"It's Challenging Being A Woman In This Industry!" Clash Meets Miss LaFamilia
The Birmingham all-rounder is doing it her own way...
To say Birmingham hasn’t been making an impact on UK rap over the past year or so would be a straight up lie; one of those finding her spot in the game is the rising female MC and singer *Miss LaFamilia*.
Born and raised in Winson Green, Birmingham, her determination and hunger to succeed has always sat at the forefront of her career. Reputable for her unapologetic, fearless, and fiery prowess, music has always played a huge role in her life; being surrounded by powerful singers in her family from when she was little, it was only inevitable that she would find her spot in the industry.
Entering the New Year with a bang, Miss Familia dropped her triumphant single entitled ‘Dumb Flex’ alongside Abra Cadabra before sharing the highly anticipated remix with assistance from Ivorian Doll, Poundz, Offica, and A9dbo Fundz, who each added their own punch to the already ferocious offering.
Proving her worth with each and every drop, the Birmingham native followed through with ‘Lil Bitch’, where she embraced her boss babe energy, empowering a slew of females across the nation in her head-to-toe pink outfit.
Following up from what’s already been a successful step into 2021, Clash got the chance to catch up with Miss Familia to speak all things music, female empowerment and more.
Tap in below to see what she had to say!
- - -
- - -
*How have you been finding the past 12 months as an artist?*
Whilst I was staying indoors, I was taking advantage of the situation so that when things start to open back up again, I’m equipped with the music and ready to go. Recently I’ve been keeping busy and working a lot in the studio. I also have a son, so it is hard to explain to a six-year-old why mummy has to work a lot... but it’s all for him.
I’m really lucky that I have a good support network around me with my mum who helps out a lot. I find being in the studio grounding especially over the past few months, I find peace there. It's just hard balancing between family life, exercising, self-care and being in the studio, but I enjoy every part of it.
Now more than ever I’ve been glued to the studio because of my new project coming out this year and I want to make sure I select the best music possible. Like all artists, I also can’t wait to start performing again so I can really connect with audiences too.
*You grew up in Winson Green in Birmingham, could you talk us through what this was like and how you were introduced to music?*
Growing up in Winson Green was challenging, I had to overcome a lot of obstacles growing up, but I wouldn’t change it, it made me who I am today. It’s the reason why I can incorporate certain topics into my music. For pretty much my whole life, I had people surrounding me like my mum telling me I had a really nice voice and how I should pursue music, but I didn’t really take it seriously.
There is a lot of people in Birmingham who have a lot of talent, but sometimes it's wasted just because of the environment we live in. For myself, I really didn’t want to be in the limelight and I had a bad outlook on social media but it just got to a point where my soul was almost asking for it, it was all I was thinking about. I think it was all just about timing and when I was ready, I threw a single out on GRM to test the water to see if people would rock with me, and it went off from there. The ‘Addictive Remix’ got one million views in a month, so my passion just grew from there and I haven’t looked back since.
*What music did you grow up listening to?*
I listened to a lot of Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Lil Kim, Foxy Brown and Aaliyah. Basically, all of the best female R&B slayers from back in the day.
*You haven’t been rapping for a huge amount of time. Who or what encouraged you to take the next steps into making it a serious career?*
Growing up I never thought to myself, that I want to be a rapper, I just started messing around and people just kept saying to me that I have a nice tone.
After the support I got from the 'Addictive Remix' I just encouraged myself to be honest and was really motivated to rap and sing. Even though singing just comes so naturally for me, I feel very comfortable rapping as its just me talking about my own experiences, however it does still feel surreal to me sometimes.
- - -
- - -
*What song do you think changed things for you in regard to your recognition?*
I would say my tracks I dropped this year – ‘Dumb Flex’ and the remix, both tracks have been doing so well and I’ve been loving the amount of support I’ve been getting.
*You recently released the remix to ‘Dumb Flex’ alongside Ivorian Doll, Poundz, Offica, and A9dbo Fundz. How did you go about picking these artists? Were you hands on in the decision making?*
The team set up the features but with all of the artists featured but I love all their music and their sound – it was great to showcase some of the best rising rappers we have across the UK right now. Having Ivorian Doll on the track also showed some female unity too which we need more of!
*Are there any other collaborations you would like to see through whether it be in the UK or overseas?*
I would love to collab with artists such as Mulatto or Cardi B. For a singing vibe, I would love to do something with H.E.R, I love her. The scene in the UK is popping at the moment so I’m sure I’ll collab with some dope artists as I make more and more music.
*I read that you stand for female empowerment in regard to both strength and appearance. How have you found navigating the industry as a woman?*
It’s challenging being a woman in this industry, it’s harder to get the same attention and get the same respect as a male artist. It’s really important to me to have women in my team, for example my manager who is extremely supportive and understands all my needs. I’m happy that more people are speaking out about equality and some of the issues that women face in the music industry in particular.
It's really good to see how things are slowly changing, especially in the last couple of years, there’s so many things that people can’t away with now. Of course, there is so much room for improvement. I don’t think we should be scared to support other women in the industry because we really need it. I just hope things continue to improve.
*There are always conversations surrounding women not supporting each other enough in the industry. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think there is always a pressure for women to do this or? What advice would you give to aspiring female rappers or industry women in general?*
My biggest piece of advice would be to stay working, keep perfecting your sound, trust the right people and make good decisions. Being a single mother as well as an artist, it’s all about finding that right balance of providing for your family and finding time to do what you love – it always helps having a great support network around you.
*What else can we expect to see from you this year?*
I’m working on a new project this year which is a mixtape called ‘Elements’ which is going to be representation of the different sides of myself, showing my versatility in music as well as emotions that I haven’t really showed before. I will really be opening myself up to the world, so it only right to call it ‘Elements’ because every single track I will showing a different part of me.
- - -
- - -
Words: *Elle Evans* // *@ElleEvans98*
Join us on the ad-free creative social network Vero, as we get under the skin of global cultural happenings. Follow Clash Magazine as we skip merrily between clubs, concerts, interviews and photo shoots. Get backstage sneak peeks, exclusive content and access to Clash Live events and a true view into our world as the fun and games unfold.
Buy Clash Magazine