Pick a Side, You’re Not Seeing Rapsody
She’s in a lane of her own. Lyrically, the NC-born and raised rapper is undoubtedly supreme, bar none. Stunningly as she is, Marlanna “Rapsody” Evans is more than beauty. Her flow is like water and competes with the GOATs. This era isn’t ready for what she has to offer. She may not be the most “popular” in your eyes, but bar for bar, dare you.
Her messages are impactful. Rapsody gives a damn about the culture and the people. The Homegirl dropped new heat with her 5th studio album, “God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops” last month. With two singles leading up to the album, “God Gotta Afro” and “Apple Juice”, these gave us a teaser just enough to quench our thirst until the big gulp.
The emcee isn’t chasing the hype or the biggest crowd. Ms. Evan’s just is, that girl. As stated when Rapsody recently appeared on Joe and Jada, “This is where bars are appreciated”. She came through and blessed them with a banger exclusively before the release from her album, “Black Love” with Malice. The truthteller also answers why she believes it’s important for her to show up as herself, “I’ve seen it done before.” Following the blueprint, Rap determines instead of doing what every other hot rap chick is doing, she’ll do what she has seen done time and time before and that is seduce you with real rhymes. Her bars will have you in a trance and she does it all with clothes on. She is a reminder that you can be a woman in this game and serious about your art, and don’t have to directly appeal to the male gaze. Still never break.
Rap’s trip to Ghana and Johannesburg, South Africa was the influence and inspiration for this music. It’s evident in the frequency of this record. In the intro to the album Rap poetically proclaims, “The instruction is in the vibration.” The message has always been in the music. On “The Best Interview Ever” by Rob Markman, she explains, “It’s not meant for everybody.” She compared to a Jay-Z’s pen, “He got three, four floors in his bars. Some of it for the very layman person, just for the entertainment. Other things are for messages. Maybe the streets understand that I don’t understand. Maybe I understand as a black person, that was always the culture. She also compared hip hop to The Wire, “When they get on that pay phone, they talking a certain language. Whoever tapped in, they ain’t supposed to understand it. You don’t need to know how I’m moving, what I’m saying, what’s going on. Hip-Hop is the same way.” She concludes the analogy, “Everything ain’t meant for everybody, and some things are.”
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There ain’t no way, you’re not seeing God in yourself after tuning in, which is the entire meaning. Rap wants to bring you back to self and the love of self.
She posted via X just after the release of the album, “Denaun Porter did 11 songs & EP’d with me, Madlib did 2, Groove did 3, Blk Odyssy 1.”
Denaun Porter, also known as Mr. Porter serves as the executive producer and primary producer of the latest project. He produced 11 of the 16 tracks. Denaun accompanied Rap on her trip to Johannesburg. They met up to work on the album. She told RapDaily, “We went to see the Ashanti tribe, I did my first bath of return as an ancestral descendent, our ancestors that came from Africa to America on the ships.” She continued, “I did some spiritual walks, I did a lot of historical learning and then we took all of that to Johannesburg, where I met Mr. Porter to work on this album.”
The trip might’ve started out as a transformative journey of healing and self-reflection spiritually and historically to Ghana on her own, but ended with real roots and creative inspiration for the album title and tracks she has gifted us with to free yo’ mind.
It’s God’s algorithm and if you didn’t know before, now you know, God gotta afro and as for you! Rapsody, I’m always on your side.
