Some feel it is hard for a female to make it in the hip-hop industry where men rule with an iron fist. However, rapper Aisha White, better known as A.I., is hoping to change the game.
“Back in the day female rap was in its prime, but it fell off because no one was different, and everybody just started talking about sex. It got old after a while,” she said.
A.I was born on Aug. 8, 1991 in Dallas, Texas. She has had a rough life growing up in the inner city with an imprisoned father and a mother who struggled to make ends meet.
She started her college career at University of Texas at Austin and hosted and performed at numerous venues around the state. After two years at UTA she transferred to Prairie View A&M University to continue her studies in mass communication and gain a bigger audience for her music.
“PV could really be a start for me and it could give me that push. A lot of colleges can do that for artists, but especially this one because we’re always known for the new artists we have,” said A.I.
Though A.I has faced many hardships during her childhood and adolescence, her mentors such as Natasha Carrizosa, Ebony Stewart, and Juliann Faucette have been able to help her rise above her circumstances.
“My music is life. It is life from my perspective. It is everything I’ve encountered and got through,” said A.I.
For a rapper so young, A.I. has achieved a lot including qualifying for the 2011 Dallas Poetry Slam Team, becoming the 2011 Austin They Speak Youth Slam Champ, performing at the 6th Annual Minority Mentorship Symposium, and releasing her first spoken word CD entitled “Antisocial Butterfly” in February 2011.
Her image and music has been compared to numerous artists such as B.O.B. Missy Elliot, Lauryn Hill, and Nicki Minaj.
“The comparison to Lauryn is flattering because she is a genius and Missy, she made herself a brand. She can come out right now and still be on the charts,” White said.
Although A.I. is graduating in May she plans to return to PV to collaborate with other female artists and network on campus.
“I’m currently working on a new mixtape hosted by DJ 4.0 and we’re working on an all female cypher that should be coming out soon,” said A.I.