but then you let society like get in your head and construct and you start feeling like you're average. and the theme of the day, you start doing average things and not walking in your true self. So that's what I was doing for a long time until I moved to Charlotte.

[00:07:20] ReeCee Raps: So from when I moved from Pittsburgh, there was a period of time until I moved, like I was moving around and stuff, but I was just like, doing regular stuff and then when I start getting back into it, I realized, yo. Always been a part of me. Yeah. And that was all prep to where it was, I just picked up where I left off.

[00:07:36] ReeCee Raps: I could tell yo that she was a writer just by listening to your last couple songs on Spotify. I was like, yeah, her flow is like insane. Yeah she has been writing for a long time. It just flows off her effortlessly. . Congratulations on mastering that. . Thank you. I'm still in the process of mastering, I feel like.

[00:07:56] ReeCee Raps: Do you ever really master right, your craft [00:08:00] in a way it's always, you can always do better, I feel or just have different versions. Yeah. Yeah. You 

[00:08:05] DJ And?: definitely put in 10,000 hours though. 

[00:08:08] ReeCee Raps: the 10,000 hours. Yeah. 

[00:08:09] DJ And?: You definitely have put definitely. And you know what's cool about it? It's almost like you are in.

[00:08:15] DJ And?: in a shadow boxing school and you were just working on, because look, Imma tell she was a young person. You don't get performance 

[00:08:22] Mic: training like 

[00:08:22] DJ And?: that anymore. They don't do a and r where they bring you in and teach you how to properly move on a stage and get presents. I definitely have to come see you in person right now.

[00:08:30] DJ And?: I gotta see you perform in person like I've heard you like listen to your music. Online and whatnot, but I definitely need to come see you. Yeah. In the flesh. Yeah, 

[00:08:38] ReeCee Raps: it's definitely an experience and I had to relearn how to perform when I started performing again, cuz I was like a closet talent have for a wow.

[00:08:47] ReeCee Raps: And then, so when I finally stepped out and start like recording in 2018, In pursuing music. I didn't wanna look like I just started cuz I felt like I, I wasted so much time, not doing it. , I performed like over a [00:09:00] hundred times the first, those first four months of performing my own original music for the first time.

[00:09:05] ReeCee Raps: Whoa. And yeah, so just so I can, and then I start performing with bands in 2019, that's a whole nother experience seeing me with a live band. So 

[00:09:15] Mic: you're dedicated. Wait, what's your sign? What's 

[00:09:18] ReeCee Raps: your sign? Yeah, what's your sign? Reesey. . What y'all think it is? . Virgo. Don't say it. Virgo? . Okay. Hello. What else y'all think?

[00:09:26] ReeCee Raps: Guess you're Aries. What an Aries knew. 

[00:09:32] Mic: That's the first one I already finally, 

[00:09:34] ReeCee Raps: is that really the first Aries we've had on the show? There's 

[00:09:36] DJ And?: no way. I'm trying to tell 

[00:09:38] Mic: you. Wet. We've, we, you're the first one. 

[00:09:42] ReeCee Raps: So confidently though, like you're, I 

[00:09:44] Mic: already knew I was smelling her.

[00:09:46] DJ And?: You're the only people that sit there and practice. Yeah, like the way that you're talking about, like the reps that you were getting in, man, the preparation, were you, what was part of the reason for that preparation? I know I do want to ask you some more about your influences, but [00:10:00] that preparation was that because you were n you weren't as confident in what you were doing as you initially thought you were, or because you knew from your past that you needed to put in.

[00:10:11] ReeCee Raps: I just am very like when it came to even cause my granddad kind of set that structure within practice, like early on, but I like that he had that routine. Yeah. But when it came to doing my own stuff, it was a different approach because I was really just I was terrified to mess up in front of people.

[00:10:30] ReeCee Raps: Like I did not wanna mess up. So I'm like, if I don't wanna mess up, I have to practice. I'm in my living room. Like I'm getting this right. I'm doing, I'm hitting every word cuz I first performed The Diary of Pie Head. That's the first song, original song I ever performed. And I was like, I got it.

[00:10:45] ReeCee Raps: And I still got video of that performance. It was at reds at 28. Release therapy. They do an open mic every Wednesday and they still do. It's been running for seven years. You're 

[00:10:54] DJ And?: sharp. Yeah. Yeah. You're sharp racing. You remember times and dates too. . . 

[00:10:57] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. That's a big, that was Diary of a pot 

[00:10:59] Mic: here.

[00:10:59] Mic: [00:11:00] You got a memory light. Come 

[00:11:01] ReeCee Raps: on now. . It's not so much. Yeah, it was more about the diary than it was about the pothead . Oh, ok. . I like the name though. Yeah, it's, it was something that I had wrote when I was actually 19. Diary of the Pothead was actually something I wrote with no beat when I was 19 and it was all straight through and it didn't have no hook or nothing no chorus.

[00:11:22] ReeCee Raps: And I actually added a course like five years straight lyric later . Yeah. And then, so it's a song. doesn't necessarily all the way resonate where I am today, but it is a song that kinda encapsulates such a moment in time that in so many different sides of my artistry that it's if I don't perform that song, I feel weird.

[00:11:44] ReeCee Raps: You know? know? I feel like you gotta do it even though it's. I have more songs now and I've definitely moved in, in so many different areas with my artistry and I'm really excited to share those things instead of just like holding 

[00:11:58] Mic: onto it, there's 

[00:11:59] ReeCee Raps: like D size that [00:12:00] y'all haven't heard that is older too, that I'm still, dropping.

[00:12:03] ReeCee Raps: That really is good to finally start dropping again. Compared to before, cuz it was a long time where Diarrhea Apply was only ep. I recently dropped another ep in Jan, January, but it's only on YouTube and my website is called Compounded Progression And Go. . There we go. Okay. It's, it that's just something for the people.

[00:12:23] ReeCee Raps: But then I am dropping again soon. On all platforms, which is a whole nother vibe from that. So I'm really gonna show people that you don't really, everybody, they hear a few songs and they think, okay, this is what type of artist you are. And it's that's really not what I am at all. I'm all of that and none of that

[00:12:40] ReeCee Raps: And yeah, especially 

[00:12:41] Mic: when you're putting in that kind of time and that kind of work in your art like you. Have to evolve. You can't do, you can't do a hundred shows a year and 

[00:12:48] DJ And?: not evolve through that process. You're going to. Yeah. 

[00:12:51] Mic: Naturally. 

[00:12:51] ReeCee Raps: And when you put out a, I definitely slow down on shows, , once I got to a certain point, it was like, all right you don't wanna be doing so many shows in your own [00:13:00] market. I move around and stuff too. True. So yeah, it's like that's the way that I've just learned to navigate from knowing nothing about. pursuing this in 2018, not knowing nobody that's really done it.

[00:13:13] ReeCee Raps: And I've never seen nobody really even put follow through. A lot of times in my family when go something creative. Besides my grandfather. That's why I was 

[00:13:22] DJ And?: about to yes. 

[00:13:23] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. So that, and I didn't realize how many parallels, there were, between what he's doing, what he was doing.

[00:13:31] ReeCee Raps: And organizing people. But also he was in the shows too, so he's a performer too. So he's doing all types of stuff and performing all types of songs and stuff like that, and have group songs. He got solos and just all types. We would do a lot. So prop. All of that. Yeah. Skits, we all on film and stuff.

[00:13:48] ReeCee Raps: I have a lot of videos of this too, so it's like it's, he was really like ahead of his time. Now they. Lip sync battle Yeah. And stuff like that. Exactly. It's just really cool to see you got people pay shows to [00:14:00] lip sync. And you brought so many people, joy. Cause we were going to nursing homes, we was going to churches, we was going to doing all and it just brought a lot of people, joy.

[00:14:07] ReeCee Raps: They was doing private parties and all types of stuff I, I see what I'm doing now with dope events and building something like following through with some . I see you do that 

[00:14:16] DJ And?: first. So yeah, that's a, that is a big thing. And I know part of our podcast is explaining to people, like trying to figure out as millennials how that dope properly, and one of those things, it's follow through and completion of tasks and whatnot, and it's very hard to do in this distraction age, how, yeah.

[00:14:31] ReeCee Raps: It is very difficult. , it's it's certain stuff that I could do really. and I'm realizing that I'm very hard on myself for the things that I'm not doing. , but then   I'm realizing it might not be for me to do, it might be for me to delegate. And for someone else and wanna just focus on my strengths instead of spreading myself so thin to where I can't even.

[00:14:52] ReeCee Raps: Do actually perform at my high capacity. If I could just focus on what I enjoy and delegate the rest, it can [00:15:00] make a bigger outcome. So that's part of who I am is like, you wanna have control, but then it's like you have too much control sometimes and you gotta, yeah. But that's pretty cool to, that, that at a young age, because a lot of people try to do things themselves and they burn out, and you've 

[00:15:14] Mic: already seen the, the depth that it takes to put on a show. Yeah. And of course, hand book all that, book all your gigs and all of that stuff you know that it's a whole business in and of itself, even before you start the creativity aspects. . 

[00:15:25] ReeCee Raps: And it's like the starting out. My mindset about this has changed completely. Like I, I was like, there's some early interviews of me. I'm like, yeah, I wanna be the first female rapper on Dreamville.

[00:15:39] ReeCee Raps: I wanna be shy. I wanna, I, if someone's gonna, I used to think Someone's just gonna find diary apply. That'd be my first sign drop. I get discovered . That's the story we saw 

[00:15:48] Mic: growing up on the VH1 specials. 

[00:15:49] ReeCee Raps: It's, yeah. Yeah. It's lit. Like I'm someone gonna find me off my talent and. And I'm gonna, I'm gonna get put on, I'm gonna get my big break,

[00:15:59] ReeCee Raps: [00:16:00] And it just didn't work like that. And I realized that early on, that it is not just gonna work like that. And people had come along early on and you'd be like, oh, this was meant to me. And it'd be like, yo, it's some bs. And it's okay. And I realized early on that I'm not going to wait on people to make some stuff happen for me and get me , whatever type, I've been able to, I've been able to build my own. It's not rocket science. I see what comes back. I see what goes in. It all depends on what you wanna focus on. Anything you focus on will, will thrive. And it depends on what you focus on. Gotta be in the same vein of what your bigger goal is.

[00:16:32] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. True point. I feel like, so as long as. as long as it overlaps, you know what I'm saying? Or it's like that Venn diagram and it's like, all right, this is mutually beneficial to my artistry career. Throwing events is beneficial for me as an artist. . Yeah, it just makes sense. You know what I'm saying?

[00:16:48] ReeCee Raps: It's okay, I could throw events. and I perform at those events that I throw and I book it. That's a page show, ? . So it's like I implement, I curated, I put the talent, I use my resources. Cause I know so many [00:17:00] artists. Just, it's no deficit of talent here. It's a lot of talent here.

[00:17:03] ReeCee Raps: It's a deficit of organization. It's a deficit of, say that again? There's a deficit of what? Organization? Organization, yeah. 

[00:17:10] Mic: That seems to be a theme we've come across out in the creative community. No, no disrespect to the great organizations out there. Yeah, we 

[00:17:18] ReeCee Raps: there are great organizations and then we gotta build 'em though.

[00:17:23] ReeCee Raps: So as a female, I have a question. , how did you become confident in a, such a male dominated industry and like what sets you apart from other female artists? Because, this day and age, females are. , they're rapping like they are the men. You see what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah, for me , I look at it like this.

[00:17:42] ReeCee Raps: I feel like people are very like wrapped up into gender roles. Yeah. And. . I look at it as everything is balanced, and we do have certain, because I am a female, there are certain things that naturally a female is going to have. It's feminine. But I [00:18:00] look at myself as a being first, yeah. There you go. Rather than, . I am a woman first. , and I think some people, and there's nothing wrong with that. Some it is, and maybe that will change in the future of where I, but where I am mentally now. It's just like I look at myself as a being first, cuz I feel like this is. Just who I am in this realm at this moment.

[00:18:23] Mic: So our souls head bodies. 

[00:18:25] ReeCee Raps: Exactly. It's like I happen to be this, in this realm. I'm experiencing this experience, but I am a being and I'm not even like just. bound to this earth, so it's like I just, when I make music it's about more just general things, tapping up word, rather than just, okay, I'm a woman first, or I'm gonna rap about being a woman.

[00:18:48] ReeCee Raps: And I might do that one day, but I haven't done that yet. It's just my problems really don't lie. But then, or my, okay. Yeah. And I really rap to express myself. , so [00:19:00] it's but I'm gonna rap up about stuff that other women can relate to cuz I'm a woman. Yeah. So but it depends on what theme, cause Queen of Hearts what I'm dropping soon it's a breakup relationship project and it's wrong.

[00:19:11] ReeCee Raps: And a lot of women will be able to relate to that, but I'm sure a lot of men will be able to relate maybe too. But from the other aspect, depending on who they are, but. . I just feel like I'm just a person first, and my raps are unisex. Like a dude could rap it and change any word from she to he, and it would still make I feel like it's, it is just, just because you're a female rapper don't mean you have to rap about being a female all the time, and just gotta or rap. . I don't know. It's the delay for everything. I just feel like there's not balance now. Yes. But you're right. Like dudes don't 

[00:19:45] Mic: go around rapping about being a 

[00:19:47] DJ And?: dude's.

[00:19:47] DJ And?: Good point. When you rap about the actions that you do, is it being right? And it might be 

[00:19:51] Mic: because you a dude , but you don't 

[00:19:53] DJ And?: Yeah. Do you know who 

[00:19:54] ReeCee Raps: who Rapper, they don't say male rapper. Nah. How you feel being a male rapper? [00:20:00] Yeah, exactly. Or, hello. I'm a I've had people.

[00:20:03] ReeCee Raps: recently messaged like the dope page. Hey, I'm a female rapper out of here. Blah, blah, blah, blah. But I'm a female. It's I can see you're a female

[00:20:13] DJ And?: I gotta alert you. Alert you to the facts. 

[00:20:15] ReeCee Raps: I'm just a rapper. I'm just like, and it's like, just cause I'm a rapper that happens to be a female, but they're pros to, cons to it, . . You can stand out more. I always say it's easier to get seen. It's harder to get. Oh yeah. , you're a female rapper now. It's like you get, there's this whole stigma with being a female rapper. They immediately think I'm rapping about my private area, yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's, do 

[00:20:37] DJ And?: you know who breaks that mold though? And this is where I was. I was going with this. think you're in this type of vein.

[00:20:42] DJ And?: It's like a Missy Elliot. Yeah. She breaks that mold. You don't look man, I've been rapping Missy's full verses since I've been a child. Even the part, every part, I don't care. I never even switched it over from the female part to the male part. I just wrap it straight. You know why? Because it's fly.

[00:20:55] ReeCee Raps: . . Yeah. And that Missy Lauren. Yeah. Yeah. [00:21:00] They break the mold. . Come on. No name. Yeah, it's like a lot of people that break the mold, but it doesn't matter cause they're not the majority. And that's not what people are mainly talking about. People are mainly, it's it is weird, the stuff that I, it's like people would rather comment on a video that they don't like.

[00:21:18] ReeCee Raps: About how they dislike it. Or sometimes I'll go to like people comments like the, like lo rilla comments on YouTube and there'll be people in the comments like, oh, this is terrible. This is what? La blah la. This is terrible female ride. This is sad. This is just reasoning why we are where we are.

[00:21:38] ReeCee Raps: Don't you understand you building that algorithm, you just get another comment. Yeah. So you're promoting, you'd rather Yeah. It would be better positive reinforcement behind somebody that you believe in would go further than you commenting on this person, how you don't like them. So it's like you'd rather share some.

[00:21:54] ReeCee Raps: Something dumb on the internet than someone that you really feel like has talented and actually tell [00:22:00] somebody, Hey, this person is great. When you find, when you come across these people, what are you doing to spread the word. Yep. And word of mouth is more powerful than anything. When's the last time?

[00:22:10] ReeCee Raps: You put somebody up on a new artist , know that you really, that's not like that, or that really breaks the mold. So when we find these people, what are we doing to uplift them? Cause a lot of times it be feeling like we out here alone and this is not what y'all wanna hear.

[00:22:27] ReeCee Raps: And I know that there's a market. for it. And I'm finding it and I'm grateful for every person that I'm finding along the way. And that's fine to me cuz I, I always say you can't blame, I don't always say that. I put it in a rob last year, what's saying now, blame somebody sleeping on what they ain't seeing.

[00:22:44] ReeCee Raps: . So it's like I can't blame people for sleeping on the artists that are really. Doing it. . Cause you ain't, you don't even know I exist. There's a lot of times it's comes down to marketing too, so it's like it's, I'm gonna just have to market it differently because I'm not what everybody else is.

[00:22:59] ReeCee Raps: But [00:23:00] it is it, I'm building a strong foundation, but I am stereotyped because I'm the female or some people don't even think I'm a rapper. I'm stereotyped cuz of how I look. Yeah. How you sometimes, how you present a finger. Yeah. So it's just Different things, just being a female. All right.

[00:23:14] ReeCee Raps: Oh, what you sing or, all right. Even if I say, Hey, I'm Reesey Raps, what do you do? It's just, I just said greasy raps. Duh. Speaking of 

[00:23:27] Mic: hook too, 

[00:23:28] DJ And?: right? Yeah, exactly. Speaking of creating your 

[00:23:31] ReeCee Raps: brand thing though, but it's 

[00:23:33] Mic: Lord, wait 

[00:23:35] DJ And?: question. It's fun. You do though. I do sing. I do sing. All right.

[00:23:39] DJ And?: That's what I was about to say. Yeah. And go ahead. That's 

[00:23:41] Mic: not what I 

[00:23:42] ReeCee Raps: do at the forefront. Okay. I'm not about, you're not, I'm about to catch me singing the national anthem at the game, at the football game speak of which I might perform in halftime. So one of my, I ain't doing no covers or nothing like that.[00:24:00] 

[00:24:00] DJ And?: Speaking of creating your brand, and we were just talking about the fact that you are like literally, especially as. As a female in hip hop in that space you're trying to take your music and you want to make sure that you're, you're honest and true to yourself and what you're doing. How did you, all right.

[00:24:15] DJ And?: First of all, I just wanna know have an understanding of your mind behind this. How did you come up with the name of your brand, first of all, and what are some of the hardships that you faced? in creating this and using this as a platform to fuel your business. 

[00:24:34] ReeCee Raps: Okay, so the name of my brand you're talking about Dope Event?

[00:24:37] ReeCee Raps: ? Yes ma'am. Or okay. So dope started from that rap slash pole on my road when I was 19. I ended it like the Diary of a pie head. I dropped it on YouTube and caught and wrapped over the dirt off your shoulders. Instrumental. That was the last video I dropped on YouTube before I was. and a long relationship for four years and didn't do anything musically before I moved to [00:25:00] Charlotte.

[00:25:00] ReeCee Raps: That was abusive and stuff like that. Dre Pa, his last video I dropped and eventually I took my, all my videos down off at YouTube. I was 19. I was probably like six months into rapping, actually rapping and posting videos and stuff. , I'm rapping publicly. And actually, so that kind of was but then I came up with that hook, the Diary of Pa Head.

[00:25:18] ReeCee Raps: It was my second studio session. I recorded it, added it all together. And that was the first song I dropped. And that was the first EP I dropped Diary of PA Head. But because I was pushing that song so much. . I would be like, what song should I perform tonight? Diary apply Head or gotta Have It.

[00:25:33] ReeCee Raps: Those are two songs I had out my first year and somebody, I don't know, I need to find this post cause I need to credit this person. somebody, like abbreviated it like D O A P instead of spelling out the whole thing. Cause I always belt it all out. Yeah. And I was like, oh shit that spell dope. D o a p,

[00:25:53] ReeCee Raps: And I never realized, So that moment, so we're commented on Instagram and [00:26:00] stuff and this is my first year on Instagram, 2018. I didn't have social media, nothing before. Wow. Pursuing this. That's quick. Yeah. I had a Facebook, but it was deactivated and stuff. Like just a personal one.

[00:26:09] ReeCee Raps: But yeah, I never had Instagram or nothing, but it was like, I grew fast when I joined and everything. Cause I was doing a lot, but it was like I'm forced to do it. Now that I'm pursuing music, now I finally gotta get an Instagram. Yeah. But yeah. Dope. So then I named the Project Diarrhea Pothead ep, but the, on the EP it says the Dope ep, but then it got to where anytime I said dope, I think the last time I felt dope, regular it was like 2019

[00:26:40] ReeCee Raps: So it's complete. Even if I say, yo, this is dope, and you don't know nothing. that, I'm gonna spell it that way. . Smart, smart. Be doing that. Dig it to me too. If they're saying dope to me, they like, oh, that was a super dope. Even if we're not talking about dope events, they'll notice say it. Some people know to say it to me and spell it in a different way.

[00:26:58] ReeCee Raps: But so [00:27:00] it just became, that's just how I spell dope and I just, that's just how I spell it. And everybody say you're dope. That's like what they, people, a lot of dope is used. I don't know how to explain this, but I like it. . Yeah. So you know, it's like an easy thing to say so, but it's no, I really mean it though.

[00:27:16] ReeCee Raps: You're dope. But I get that a lot, so it's since I am dope. I just might as well spell it my way. So then when I've been doing events since 2019. Just under different, like with part, I'll partner with someone I partner with. The girl that does trap and shop, we used to do open mics and then her name is Chandra.

[00:27:35] ReeCee Raps: We used to do open mice together. I've done, I've partnered with I've done a bunch of events, but dope events was my first, besides my jam sessions. , those were my first events just with me on the board, making decisions and building it. And it was just really successful from the beginning.

[00:27:50] ReeCee Raps: It was like, why not just call it. Dope events. Exactly. And just keep that going with the dope brand, , I've been, people know dope. I've been pushing this EP for [00:28:00] three years cuz it's timeless and so people know dope. So why not these dope events? There was something. I knew I could get all the domains for and very true.

[00:28:10] ReeCee Raps: All the 

[00:28:11] DJ And?: very, no very good point. When creating a business, finding a tagline or a trademark that you can use that will not interfere. So that random URLs quick, 12 bucks a year really. Really. And another question for you about your events your event business, et cetera. And I know you were talking about you did partner with some folks to assist you when you first began.

[00:28:31] DJ And?: Are you still partnering with folks and do you delegate certain task out? I know this is a question that our audience would like to hear someone answer that actually does this so they can figure out how, why, and what do you need to set this stuff up? Do you do all this work by yourself? 

[00:28:48] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. Partnering is cool. I like partnering. There's pros and cons to it. Cause with anything. , know, know, there's gonna be pros and cons to everything and there's pros and cons to do it and on your own, . I can go the [00:29:00] partnering route. Starting out. It is really good to partner with certain people that have a different crowd and if they have a different, if they have d.

[00:29:09] ReeCee Raps: Skills than you. So like when I first was partnering, me and Chandra did very different things. I'm hosting, I'm tapped in with artists. She's tapped in with artists. Too. She has her own network of people, but, and she's really tapped into vendors. She had a whole vendor platform, so she can handle all the whole vendors market.

[00:29:30] ReeCee Raps: On top of that, she does graphics. So she's doing all the flyers. I don't gotta outsource or do none of that, you know what I'm saying? So that makes sense for me to partner with somebody that can do the graphics. Can handle all the vendors and organize that. So I'm not dealing with that and like just certain things that can do organizationally while I'm more in the forefront, hosting Really, I was mainly hosting performing, doing the cyphers, curating, booking the talent, communicating with the talent.

[00:29:59] ReeCee Raps: So [00:30:00] it really depends on what you wanna do, but at the same time, you can also delegate. It depends on, cuz you gotta split that at the end of the day and you gotta look at is the partnership. Worth me splitting or what percentage is worth splitting on the partnership? Cuz it doesn't always have to be 50 50, but a lot of times I was just splitting it evenly with people and it was certain things that was being done that there were certain times I would partner not with this first person.

[00:30:24] ReeCee Raps: There was certain times I would partner say it's like with four, three other people. And only two of us are really doing a lot of the. And one of us just got the venue and it's bro, I'm getting 25% for doing 150% , I'm like, that's not worth it for me. But then next part, but then I'm not going to put in my food cuz not everybody else is.

[00:30:42] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. And then we've got four people on the team and it's only 70 people here. I can get 200 on my own. Just me being on the team cuz I'm gonna go 200% cuz I know I'm getting a hundred percent profits, . It's. It's just you gotta look at, you gotta really be cur and then sometimes you partner [00:31:00] and you collaborate and I'll let people, they got their own platform going on and it's like, all right, we're gonna.

[00:31:04] ReeCee Raps: just join together. I'm gonna let you take the, I'll get the venue I'll, cuz you're coming to my market. I'll get the venue and I'll partner with you. I'll book, but under your structure and let you take the lead. You let someone take the lead sometimes and then it's unorganized and then that's your brand, that's name on it.

[00:31:20] ReeCee Raps: So you can't, if you're going to partner with someone and someone come in and they're like, oh, I can do everything. You just, we split it and it's you gotta. Your brand is on that too, so , you kind can't take the backseat sometimes when it comes to certain things.

[00:31:33] ReeCee Raps: And if you're partnering, it gotta, you gotta have input on that. So I'm learning, I'm not I'm not as, I'm very, I'm more vetting, when it comes to collaborations now Cause I feel like I can just contract a lot of people. Collaborate necessarily. But then I can say, all right, I wanna bring you in the host.

[00:31:55] ReeCee Raps: Here's what we're, I'm gonna pay you for this. Flat rate. That way all get paid regardless [00:32:00] of what I bring to the door. But I know I'm gonna knock it out the park because I don't have no choice. usual, it all falls on me. There's nobody else that's going to make it like, make it go.

[00:32:10] ReeCee Raps: So doing the dope events and being. The one, that's the only one the, that's delegate making decisions, it's like I was able to bring people in I know Katie Mo, she was doing not only hosting, but when we were doing the Weeklys, I had her be my marketing assistant. . So she was, on a retainer to be marketing assistant and hosting.

[00:32:31] ReeCee Raps: She was also helping me send out texts and coordinate the artists so you can bring in people without necessarily. Doing percentages. Yeah. Without having, necessarily having a partner where you still have your vision. Cuz there was certain times where like I first started out with the open mic with Covid.

[00:32:47] ReeCee Raps: That kind of stopped my open mics and it was stopped on purpose cuz I, I think I was meant to do it underneath my own brand. , I got like mad pages, like I got Free open mic pages that got like over a thousand followers. Like I've been [00:33:00] doing a bit and other pages like that. I built, I've, I ran the social media, for multiple pages.

[00:33:05] ReeCee Raps: And it was more underneath each event had their own page. I'm Smart Mic. It was called, they had its own page and that's still a page, but it was something that I was ready to bring back, when Covid and, but then my partner wasn't ready to bring back , so it never came back because you can't just bring back.

[00:33:21] ReeCee Raps: Stuff. So when you build stuff with people, have the that in the contract as well. What is it like if I'm gonna continue this, but you're don't, you're not ready to, without you 

[00:33:30] Mic: who owns the brand for that event. 

[00:33:32] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. Yeah. It's like you could do it to where. You get a forever percentage.

[00:33:37] ReeCee Raps: Maybe I'll give you 20% for the remain cuz you helped birth this. But I'm doing everything. You not having no hand in it. It's just residual or something like that. Something new. So yeah, that is, but 20% is not a good example. We know what you 

[00:33:53] DJ And?: mean though. We know what you mean. Know what? 

[00:33:54] Mic: It depends on what it is.

[00:33:55] Mic: You might be 20% of McDonald's, 

[00:33:57] DJ And?: they ain't getting nothing but Yeah. . 

[00:33:58] ReeCee Raps: Or you just build something else. So it's[00:34:00] I've built stuff and I've left and then I've seen stuff continue and stop and it, and different things. So it's have the paperwork, right? When you're talking on your intellectual property and you're bringing other people in.

[00:34:10] ReeCee Raps: Great point. It's different when you're collaborating on an event. , and building an event idea together versus partnering. Sometimes. Cuz you can partner with. Like in April, for example, I'm doing a collaboration with a chicken and backwards in Miami on their tour stop. And basically it's gonna be what they do blended with what we do, but I'm gonna make it an open mic for us for dope events.

[00:34:34] ReeCee Raps: So it's just gonna be like a. dope events means Chicken and Backwood Miami and just blend those platforms in that way. But to where we both have our educational brands, we're just coming together. It's I'm not just on your tour date or you're not just on my tour date. It's like this is a collab event.

[00:34:53] ReeCee Raps: So it's a lot of ways something that 

[00:34:54] DJ And?: works both ways. 

[00:34:55] ReeCee Raps: Makes, yeah. . You gotta really, but you really gotta. is, you gotta be [00:35:00] careful about who you collaborate with. , gotta be and you gotta make sure it works. And you're not just, and it makes sense. And that the effort you're gonna put in is worth it.

[00:35:09] ReeCee Raps: And the other people, everybody should have their own job and they shouldn't overlap. They should have their own different and y'all shouldn't all be doing the same thing. I'm not gonna collaborate with a bunch of. Artist rappers, you know what I'm saying? I'm not gonna build 

[00:35:21] Mic: That's a good point though, cuz a lot of times when people say, be careful about who you work with.

[00:35:24] Mic: Be careful about who you collaborate with. We're always thinking about like somebody trying to screw us over on the money, but it really most of the time is just somebody else, the way they do their work. . Is not, the way we do our work is 

[00:35:37] ReeCee Raps: different. It's totally different. That's what it was. And it was for some of the other events I did, from events in 2021, I collaborated and it was a great thing, that we were doing.

[00:35:46] ReeCee Raps: But it was like, yo, I just can't, you, the way you work is, I don't work like that at all. And it's like I'm, I like to have stuff that. organized to a certain point. And just to nonchalantness is I, no, that's not you [00:36:00] sounding real 

[00:36:00] DJ And?: Aries right now. . You sounding real Aries, right? I like it though.

[00:36:06] DJ And?: I like it. I know what you mean. Oh yeah, I know what you mean. . And I I have a quick question for you. I know we're about to come around that time. And I want to ask this because just dealing, one of the biggest questions that we always talk about with our podcast is finding time to balance work and life.

[00:36:19] DJ And?: Now, you had a show last night, correct? . . All right. Now I wanna ask this cuz this is interesting cuz you had to go from the show and then you're here with us today. We appreciate you for it. Yes. How do you find time to balance your work and life and do you have any self-care routines that you can share with us?

[00:36:35] ReeCee Raps: . Yeah, I've seen this question. I'm like . I'm still in a I'm still in the process of balancing it, but honestly it comes with how I work. I'm very like all or nothing. When it comes to a lot of stuff, and so there'll be periods of time where I'm really just going this has been a busy.

[00:36:52] ReeCee Raps: Really year so far? The first two, like it's, I've been to two conferences this year already. , I've been to, I just [00:37:00] was in Cali for eight days. I got back on Monday. Then I threw my release, my single release party for my new single yeah. Alibi on Tuesday. . And part of that was singles release for sing, single release, but for singles to release, I had a massage.

[00:37:14] ReeCee Raps: Ooh, 

[00:37:16] DJ And?: I saw that. I was wondering how that, how did that make though? How did that night go? 

[00:37:20] ReeCee Raps: You saw that 14th. Really well, it was on Valentine's Day. I've been wanting to do this for years, and it was something that I put together last minute. And that was in collaboration with United Grind.

[00:37:30] ReeCee Raps: Ah shout out to her because sometimes the collaboration makes. Do something that you would not have usually done like you have this time. That's what it's nice for years. Cause I collaborated last year on a Valentine's Day event too. Wine and dine, and it's like it helps you do things that you wouldn't normally do on your own.

[00:37:47] ReeCee Raps: So it is just finding the right collaboration where people do different things. And that's the best thing. But yeah. , sorry, back to that. So we was at the I collaborated with, before I'm, we talked about it and I'm like I've been thinking about doing it and we built it out and we [00:38:00] executed it.

[00:38:01] ReeCee Raps: And so that was helpful and it was just really dope. He was giving massages and that's tight. We had Munchies Private D Cater collaborated with him to be there. And it just was dope. It was dope. It was a good shout out to the Pisces Gallery. Black woman owned space over there in Mount Holly.

[00:38:19] ReeCee Raps: It's not too far. Definitely. It was just really dope. The energy was great. The, I had poetically siren water opened up for me. They did great. It was r and b poetry vibes. It was just a love. But part of that, Was like, it's an event that I curated to, so it was stressful, like leading up to it, trying to promote two events while I'm in California and then trying to post, and I'm all, I'm three hours.

[00:38:44] ReeCee Raps: Do you sleep ? I actually do sleep and I dream a lot. Like I That's good. That's part of my self-care. That's what I was about to say. I do sleep but sometimes I don't, some weeks I don't not weeks. We're weeks straight. . 

[00:38:59] Mic: It [00:39:00] sounds like your answer to this question is don't even try to balance it.

[00:39:03] Mic: Pour your whole self into it. . 

[00:39:05] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. I'm, so now here's how I balance. So it sometimes it picks up to where it's like that, I had two events. If we come back from Cali then interview Today, I'm performing tonight special guest at Hovis House. This not announced, performing tonight, but then after this weekend, I'm not I'm already declined shows where 

[00:39:24] Mic: Oh, I see.

[00:39:25] Mic: I'm not, yeah, I'm 

[00:39:26] ReeCee Raps: not big release no shows until April. Oh, wow. I'm not, I got two, I got a show April 1st and a show. April. I got a hour set. April 1st. Where's that? Where's that show 

[00:39:36] DJ And?: at? April 1st? 

[00:39:37] ReeCee Raps: It's at a brewery in Charlotte. I can try two seconds. It's in Charlotte. It's at hour set. That's my next show that I'm doing.

[00:39:45] ReeCee Raps: Okay. I'm not doing no shows or no events. It's at Legion. Hey. And I'm not doing no shows or no events until then I can focus on other things. I think sometimes it's like, Being an entrepreneur, sometimes you're going to overwork yourself, but then it's just a season and then you gotta [00:40:00] know when to retreat.

[00:40:00] ReeCee Raps: Cuz I know I've been out for three months, dropping videos, going, traveling, shooting, and like I still. Three videos ready to drop, so I can retreat for a couple months and build on these connections and follow up. As far as self-care, I just went to a ST conference. Shout out the asc Charlotte.

[00:40:19] ReeCee Raps: I just got a grant to go to a conference in California and they funded by grip out there. I built a lot of connections in ST licensing. I'm about to start focusing on getting my music and other people's music placed in TV and film. So that can be a good stream of income. And also. To where I'm just building these avenues.

[00:40:36] ReeCee Raps: Events is a avenue. We're going on tour this year, so now it's like I'm going into a planning stage where I'm gonna just stay in the house and plan until my show and prepare and practice and I'm dropping the ep. So just getting stuff ready behind the scenes for that. As far as self-care, I definitely get my sleep and I'm, I wanna implement more, cuz I tried to get a massage the other day, but I could always, I was hosting, [00:41:00] I was, I got, I was like five minutes You could at your event.

[00:41:04] ReeCee Raps: Yeah, it's event too. So I really didn't get to get a massage night, but I did. I did. It was like five minutes though, so it's like I'm gonna incorporate that more into, to it now that I can like breathe. So I'm looking forward. Getting all this done this week is because I know I, I'll have time to just really go into a learn back into learning, creating and it's creation season again for me. So you Excellent. 

[00:41:29] DJ And?: Well with you saying that is creation season. Before we close out, I must ask you what current projects are you working on and what can we expect from you in the future? With this being said, this is shelf selfless and shame.

[00:41:40] DJ And?: Promot promotional time. So make sure that you give us your information as well as your contacts and where our audience might be able to reach you. 

[00:41:49] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. I got a lot of dope things coming up this year. It's, it is really clear. looking pretty clear on what the path is. , definitely be on the lookout for new music.

[00:41:59] ReeCee Raps: A [00:42:00] s c Charlotte. Funded the rollout for my next project, cleaner Hearts. That is coming up in this spring. Be on the lookout. I just dropped the first single alibi that's on all major platforms. I got about 19 other songs on all major platforms. Y'all could look me up. Reese c Raps, r e c e r a p s on Everyth.

[00:42:21] ReeCee Raps: I just dropped a single with a couple of my friends, David D'Angelo, Mayday poet called Quarter Outs, that's on all major platforms. I got my EP Compounded Progression just dropped on YouTube and my website in SoundCloud on the first of this year. on YouTube. Every song on that project, all six songs have some type of visual out.

[00:42:43] ReeCee Raps: So definitely check that out. Whether it be a ma music video lyric video, some of them got two visuals out, so check that out. Shout out to change Picasso, dopest videographer in the world. Definitely look for more stuff. Alibi videos, dropping soon quarter ounce videos dropping as well on YouTube.

[00:42:59] ReeCee Raps: I got two [00:43:00] more videos on the way. What to do. Upcoming second single, that'll be dropping soon. And then my Project Cleaner Heart is dropping the spring, but then DOPA Events is going on Tour. DOPA Events is nominated for a Southern Entertainment Award. For industry event in the south, in the whole south of the year.

[00:43:18] ReeCee Raps: So definitely vote for events until. End of March on southern Entertainment awards.com. It's the 20th annual, so we'll be in Nashville celebrating that, and we're gonna kick off on Nashville and then go from there. Starting in at the end of May, so definitely be on the lookout for the dope events tour.

[00:43:38] ReeCee Raps: We going global, we dropping remixes, pro vibe, gotta remix a kind of like house remix to pro vibe on the way with satin s. , I got collaborations with other artists. New music on the way and just follow me, risi ras.com join my email list text me. I have a text line and I send out everything through text.

[00:43:59] ReeCee Raps: Any [00:44:00] releases, performances, events, you can text me at 4 12 2 0 7 3 7 5 5 and yeah, just Google me, just spell it right. The Reese wrap might pop up if you don't spell it right.

[00:44:12] Mic: that is fresh . 

[00:44:15] ReeCee Raps: Yeah. So that's not me but yeah, but definitely check it out. I check out my music. It's. But most importantly, if you like it, if you hear this, share it with a friend verbally. Yeah. Send somebody school be like, yo, I came across this really dope artist. You should check 'em out.

[00:44:30] ReeCee Raps: Cause people don't do that no more. Yeah. And that's, and we find stuff on. Our algorithm. But , don't let the robots pick your heart. There you go. For real. So yeah, tell a friend and tell a friend about what's going on. Cause we got a dope movement going on. Definitely be on the lookout.

[00:44:46] ReeCee Raps: We doing riding camps, we doing all types of stuff like dope events is bigger than. Bigger than just indie concert. So it's just, an aspect of it. But yeah it's I'm very blessed. I thank everybody. I appreciate all the people I've been able to [00:45:00] even sit down and talk to you. I appreciate y'all having me.

[00:45:02] ReeCee Raps: It's been great. Thank 

[00:45:04] DJ And?: you. Thank you so much. We don't appreciate, we appreciate you for joining us today, RISI Raps. Thank you, Tom. Taking time outta your Saturday to hang out with us. , I know you're a busy person. I just want to say thank you from the Hilltop Glove Podcast and our audience. I want to shout out Ta Maya, our host Mike Skip.

[00:45:19] DJ And?: Peace, peace, dj, and what we wanna thank you for joining us on this Saturday for another episode of Hilltop Glove Podcast. We're gonna sign out right now, but we wanna tell everybody be nice to somebody around you. Tell 'em that you love him. Peace.