In an era where everyone is racing to the money bag, Oakland artist Kamaiyah comes from the center of Bay Area chaos, where she highlights the ups and downs of her journey and takes her time on the rise to proving her own success.

She took to the Oakland streets, where the love is extremely real for HipHop culture. People out there will actually purchase music from you off the street to where folks can sell 100K from their trunk easily.  But for Kamaiyah, sky is the limit. She continues to push herself past her block, testing her endurance and breaking through street culture norms in ways that most female rap artists require a team for. Some of the most influential people on her art are Missy Elliot, TLC & Aaliyah, whose influences one sees in Kamaiyah’s brand and style of dress.

Her charismatic personality and to-the-point demeanor are refreshing in an industry that is often drowning in fluff.  She’s worked with the likes of YG, Drake, and other street disciples that are leading various avenues of rap culture into a new age.  Both a producer and songwriter, she is humble enough to admit that there are songs she has done that she doesn’t care for and others that she was shocked to see were so well received.  All she knows is the vision she has for herself and the faith that she rides on, which is altogether inspiring. As part of XXL’s 2017 Freshman Class, she mention’s BowWow as a rapper whose lyricism drove her to focus on her pen game. Her first mix tape was gobbled up, with folks loving everything about it.  She wanted to make sure that she represented the Bay Area for exactly what it is without any outside influence and really just hopes that listeners will grasp the journey behind her music and what it took to serve people with her final product. You can catch Kamaiyah on YG’s “Why You Always Hatin’” as the song most people know best, but her singles “How Does It Feel”, “Build You Up”, and “I’m On” are cult classics that can be heard amongst her biggest fans.

image is courtesy of: notey.com

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