Mr. Sykes Interview's 3x's a Lady Crew!
Mr. Sykes of the Big Urban Mixtape sits down with the feminist, all female rap crew 3x's a Lady. The group consist of Shanya Israel A.K.A SITY (Should I Tell You) & Mendita Francois A.K.A Franchise and these girls are defiantly three times a lady. These women are smart, sexy and confidently opinionated. Seldom have we seen women collaborate in Hip-Hop but they are truly the perfect blend. Educated and sophisticated, with their musical repertoire of songs ranging in topics from, Racism, sexism, female identity, queer identity, and down right club bangers. This is what they had to say...
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Mr. Sykes: So not to beat you over the head with the whole feminist ideology thing. But you use this term to describe yourselves and your group and what your about, but in a few of your songs you use the the word "bitch" what does that mean?
Franchise: Well I, I can speak for myself , I'm definitely all about re-appropriation of words. And taking the sting out of certain words and actually I have a verse where I speak directly to the word bitch. And it's like, "Mirror, mirror sitting on the wall tell me who be the most vicious bitches of them all." Then when the mirror ask me well what do you mean? And then I go off and I'm like, "Beautiful, Intelligent, Talented, Charismatic, and Sophisticated. Flow hell bent." and so on... Because what I've noticed is a trend where women have been taking the word bitch and re-appropriating it within themselves. If you look on Myspace you have all these layouts and graphics (Sity: 'The magazine bitch') Exactly, so I think it's about time that, that it's directly infused into popular culture . And that we make it known like okay, I can call myself a bitch but I mean something totally different by that.
SITY: Also for me again with 3rd way feminism everybody doesn't have to subscribe to the same ideology. I don't use the word bitch , I chose not to use it, I chose not use that in what I do. That's just my politics, I'm not comfortable with using that term.
Mr. Sykes: Okay so I have some myspace question for you guys
Mr. Sykes: Burger King or Mcdonald's?
SITY: None geez I'm vegaterian!
Franchise: Mcdonald's
Mr. Sykes: What animal best represents you and why?
SITY: A cat, they are honest they're also warm if they feel that same energy in the room. Very discerning, I am very discerning . Mmm and just sleek and slick with it. I feel like that expresses me.
Franchise: You know it's hard to say, I would say a dog but I don't know if they represent me the best. I just like dogs... Maybe a giraffe.
Mr. Sykes: Who is your ultimate celebrity crush?
Franchise: I'm defiantly feeling Kanye West, and I know he's married ( Mr Sykes: is he?) But I've always respected Kanye West as an artist and a political activist and he defiantly knows what he's talking about. And when he first came out people where at hin like, you're not a really a rapper, or your soft and you're this and your that. But he's never let anyone define who he is as an artist or an individual. I respect him for that I am defiantly feeling him...
SITY: Mary, I am feeling her.
Mr. Sykes: Who would you cast to play you in a movie?
3XL: We just talked about this!
Franchise: On screen, probley Gabrielle Union, she has a lot of attitude she's very good with facial expressions and she's feisty.
SITY: I guess I would have to say Jada Pinkett because I defiantly have a very powerful presence and I think we do look alike. She would need to gain a little weight to play me though.
Mr. Sykes: What is the greatest music video of all time?
SITY: Thriller! or the stop pressuring me video...
Franchise: Maybe rhythm nation...?
Mr. Sykes: Who are your greatest musical influences?
3XL: Queen Laitfah, Lil Kim, Lauryn Hill, Eve, Tupac, Nas (Sity: Beanie Seagal)
(Franchise:) Mary J., Made me wanna sing with real love with real love, and 411. Bob Marley, Tonya Stevens, Tupac, nas Weezy, Lauryn Hill, salt and Pepper... A Maraud of people but defiantly these.
Mr. Sykes: What do you think about the state of Hip-Hop as it reflects african american culture?
SITY: I don't think we can claim being a mirror for the black urban experience or the black experience. Or the black youth experience, yes we could but there needs to be diversity in what is presented. There's a lot of Hip-Hop, feminist Hip-Hop, Queer Hip-Hop, Political Hip-Hop, all these different kinds of rap out there and that doesn't get presented. And until we began to diversify what is played in the media then we can say what is the black experience, this is only a small fragment that is shown right now.
Franchise: I would agree I defiantly feel like there is diversity that's not really being cultivated. It's not being embraced and there is a level of corporate, and social responsibility. Mmm with the men upstairs and who really run things at the end of the day. The men with degrees, and I feel like once we can get past and when I say we I just don't mean black people. But once we as a society can get past our own racism's and the single dimensional view of what black popular culture should be. And once we can accept the Kanye West's, Talib Kwali's, the Common's. the Lauryn Hill's as well as the 50 Cent's, the Beanie Seagal's, the Tupac's then I think we will have made progress.
Mr. Sykes (To Sity): How do you Identify your sexual orientation?
SITY: I am a polyamorous, Woman loving queer. I say I am polyamoruous meaing that I think it's possible to fall in love, not to be with sexually but, fall in love with multiple peoples at the same time. I say woman loving queer because, I perfer women and I say queer because I am open to dating people of various genders. Trans-gender people, Queer people, men at times...
Mr. Sykes: What are you guys doing to change the game?
Franchise: I'm defiantly trying to bring to the talbe that it's ok to be smart! especially for young black girls, and young black men in the inner city. I feel like often time people who are rappers or are in the industry and have a degree or are educated don't try to put that to the forefront. Or they try to dumb it down a little. That's what I feel in Hip-Hop that's where we are right now. A lot of it is being dumb down and we are just settling, like that's okay. And I'm trying to strike a balance between the hardcore rap that's out there and the conscious rap that we are contributing to in so many different ways...
SITY: I also want people to know in telling my everyday story that you can dance to every day life... It can be hard, it can be soft, it can be whatever and you don't have to be afraid to say certain things. And I'm just presenting people to different ways to just be in rap. Cuz I feel like there are just very specific roles, men are supposed to look like hardcore thugs. Women are supposed to look like video hoe's and if they are Mc's they're supposed to look a particular way. And so we are just breaking that and showing you that there are more of us out there doing different things, looking different, saying different things. And we still consider ourselves part of the Hip-Hop generation.
Franchise: And the movement, Hip-Hop is a movement...
