OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY FOR BLAZE
By Aaris A. Schroeder
August 9, 2011
Rebbecca Gerhardt, also known as Blaze has been through it and back. As an emcee and a transitional nomad, this young lady has gone from poetry to singing to rapping by the age of 15-years old. Her travels are deep and her life is continuing to change and grow. She trusts herself and moves to the beat of her own drum.
Born in Sonoma County and moving, after her parents split up to South Lake Tahoe, Blaze found her passions in her quiet hours. Her family then moved to Gardenerville, just outside of Tahoe and at Douglas High School she met a couple guys who were already performing their hip-hop music at high school dances.
Her drive to succeed in the music world drove her to rap on “Battle Boards,” a phone-based network for up and coming battle rappers. There she met an east-coast rapper named Shakespeary A.K.A. Shakes. This is where she received a lot of lessons in hip-hop.
Blaze quickly understood the independent way and became a hustler of her own skills. Once graduated, Blaze moved around; different jobs, different cities and all the while focusing on her music. Landing in Sacramento in ’99, Blaze was infiltrated with the Drum and Bass scene and found a way to collaborate her spoken-word gone live rap into the mix.
Working along side Sacramento super stars such as Tufu, Yuckmoth, Booyah Tribe, Sho Nuf and Dimiza Hibiki, Blaze’s eyes were set on the prize.
She was an instant success. Coming on stage at The Press Club, a small venue known for indie rock and dance nights in Sacramento allowed her to network further. She became resident at a local venue known for jazz, open-mics and rock bands, Fox and Goose.
“A chance to step my game up,” says Blaze about her experiences and growth.
Soon after, Blaze was offered a record deal with Virgin Records but because the label wanted to change her physical appearance and lyrics, she declined. Blaze was performing multiple times a week and also attending college, taking courses in color theory, hip-hop dance and theater.
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” was released in ’05, produced by Numinous in South Lake Tahoe. Since then, Blaze has been working with Sacramento emcees such as Mr. P Chill and Tribe of Levi. Recently, Blaze was inducted into The People’s Revolution [T.P.R], Tribe of Levi’s crew.
Blaze is currently working on producing an album and collaborating with local talent. She is still a free spirit and growing in her own skin.
