The BLK LT$ has lengthy been one in every of hip-hop’s best-kept secrets and techniques, a inventive pressure transferring quietly behind the scenes, writing and producing for heavyweights like Drake, Future, and French Montana.
However with ‘Honey: The BLK LT$ Meets The Killa Bees,’ she steps totally into her personal highlight. “I’m only a lady following her desires,” she says, a easy fact that now resonates louder than ever as she transforms years of collaboration right into a sound and identification which might be unapologetically her personal. The Los Angeles-based artist fuses fierce lyricism, uncooked emotion, and cinematic manufacturing right into a physique of labor that pays homage to the Wu-Tang legacy whereas carving out a lane that’s totally her personal.
Directly nostalgic and revolutionary, “Honey” is a love letter to hip-hop’s golden period and a manifesto of female energy. Crafted in collaboration with RZA and launched below his 36 Chambers imprint, the mission bridges generations by means of sound, storytelling, and self-mastery. Behind the sharp bars and haunting beats lies an artist lastly embracing her full vary, an architect of her personal universe the place creativity, confidence, and vulnerability coexist in good rhythm. Hold studying and dive into ‘Honey: The BLK LT$ Meets The Killa Bees.’
You’ve been described as one in every of hip-hop’s secret weapons, with a profession that’s developed from writing and producing for others to stepping totally into your personal highlight. How would you describe this second in your musical journey?
I now know that the whole lot I’ve carried out in my profession has led me as much as this second. There have been a whole lot of instances I puzzled why it was taking longer than a few of my friends to get so far as a result of I’ve all the time been a tough employee, however through the years I’ve discovered a lot, and it’s helped me increase in my creativity, the place I not have any doubts or any insecurities about who I’m or the music I’m creating. Working with so many nice skills who’ve trusted my ear gave me the arrogance to actually begin trusting myself.
Let’s discuss your new album, “Honey: The BLK LT$ Meets The Killa Bees.” It appears like each a tribute and a reinvention. What impressed you to reimagine the Wu-Tang legacy by means of your personal inventive lens?
Wu-Tang was one of many first hip-hop teams. I actually fell in love with what they’ve created, their very own sound, and actually a cult following that appeared on the time exceptional, you understand, like on some rockstar degree. Their music and unity jogged my memory of my sisters and me, and it modified my perspective on what it meant to be an artist. Paying homage to them with this physique of labor allowed me to indicate a uncooked, deeper aspect of myself that I didn’t all the time share all through my profession within the R&B house, particularly as a rapper, and inside that creation, I began to be taught a lot extra about what I actually wished to do and, extra importantly, say.
You’ve described the method of reinterpreting Wu-Tang classics as a fusion of inspiration and experimentation. Which monitor pushed you probably the most creatively, and why?
‘Thug Cry’ with RZA was positively the toughest. It began off as simply piano and 808s, and the pianos have been impressed by the Wu-Tang traditional “Unimaginable” off the Wu-Tang Perpetually album. That entire track is like watching a film while you shut your eyes, and I wished to nearly be part of that film as a result of after I first heard it, at the same time as a teen, I understood the ache. I understood the message, so now, being older and with the ability to interpret my very own experiences, I knew I needed to be susceptible, however I additionally knew the document needed to be scorching as a result of RZA expressed he wished to be part of it. And that blew my thoughts. Yonatan Watts and Zone got here in on the manufacturing and introduced it to a extra cinematic place after a dialog with RZA. I knew it needed to be proper. I didn’t wish to take away from the unique, however I additionally didn’t wanna overshadow my message. And after listening to RZA’s verse, it was like, “OK, go time!!” 😉
You’ve collaborated with RZA and launched the album below his 36 Chambers imprint. How did that partnership start, and what did you be taught from working alongside one in every of hip-hop’s best producers?
My mentor and video manufacturing associate, Nitty, who can also be a legendary producer (former member of the Trackmasterz), has all the time been supportive of what I do, so after I talked about to him I used to be engaged on the mission for enjoyable, actually throughout Covid. He informed me to ship it over. He was genuinely impressed as a result of he hadn’t heard something prefer it. He requested if he may ship it out, and it ended up within the arms of DJ Scratch, who was on tour with Wu-Tang and Nas on the time. DJ Scratch then known as me and informed me he performed it for RZA and wished us to all discuss making this greater than only a passionate mission. A couple of 12 months later, I met with RZA, and he gave me his blessing. Working alongside him to make this mission not solely a tribute but in addition a perspective from a real fan was essential. I’m really a KILLA BEE at coronary heart, lol. I wished different true Wu lovers to hearken to this and relate to my inspiration and affect, and his steerage made that doable.
The visuals for “Injury,” “Actual Discuss,” and “N.T.F.W.” every have a strong aesthetic. How essential is visible storytelling to your total inventive imaginative and prescient?
Visible storytelling is so essential to me. I come from a images background that later merged into the visible world. I now direct and edit all my visuals. After I’m writing songs, I see the visible on the similar time; they go hand in hand, and I like listening to and seeing the ultimate outcomes come to life.
You’ve written and produced for artists like Drake, Future, and French Montana. What shifts internally while you transfer from producing for others to expressing your self as a solo artist?
It’s humorous as a result of I discover it exhausting doing each on the similar time. When I’m engineering or producing for another person, I’m totally immersed of their world, so it helps me to concentrate on their targets. And after I come again to engaged on “Lotus,” I chorus from taking any session in order that my imaginative and prescient doesn’t get “tangled”.
Being a feminine producer and engineer in a male-dominated house continues to be uncommon. What has that journey been like for you, and what do you assume wants to vary within the trade?
It’s actually altering through the years. I’ve met so many superb feminine producers and engineers, and all of us have one factor in widespread: paying additional consideration to element. I believe that’s what makes us so particular. I really feel just like the trade is opening up extra to ladies in these positions, and it’s superb to see so many people flourishing in our skilled passions.
What sort of legacy do you hope to construct from this second ahead?
I actually would like to see extra artists collaborating with the artists who’ve impressed their musical journeys. Creating fusions of not solely sounds but in addition generations of storytelling. I hope to listen to extra initiatives like this.
Lastly, for these discovering you thru Honey for the primary time—what’s the one factor you need them to grasp about The BLK LT$?
I need those that are simply discovering me to know I’m only a lady following her desires, and even when it’s exhausting, I preserve going. I hope to encourage them to dig deep and discover all that they’ll do as a result of that’s really all I’m doing, and I’m grateful to be doing it with some actually superb, gifted, and legendary individuals.
As The BLK LT$ continues to evolve, her journey feels much less like an increase and extra like a revelation. She’s not behind the boards crafting hits for others; now she’s the voice, the imaginative and prescient, and the heartbeat. That’s the reason, greater than an album, “Honey: The BLK LT$ Meets The Killa Bees” is a declaration of self-trust, legacy, and the ability of inventive fearlessness.
CONNECT WITH THE BLK LT$
