FEATURE:
Modern Heroines
that I feature an artist in Modern Heroines who has released relatively little music. As I want to celebrate tremendous women in music, I think that Maliibu Miitch fits the bill perfectly. She actually debuted back in 2011 – so marking a decade of her music and immense presence in music is right! Whilst she has not been on the scene a long time, I do think that, in years to come, we will be looking back at the music and influence of Maliibu Miitch. I am going to end with a selection of some of her best cuts. Until then, it is worth. Born Jennifer Jade Roberts (4th March, 1991), she is an American rapper, songwriter, and entertainer of African-American , Vietnamese, and Filipino descent. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and raised in the South Bronx since the age of three. It seems like she was born to perform and hear her voice and words experienced by a worldwide audience. Even though her E.P., Hood Foreign, came out in 2013 and there has been no word of an album since, she put out a single with, Bree Runway in the form of GUCCI. (and other cuts have arrived since 2013) I think that 2022 will be a year where Maliibu Miitch breaks through again and releases the best music of her career. What she has put out so far is amazing and original. She is an artist who owes a debt to nobody. Despite that, the rapper cites her Rihanna, 50 Cent, JAY-Z, Nicki Minaj, Foxy Brown and Jadakiss. She also wants to work with Drake.
There are not many interviews with her from the past couple of years. Instead, there are some interviews from 2018 and 2019 that are interesting. We get to know more about a compelling, hugely aspirational and strong artist who, as I say, will be far better known soon. She is going to be a future legend. I want to start with i-D’s chat with a rising star who is among the finest artists around:
“There are two sides to the Bronx-raised rapper Maliibu Miitch. There’s the audacious, husky-voiced, Paid In Full-inspired Miitch, who storms onto tracks like The Count, Give Her Some Money, and Double Up with an impenetrable flow – one that’s prompted comparisons to Foxy Brown. Then there’s a sweeter, more spirited Maliibu, responsible for catchy hooks (remember 2017's Gwapamole?) and wide-mouthed grins. But what you might not know is that it took Maliibu Miitch years to find her voice.
The fire spitter is no stranger to the music industry – she signed deals with Ruff Ryders and Island Def Jam before finding a home with Atlantic in late 2017. Today, eight years into her career, Maliibu Miitch is confident as ever, delivering an authentic expression of her duality and empowering listeners to challenge their expectations of how women and rappers should act and sound. Over the phone from her home in the Bronx, Maliibu Miitch tells us why she’s vocal about her industry experience, the most important lessons she's learned over the years and what exactly she’s cooking up next.
So tell me about your childhood in the Bronx. What kind of music did you grow up around?
I used to get into a lot of trouble. I used to fight and I was in and out of gangs, but it made me the wonderful person that I am today. It informed my music, period. When I was mad young, like eight, I was listening to Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC. When I got older, I started listening to 50 Cent. He changed my whole entire life. In Da Club was the first video I saw. I wanted to be just like him.
When did you start rapping?
It actually was because of a high school best friend. One day she called me and she was rapping over Gucci Mane’s Wasted. It was so fire. I was like, “I want to try it!” I wrote something and an hour later I called her back and she gassed me up. From there, I just kept at it. Then one day, I was in Vietnam Projects in the Bronx and it was the Fourth of July and we were all drinking. All the guys were in the middle just rapping and I swear they were all trash. It was so hilarious. I told my best friend, “I’m going to go over there and rap,” and she didn’t believe me. So I got up and I started spitting. They were all like “Oh shit. You lit. You lit.” So yeah, it was the attention they gave me.
You were signed to Ruff Ryders and then Island Def Jam. Can you talk about those experiences?
Each experience is a learning experience. There’s no sense in being in something and not learning anything from it. Ruff Ryders taught me what I didn't want, as well as how to act like an actual artist. They had somebody trying to write my stuff and that’s not what I wanted. Then, I was in a group with Island Def Jam. They had me with this singer who was completely the opposite to me, so it taught me a lot of patience and dealing with other people. I had to chill. I had to be relaxed, so that’s what being with Island taught me. That and song structure. The A&R on my project, Sam Watters, was actually one of the artists in Color Me Badd, so he taught me how to structure songs better, how to write hooks and stuff like that.
You’re so vocal about the deals you’ve had in the past and how they didn’t pan out in the way that you wanted. Most artists would shy away from talking about things like that.
I’m so open about it because I talk to a lot of artists and hear them tell me stuff about their situation that’s not right. Things I never would’ve known about it didn’t share my experiences with them. I feel like as artists that’s our one job – to express ourselves. Who’s to say that we have to keep our mouths shut? There’s other artists that look up to us that want to be vocal about it, but they feel like nobody is going to support them, nobody is going to understand. It’s always good to let people know that, ‘Yo, my back was up against a wall mad times. I got mad doors slammed in my face, but like, I kept chugging.’
Have you always felt like you had these two parts of yourself, Maliibu and Miitch?
I rap about hood shit and that’s what I want my message to get across. That’s what I want you to feel about where I’m coming from. I always felt very gritty and I used to fight when I was younger. That’s Miitch. And then with Maliibu, I’m very fun, like this is the “lit mami” side of me. I like to make mad jokes and I’m mad goofy. I always want to showcase that in my music. On my verses you’ll hear Miitch with all the tongue, just spitting at you, wanting you to hear everything she’s saying. Then Maliibu will come through on the hook to lighten it up and give it a fun feeling”.
One of the most interesting aspects of Maliibu Miitch’s career is how she has changed labels a few times. It seems that, until fairly recently, she had not found her right home and label she was comfortable with. This is explored in an interview with NYLON from 2019:
“With Top 5 and your own music like “Give Her Some Money,” it seems pretty clear that you’re all about female empowerment.
I really wanna see other people win. I know how it took me so long to get popping, and I felt like it was always because I really didn’t have no support from no other females. And I just know that us females are better off sticking together. We’ll have more success if we stick together and support each other.
Before recently signing with Atlantic, you were signed with Ruff Ryders and Island Def Jam. What went wrong?
They just wanted my personality to be all bubbly all of the time. I’m not like that 24/7. I’m a Pisces, so I go through my feelings. I am from the South Bronx, I grew up there my whole entire life. I wanted to rap about things that I love doing and what I went through, you know? I’m just super-excited about being with Atlantic. There’s nothing like someone accepting you for being yourself instead of trying to change you. Everything is just so good now.
Before getting to the final interview, there is one from 2019 that I want to bring in. Not to quote questions and answers that provide the same information. When she spoke with Inked, Maliibu Miitch was asked how the game and industry has changed for female rappers:
“It’s taken a couple years for your career in music to start taking off. What made you decide to keep pushing for this dream?
I think it’s always going to be that way with whatever job you have. But I always kept going because this is the only thing I feel like I’m actually good at. A lot of people don’t know that this has helped build my confidence, writing all of the time, spitting, and people hearing my music. Overall, I think that it’s helped me.
And how would you describe your sound now?
I’m going to say that it’s very New York. Before, I didn’t know what I was doing so I would just go into the studio and do whatever. Now, I want to say that it’s very New York—very gritty, in your face, and unapologetic.
How has the music industry changed over the years in regard to the opportunities given to female rappers?
I'm happy about it, because other females are coming out and I'm really big on that. Before, it was so male driven and it was up to the guys to dictate which one or two females could come out rapping. And around that time, a lot of the girls coming up weren't so nice and they had this idea in their head that only one female could succeed. They couldn't be cool or cordial with other female rappers, but everybody now isn't about that. It's girl power and the more females get in, the more we bring each other up.
These guys won't be able to do half the things that they've done to us behind closed doors, trying to write for us and co-sign us. That was a big thing for female rappers to get over, that male co-sign. Back in the day, Lil Kim was co-signed by Biggie, Foxy was co-signed by Jay-Z. But we've gotten away from that and I'm happy about it.
Another song that you've put out in the last years is "Get Her Some Money." Let's talk about that one.
Oh my God, that was my little strip club anthem. I just wanted people to have fun, you know? Everybody thinks the song is about giving head, but when I say head good I mean that she's got her head on right. She's got bills paid and everything out of the way, then she goes to have fun. Give that girl some money”.
It has been great knowing more about an artist whose music I have loved for years. There is a wave of women in Rap like Maliibu Miitch and Bree Runway who are going to follow their heroines very soon. The strength and impact of their music is so strong and notable. I am excited to see where Maliibu Miitch goes next. I am going to wrap with an interview from last year. Galore spoke with Maliibu Miitch about obstacles that have been placed in her way – in addition to the relevance of New York to her image and musical identity:
“Blasian Bronxnite, Maliibu Miitch is not your quintessential rapper. Her sound is a raw blend of, “No Plan B,” mixed with a plethora of crass unwavering relentless that one would expect from a person who raps rhymes for a living. She is society’s stereotype of a rapper on full blast. Tats. Loud. Vulgar. Unclothed. Filled with clever word play. Off, but on delivery and honesty that is what sets her music apart from artist twice her senior. Maliibu Miitch is a rapper’s rapper, just with model looks, great comedic timing an a presence that is straight from the cosmos.
How do you overcome the roadblocks as a woman in the music industry?
I always believed in standing my ground and speaking my mind. I always applied what I learned in the streets to my career because just like the streets if you’re not on point you’ll get taking advantage of especially if you’re a woman.
What elements of New York influence you, and how do you nuance it in your music and represent it in your image?
I love embracing my city! I take great pride in being from the South Bronx, HipHop’s birth place. Some of the elements that influence me the most from New York is our raw unfiltered bluntness; it allows me to be my unapologetic self in my music.
What is your contribution to rap music? What do you want for your audience to take away?
My contribution to rap is bringing back a more authentic old school sound that everyone can vibe with, I love when people older then me tell me they love my music because it reminds them of the rappers they grew up listening to. I want my audience to go through every type of emotion with me like 90s and early 2000s music did for me”.
A stunning and inspiring artist who many are looking to see where she goes next, I know that next year will be a busy one for the South Bronx-raised rapper. From her beginnings a decade ago (in terms of her professional career) through to newer cuts like Let's Be Honest and GUCCI, Maliibu Miitch is growing stronger and more compelling. Listen to the playlist below to see why Maliibu Miitch is…
SUCH a remarkable artist.