Scandalous a.k.a. Thug Girl

The Definition
Words By: Willie “Charles” Lyles Jr.

On Thursday June 25, 2009, the date known infamously around the world as the day Michael Jackson died, I walk into the recording studio of Chi City Inc. in Chicago, Illinois. The music in the background is the instrumental of the hit record “Swagga Like Us”, and in the recording booth is a young caramel-complexion female dropping bars of her own. To an amateur such as myself, each take of the track is done with pure precision, but to it’s author something is not quite right. Seeing me enter the recording studio, she knows that it is time to conduct her interview, but she vows to stay in the both until the track is complete to her liking. I am not offended in the least bit; in fact I am truly amazed! Astonished at her microphone skills, her versatility, her sound, metaphor’s and punch-lines, subject matter, and her narcissism (strive for perfection). This young lady took a track famous for bragging about a persons cool, and added her own signature that focused primarily on her lyrical ineptitude. Not once did she use her sex in order to sell her God given gift!
“Scandalous Thug Girl”, a stage name truly fitting it’s owner. She is considered Scandalous due to her lyricism when gripping the microphone, and a thug girl because of her past. Using the words of the immortal Jay-Z, she is “focused man”, eyes on the prize of gaining respect in the rap game as a FeMC. Promising to make her name ring bells in the industry as they once did in the streets.
The journey towards success for young Scandalous began when she was just nine years old. Introduced to Hip-Hop from parties thrown by her grandmother, her and a cousin would rush to the karaoke machine in an attempt to entertain the party-goers by rapping. From there Scandalous began sharpening her skills writing as much as she could and as hard as she could. Several years later, her hard work would pay off she landed a deal with Mind Blowing Records at the tender age of 18 in 2002.
“Everybody wanted to be the star, nobody could wait their turn,” said Scandalous looking back at her years on the label.
In 2005 she left Mind Blowing and hooked up with Drk Syd Records where she released her first studio album “No Holding Back.” The classic was equipped with such bangers as: “Choppers”, “Roll Wit Me”, and “South Side” (produced by No I.D.) that received radio airplay on Power 92. The success from her underground album had scouts from the industry clamoring to find out just who in the hell this female phenomenon is. She began to get booked for shows, major I might add, as if she was headed directly to jail. She has graced the stage with the likes of: Jim Jones, Camron, Juvenile, Remy Martin, Lil Flip, Cyprus Hill, Twista, D A Smart, Crucial Conflict, Do or Die, Triple Darkness, and Psycho Drama. She has performed all across the United States in such locations as: Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Terre Haute, Nashville, Milwaukee, and Memphis.
Success, however did not stop there, Scandalous also did a reality TV show tentatively entitled “Godmother.” The show, which has not yet been released (when it does will air on MTV), focuses around a relative of the individual that created Courvoisier Cognacs and who wishes to try her hand in the entertainment industry. The distant relative takes in a group of hungry underground acts itching for a break into the industry. She mentors them, and shares with them her knowledge of the entertainment world hoping it will eventually create some sort of breakthrough for them. During her stint on the show, Scandalous was on the verge of signing a record deal with Dip Set South but the deal never materialized.
“It’s a lot of crooks out here, a bunch of liars; you must know your business,” said Scandalous looking back on her nine years in the game. Despite the ups and downs Scandalous refused to quite, and once the taping of the show concluded Scandalous saw more success. She starred in a short film by Mark Armstrong entitled “Chicken Head Bounce.” She played the role of the assistant of DJ NLZ in the movie which can be found in local video stores such Blockbuster Video. Her talent on the microphone earned her the opportunity to record a track with Vladis, a very popular artist in Europe. The song is called “Game Girl”, and is receiving major airplay on radio stations overseas.
“The best advice I could give to anybody trying to make it in the industry is to stay focused and get your bars up and go hard! Get out here; don’t wait on anybody to try to get you something. Do what you need to do, bullshit ain’t nothing,” stressed Scandalous.
Scandalous credits her success to her hard work and dedication in the booth, and her strong wordplay on the mic! She also believes her stage performance is a major weapon that separates her from other acts both mainstream and underground. Before rocking an event, Scandalous first listens to the show CD on the way to the set. Once there she checks the crowd, and the competition regardless of their status. If they are coming hard on the mic, her game must be raised a few notches. If they are not rocking the mic correctly her game still must be raised in order to save the energy of the crowd. Once the scan is complete, Scandalous has a drink to calm her nerves, and then the art of blessing the mic begins. If anymore encouragement is needed all she has to do is look for her number one fan, “Mama Scandalous” who is front and center at every show no matter what. With that being said let me tell you a story; I was first introduced to Scandalous while she was performing at a concert in Gary. A number of things about her talent caught my attention, but what stood out the most is at the very end of her set she cut the music off and flowed A Cappella. Before she began she urged the crowed to simmer-down and pay close attention to her lyrics. Her bars captivated the audience causing a string of oohs and ahhs, the focus of her words stemmed around how addictive her lyrics could be. One hit and hip-hop fiends would be left scratching theirs ears thirsting for another dose “searching in broad daylight with a flashlight” for the nearest word-dealer.
“I spit that Cook . . . Coke . . . Crack . . .”
‘ya damn skippy!
“I break out the box. I go outside the box. I do what they don’t want to do,” exclaimed Scandalous. “I am a lyricist and a entertainer, I love the stage! Rappers just rap, I’m a female MC.” For awhile now she has included that tool to her lyrical repertoire, switching up the verse on occasion always keeping the crowd on their toes. Upon listening to her music and her skill on the mic, the only words I could use to describe her style would be a “melting pot.” Scandalous rap flow is a blend of Chi-town flavor (fast rap), down south, east coast, gritty and grimy with a female twist thus creating a lyrical infusion that can only be created in a melting pot.
“I’m doing this out of love. If it was all about the money I would have been given up,” said Scandalous. “It’s my heart, my soul, it’s my everything!”
Although she saw a lot of success at Drk Syd Records, Scandalous eventually would have to leave something inside her long for something bigger. Now free she wasn’t looking for a record deal whether major or small she was looking for independence. The freedom to do what she wanted when she wanted, the power to come and go whenever she pleased. Leaving Drk Syd caused no friction or animosity whatsoever between the two parties, in fact Drk Syd went so far as to sell her some recording equipment to help jump start her dream. The recording studio was built in the basement of her mother’s house, the first stepping stone to as soon to be long lasting foundation. As a result, Chi-City Inc. was formed with Scandalous as the founder and Co-CEO along with her partner in crime Shaun Prude.
“I don’t listen to the radio, because I don’t want to sound like anybody else,” said Scandalous. “The music is definitely not about the lyrics these days.”
Originality would be a major ingredient for all Chi-City Inc. recording artist along with versatility, creativity, range (subject matter), and good quality music. This recipe would help to create and provide a brand new taste to an industry overflowing with bland food.
“My goal is to show people how its suppose to be done! How its needs to be done, and how it should sound,” said Scandalous.
This year Scandalous has something big on the horizon for her loyal fans, and if you aren’t a fan after peeping what’s in store you will soon be. Scandalous has two projects she will soon be serving to the public later this year, a mix-tape and an album. Both share the same name, “Swag of a FeMC”, but feature different and most importantly new material.
FeMC, that’s an interesting word; what does it mean to be a female MC? If you look at the industry at its current state female MC’s are of a rare commodity; in fact there damn near an endangered species! No disrespect to any of the current female rappers presently in the industry but they are just that, rappers. Trust, there is a difference between a rapper and a MC. Today’s female rapper is expected to sell her looks, sex, hell forget it lets just say she’s expected to sell her soul! If she’s not talking about how good of a screw she is than who’s going to pay attention. The sad part about it, most aspiring female entertainers are willing to conform to these demands! It’s as if they don’t realize they’re own self-worth. What happen to MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, and Lauren Hill? How do you think they view the current state of Hip-Hop for female entertainers?
“I want to show the world that females got hustle. That we can grind as hard as males, and stop people from overlooking us. Most importantly, there must be unity amongst us! This is the main reason this industry is dominated by males, because they stick together,” explained Scandalous.
While doing the interview Scandalous was nice enough to let me listen to some of the tracks from both upcoming projects. I can’t name the names of the tracks, but I can stress to you lyrically she works miracles on the mic. She flows with passion and conviction, her rhymes are very smart, witty and to the point. As the music pounds through the speakers, you can see her nodding her head to the beat. Rapping word for word. It’s as if she is in a trance or a zone meticulously inspecting each lyric each instrument. Her music is a representation of herself, it has to be right.
“If I have to do something that’s not me then I’m not going to do it. If you don’t want to hear what I got to say lyrically then don’t buy it,” said Scandalous speaking on the subject of females rappers who chose to spit lyrics heavily loaded with sexual overtones.
During its existence Chi-City Inc. has also seen its share of success; they recently landed a spot on two tours the “Yes I Can Tour” (featuring Chi-City Inc. artist Yung Capo and X-clusive), and the Midwest Flawless Tour that will feature Scandalous. Not to long ago Scandalous received the award for best Female MC at the Midwest Rappers Ball, further stamping her claim that she is a force to be reckoned with.
“The goal of Chi-City Inc? I want to get something major to come out of the city of Chicago,” said Scandalous. If interested in conducting business with Scandalous you must contact Mz. D. at V.A. management (1 708 539 6929), or hit her up at either myspace.com/scandaloustg or chicityinc@yahoo.com.
Before I go I want to leave you with another story about the phenomenal Scandalous Thug Girl, which will focus on her purpose in life! When she was only nine, the same age she fell in love with Hip-Hop, she was also in a very gruesome car accident. Traveling in the car with her mother, stepfather, and older brother their vehicle was struck by a drunk driver. The car flipped over several times, and ended with a violent spin in the middle of a busy Chicago intersection. Scandalous was badly injured; her face was cut open to the point where she could see the inside of her mouth, veins, and muscles! Needless to say blood was pouring everywhere, and despite the severity of the injury she felt no pain (but she does remember being very angry about blood being spilled on her brand new coat). After fading in and out several times, Scandalous was finally rushed to the hospital. The doctors immediately began to operate, but signs were very bleak, things were not looking good for young Scandalous. The doctors signaled for the Chaplin to prepare to pray over her body. While unconscious, Scandalous vividly remembers seeing an “extremely bright, but pretty light.” What was this light we will never know, maybe it was an angel, maybe it was a glimpse into heaven, maybe it was Jesus Christ himself? Whatever it was it breathed life back into the lungs of Scandalous, her purpose in life was not yet fulfilled. She still bares a scar on her face that serves as a reminder of two things: 1.) that God loves her so much that he gave her a second chance, 2.) to breathe life into the microphone as life was breathed into her lungs! You now know the reason why Scandalous goes so hard, why she’s so much of a narcissist . . . that’s her mission in life!

FeMC (fem-cee) n. – A female MC whose style, and swagger on the mic are impeccable. Her words provide motivation; encourage self as well as female pride. Her music is of top notch quality offering no gimmicks and her lyrics promote her skill not her sex. Most importantly, she is completely original.

Example: Scandalous Thug Girl
- Thuro Magazine