Philadelphia femcee Ms. Jade is back after a six-year hiatus from music with a renewed outlook on life and a more honest approach to songwriting. She’s just released “Pay The Price” as part of a series of freestyles prepping fans for the highly anticipated EP, Beautiful Mess. “Pay The Price” was produced by Bugsy Malone and laid over a Yo Gotti beat. The series boasts a selection of classic and contemporary beats and showcases her unrelenting passion for music and fighting spirit. Other freestyles in the series include “Wicked” and “Feelin’ It.”
Her debut album Girl Interrupted dropped in 2002 via Timbaland’s Beat Club Records and Interscope, but her journey to being signed wasn’t always smooth. The industry already had Eve and felt that there wasn’t space for another female rapper from Philly. She was encouraged to find a regular job and put her time at beauty school to good use. It was only when she listened to India Arie’s “Strength, Courage and Wisdom” from Acoustic Soul that she was inspired to keep going and fulfil her musical purpose.
Growing up in Philadelphia, Ms Jade (a.k.a. Chevon Young) performed in local talent shows inspired by the likes of Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Janet Jackson and Pat Benatar. She later took a liking to the East Coast sound and artists like Biggie, Lil Kim, Foxy Brown and Mase. As fate would have it, her big break came in New York, where she met Jay Brown, who was then working with Missy Elliott at Elektra Records. When she met Missy, she was given the opportunity to rap down the phone to Timbaland, and within two weeks she signed a deal. Timbo taught her how to adapt her flow to different instruments and beat patterns and helped her to become the confident lyricist she is today with grueling 12-hour studio sessions in LA and NY.
The triple threat (rapper/singer/actor) worked with the likes of Nelly Furtado and JAY Z during her early career and was featured on the official remix of Beyoncé’s ‘Diva’ with Ciara. Queen Bey even referenced her 2002 track “Ching Ching” on her single “Rocket” in 2013 (“what about that ching ching ching”). She describes the split with Missy and Timbaland as being due to “growing pains,” as they “weren’t seeing eye to eye” on her sound and image and Ms Jade felt that Girl Interrupted could have done better than it did. Despite being initially devastated by the situation, she now looks back on it as a learning curve and is grateful for the “opportunity to change and see the world.”
The upcoming EP Beautiful Mess is set for release later this year and chronicles her growth as an artist and a woman; including personal tales of depression, grief and her car accident. The project will introduce her voice as a singer and display the production skills of the new generation of YouTube talent. The instruments will be live, the descriptions grimy and the delivery unique. Ms Jade comments: “I’m representing for the females who don’t feel like they’re represented by what’s currently out there.”
She recently released ‘Thelma and Louise’ with fellow Philly femcee MC Nina Ross and has started writing R&B and pop tracks for other artists; including studio sessions with Miley Cyrus and Kelly Rowland. In the past, Ms Jade hinted at the possibility of an album compiled with all the lost tracks from her Girl Interrupted sessions with Timbaland, although she recognizes the need to modernize the beats in order for them to translate to her new fans. Watch this space.
You recently released “Pay The Price” as part of a freestyle series in anticipation of your upcoming EP, Beautiful Mess. What typically inspires your freestyle rhymes? Do you enjoy being put on the spot and battle rapping?
What Jade is feeling usually inspires my freestyles. Sometimes I like classic beats or I’m in the car and might hear a beat that’s poppin’ and I’m like, ‘ohhhhh, I need to do this!’ Or, I go somewhere and I see everybody’s head knocking to a particular beat. Somebody could just give me a beat and say, ‘I think you would sound dope on that’—to me that’s like a challenge and then I kill it. That’s usually what happens. [giggles]
I haven’t battle rapped in maybe 13, 14 years. I like to watch it, but battle rapping is not my thing. I feel like I’m a rapper who has a bit of that, I come from that world, so when I first started I had to do that to prove myself. I’m not a super, duper battle rapper now. If I’m at a radio station and somebody puts me on the spot, I’m not gonna be like, ‘You gotta let me hear something first.’ I feel like as an emcee, you have to always be ready. I’m a songwriter now—it’s been like two or three years since I discovered that was one of the talents I had. So I’m taking my songwriting seriously now.
What can we expect from Beautiful Mess? There was word that it was meant to come out a couple of years ago. Why was the release delayed and is there a release date yet?
It was supposed to come out a couple of years ago, as soon as I got the idea [for] it. You can expect honesty. I’ve grown from a girl to a woman, so a lot of my stuff is a woman’s experiences as I live them now, before I was talking about younger stuff. Some of it is fun, but some of the songs are about me and the choices that I’ve made. Things like being a rapper and trying this for years and years. Maybe not having kids or a family because of that. It’s about different things that I’m going through in my life. Beautiful Mess is sometimes how I feel, like my life is a mess (God, I’m a mess!). But that same mess is a beautiful thing, because that’s who I am.
I didn’t [release] it for so long because I’m super hard on myself and it’s not a good thing. I’m always, ‘It could be better, it could be better,’ not even realizing that I’m letting time fly by. Now I have to go ahead and put this out because the people are asking for it and you’ve got to give the people what they want! I don’t have a release date yet that I want to say, but I did just write down a time frame that I wanna have it done within. That’s a personal goal of mine. I’m like, ‘you can’t keep on pushing it back and pushing it back.’ 2016 definitely.
Earlier in your career you found the industry felt that there was only room for one Philly femcee (Eve). How do you think we can change this perception that only one female rapper can be successful at a time?
I always thought that was stupid. There are so many men out there—different men. When I was growing up, you had Jay, you had Busta, you had Big, you had Tribe. You had different artists, different men, that were permitted to do different things and create music that gave you different feelings. I feel like for women rappers, well emcees, it’s unfair. But what would happen if people would open their minds up a little bit and say, ‘Alright, well we like Nicki, we got Eve and other female artists who deserve to be played on the same stations, have the same opportunities.’
Everything is not for everybody, but the powers-that-be have to stop comparing people, women. Everyone is an individual and they don’t really do that with men. With women, it’s like everyone should follow the lead of one person; if club music is poppin’, we all have to do club sh*t. If trap is poppin’, we all have to do trap sh*t. They don’t do that with men. The powers-that-be have to stop that and the listeners—if you demand more flavors of artists, of any gender, then they’re gonna have to listen.
You previously worked with Timbaland and Missy in the early 2000s. How do things stand with your relationship with them now? Do you ever see yourself collaborating with them again?
I’m hopeful for a collaboration, I’m open to it. I talk to them every now and then. Everything is love, everything is good.
I read that earlier in your career you felt as though Missy Elliott stole your signature fashion style. Do you still feel this way? How would you describe your personal style today?
This is the question that just won’t go away! [laughs] I’m not rehashing it. Look back at some pictures and see what I was wearing and when. At the end of the day, my style is ever changing. I love vintage and I love designer pieces; that’s my style. On Monday morning, you might see me and I look like a homeless person and Tuesday, I might look ready for the red carpet. That’s just the woman that I am; that’s how I’ve always been. I might have on a dress that costs $7 and shoes that cost $750.
My style is not just one style. Even back then, that was how I felt on those days…sporty, casual, Adidas and bamboos. Not saying that I don’t do that anymore, I’m just more open to other things. When I first came out, I had to stick with the script, I had to always look like that. When, in actuality, I might go to the studio in a flowered dress and look like a hippie. My style is all over the place—which I love.
What’s next for you after your new EP drops?
I’m looking to do film right now and get some placements. Acting and vocal lessons, everything. I’m a creative and creatives must create! Any way that I can tap into that, whatever God has planned, I’m not closing the door. I’m opening every door that comes my way and the things that I feel passionate about, that’s what I’m doing. And rapping. [giggles]
