By Aaris A. Schroeder
Editor-In-Chief
Animated Bay Area-based female emcee Lil MC knows how to get the crowds moving as her fans already know throughout the Bay and with her new album, “PunishHER, Volume II,” her fans are up in arms to get a copy of this highly anticipated E.P., available now on most online music platform stores.
Lil MC who was born and raised in Half Moon Bay is recognized for her unapologetic and expressive emcee style; she knows how to bring lyricism together with her vocally appealing voice and Bay Area style she is familiar for. She got her start in hip-hop as a battle rapper until she decided to drop her first album, “Prey For Gods” in 2017 and although she can still throw down, she is now growing into an established artist role and mentor for youth and young women in HipHop. Her beats are razor sharp which pairs neatly with her raw talent as an emcee as she tells the truth; no shame in the game for this female emcee.
Lil MC has come full-circle in the culture now as she has been working as a HipHop educator, event coordinator, comic book author and now as a podcaster for her show, “Ratchet and Woke” alongside fellow emcee and producer, UnLearn The World, airing every Friday, 8-10 pm (PST).
“Ratchet and Woke” can be watched on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The premises of the show includes covering music-related events and news and the second half of the show is dedicated to interviewing a guest who is a part of the entertainment industry at large. The two cover the gamete between “the outer rims of the universe to strip clubs,” Lil MC explains.
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Her history as a battle rapper in the greater Bay Area is infamous. Lil MC’s gritty bars and blatant humor to disarm her opponent on stage won her much respect from the hip-hop scene. Because of this popularity, Lil MC has had the chance to grow into herself into the Senior Instructor for Oakland-based non-profit organization, “Hip-Hop For Change” as she began teaching the younger generation of The Bay how to write raps and music. This experience led her to Spain where she infiltrated the underground hip-hop scene, collaborating and recording music with Spanish artists in Bilbao. She also had the chance to go to El Salvador “Hip-Hop For Change” where their team taught hip-hop education to the youth. with Currently Lil MC is putting together a women’s empowerment curriculum through “Hip-Hop For Change.”
“Whether you care to admit it or not, Hip-Hop influenced everyone’s life. It permeates every aspect of society from the way we talk, dress, think and dance. Just like it is important for people to understand their lineage (because it informs us the way [we] think), it’s important for us to understand the lineage of HipHop.” Shares Lil MC who believes that most people have a shallow understanding of what hip-hop is and how it is defined.
Part of releasing not only “PunisHER Volume I” but also “Volume II” includes publishing a digital comic book that is related to the content of Lil MC’s music and loosely related to her life. The comic book itself is authored by Lil MC and illustrated by friend and Half Moon Bay resident, Cassie Levi. The story of “Volume I” in the trilogy showcases an imperfect hero named Angela Oscura; the story goes that she is trying to put the pieces together after an evening that she can’t remember how it went (could it be debauchery or mistaken identity?). However tragic, the police are there to question her. You must read on to learn what happens in the end. “PunisHER Volume II” will be released November seventh, one week to the day after the album drops. Picking up the album is not complete without grabbing a digital copy of “PunisHER Volume II” the comic book on her official website (listed below).
Now, back to the music. The hardest hitting track on “PunisHER Volume II” is “Do Tell,” with exemplifies Lil MC’s style in the industry. The song starts off with a Bay-like rap rhythm that dives right into her rapping to a fun beat while she wraps her voice around the lyrics utilizing auto-tune in the
Album Illustration by Cassie Levy
best possible way while the chorus, “What’s wrong with being ratchet?” pumped up while she goes between speaking English to Spanish. As someone who has seen Lil MC perform previously, it is easy to envision the crowd getting down and really feeling this track.
Another hot track that shows off Lil MC’s lyrical power as a female is, “OMG” where the snare drum blasts along with her enticing lyrical-flow, bringing you into her world. The song features Bay Area emcee Cozzee (Hippy Trap) who blows the song out of the water with his infectious, fast-paced rap talent.
“Go Dumb” immediately reminded me of the “Go Dumb” track by The Federation ft. E-40 and coincidently is a notorious Bay Area Hip-Hop anthem. Lil MC seemingly uses her voice to inflect emotion and is eerily similar to how a DJ would turntable to blend a record; the song features Bay Area emcee Frank Vencci. The song is upcycled into a fun up-tempo rap that caught this reviewer bobbin’ her head tough.
Lil emcee is a woman worth listening to, she has been on stage with some of the greats such as Sa-Roc, Sage Francis, Zion I, Blackalicious and Andre Nickatina to name a few. She has been granted the
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opportunity to become a judge for Hip-Hop competitions and even worked with Tourette’s Without Regrets for their annual Hip-Hop Olympics event. The honor of this position is granted to those who have made major moves in their community.
“Most people have a shallow understanding of HipHop roots and only associate it with misogyny, gang culture, violence and glorified drug use but HipHop actually represents the exact opposite of that. I have made it my mission in life to dismantle those misconceptions, especially [with] empowering young women by shedding a light on female pioneers who impacted the culture.” Lil MC states.
The album as a whole embodies modern female emcee style out of the Bay Area, not only does Lil MC take it all off when it comes to dropping bars but she also lends a hand in singing on her E.P., throwing another talent to the mix for this Lil MC. The album is available at popular online outlets, take a listen and purchase this talented female emcee’s album, “PunisHER Volume II.”
Links ‘n Things
Official Lil MC Website
Stream Ratchet & Woke
Spotify
Facebook Page
Direect: Lil MC Website
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Great write up. Lil MC is fire!
She sure is!!!