MISS RAP SUPREME STANDOUT MS. CHERRY IS READY TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT SHE’S MORE THAN JUST A REALITY SHOW STAR OR T-PAIN’S BABY MAMA A lot of people might recognize you from the VH1 reality show Miss Rap Supreme, but you actually had a rap career before the show and were interviewed in OZONE a few times before. For people who don’t know, let them know what you were doing before the show. A lot of people think that it started with the show, but I’ve been rapping since I was 13 years old. I’m 24 now. You were signed to Streetwise Records and had a couple of songs that were hittin’ locally in Atlanta. What happened to Streetwise? Since they’re still going through some [legal] issues, it’s kinda hard to talk about it. A lot of people saw it on the news or the internet. I was in Albany when [the story hit the news]. [The news] said they’d been locked up. When I drove back up to Atlanta, the girl from the office told me to come to her house. When I came to her house, [Big T, the CEO of Streetwise] jumped out from behind the door and was like, “They can’t catch me!” You know how it is. You’re in the streets trying to turn your street money clean, so that’s why they [had] the record label. My contract [with Streetwise] has expired, so I guess you could say I’m a free agent. Did you think it was a good career move going on a reality show? Sometimes it can come off as a gimmick. It was hard to know how the show was gonna be. All I knew was that VH1 was having a reality show about female rappers. I haven’t really seen any female artists that I feel are real competition. It’s a lot of [female] rappers that were hot once, but where are they now? So I felt like I couldn’t lose. I didn’t know how it was gonna [turn out] so I felt like it was a win-win. Has the show resulted in a lot of recognition and opportunities for you from record labels and other media outlets? Definitely. I think it was a great opportunity because now, everywhere I go, I never have to explain, “Hi, I’m Ms Cherry. I had a song called ‘It’s Whatever.’ You might’ve seen me in XXL or OZONE.” A lot of labels reached out and clothing lines gave me free clothes and stuff. I get a lot of phone calls that I wanted to get when I was with Streetwise. You and Khia didn’t get along too well on the show. Did you know her before you got on the show? Was that real animosity or did y’all make it extra dramatic for television? Yeah, I sure did [know her before]. She’s real extra. I really think she did that for TV, cause after the argument [when the cameras went off] she’d kinda laugh. She was picking at all the girls but nobody stood up to her. They’d just let her say whatever she wanted, but I was like, “Wait a minute, bitch. Who the fuck do you think you is?” You both live here in Atlanta. Did things end on a more positive note or is it gonna get ugly if you both show up at the same place at the same time? I saw her in the club at my birthday party at Central Station in Atlanta. The whole rest of my party was like, “Man, let’s whoop this hoe’s ass.” I was like, “I don’t start shit; I finish it. Let’s see what she does.” She acted like she didn’t even see me. I’m standing right in front of her like, “Hello?” I just wanted her to say one thing. I wouldn’t even have to do nothing. That’s what she doesn’t realize – you can’t come to somebody else’s city and expect to live there. Even if I never go outside the house, my whole family lives here. I’ve got aunties, cousins, and friends from elementary, middle, and high school. But, it’s really not that serious. I think she’s very immature. You saw her on the show crying. She’s so dramatic, oh my God. She’s just extra all the time. On the show she was crying about her mom and stuff. I think she really needs help. She doesn’t have that mama figure, somebody to hold a mirror in front of her and say, “Khia, don’t wear that. Khia, don’t say that. Khia, don’t get on the radio in Atlanta where you live and make a complete asshole out of yourself.” I think she needs a role model. Who do you think would be a good role model for Khia? 64 // OZONE MAG
: WORDS & PHOTO Y RL JULIA BEVE