West Coast rap queen Kamaiyah has the streets of Oakland buzzin’ off her smash hit “How Does It Feel.” After releasing her debut project, A Good Night In The Ghetto, the 24-year-old fearless soul is carving out her own lane, inspired by “’90s feminist futurists” like Missy Elliot, TLC and Aaliyah, who made being a tomboy “cool and confident.”
This week, Kamaiyah blessed newfound fans with another banger, “How You Want It,” produced by Cardo, better known as “Cardo Got Wings.” Claiming her place in 2016, Kamayiah’s style may consists of box-braids and baggy ’90s gear, however, don’t put her in a box—she sets out to be one of the greatest out of Oakland.
“We’ve never really had a big female rapper out here,” Kamaiyah tells MTV. “We need this. It’s history. And I don’t feel like women should ever feel intimidated by men. Lyrically, I’m better than a lot of these niggas. You just have the ego and the accolades and the credit. I’m still earning it. But I want to keep this positivity for women going — to make sure it’s OK for women to feel comfortable in their own skin, and to have confidence to create their own lane. That’s what I’m here for, period — women. We can do whatever.”