We recently connected with Pretty Blaq and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Pretty Blaq, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project that I’ve ever created would be my debut Album titled “Bantu Knots”. Bantu Knots is an African/African American hairstyle, characterized by sectioning our hair off into multiple parts, twisting and rolling our hair into individual balls all over our head. I work in “Corporate America” and I wore my natural locs in that style to the office where I worked one day, and my old white racist coworker called me “Buckwheat”. For those who are not familiar, Buckwheat was a character on the original Little Rascals which came out in the 1950s during a time where Jim Crow Laws and Racism thrived systematically. The character Buckwheat was a stereotypical, dehumanizing & negative representation of Black People and the term “Buckwheat” was used as a racial slur. Long story short, I reported her to my supervisor and to HR and the end result was me being harassed and demoted in retaliation. I took huge loses that I still haven’t fully recovered from almost 8 years later. So the inspiration behind my album was that incident, as well as similar incidents I’ve faced throughout my life. It was therapeutic for me.

Pretty Blaq, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Ive been writing poetry since I was 10, raping since I was 12, and performing Spokenword Poetry since I was 15. I seriously got into performing Sokenword Poetry around 2008 and spent over 10 years building a name for myself (Pretty Blaq) and becoming one of the most well known and most requested poets in the Inland Empire and Los Angeles areas. My poetry is Afrocentric, centered around Black Women, Black People, Black Topics, Black Struggle, Black Love, Black Pain and Black Culture; hence the name “Pretty Blaq”. I am a fiery “No Holds Barred” Poet, and I am no different as a lyricist/rapper. I began pursuing music seriously in December of 2019, and was quickly signed to an Independent label in February of 2020 for 2 years. At this time I am currently an independent artist, not signed to any labels or distribution deals. At this point I am looking to obtain a distribution deal, make good a*s, meaningful music that heals people, reach as many ears as possible, and of course monetize my hard work and passion that I put into my art.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The first time I embarked on trying to be a signed hip hop artist I was 18 years old. Without telling my age, the music industry was leaps and bounds different from what it is today. We had to go through A&Rs, Auditions, demo tapes, there was no social media to assist us, the grind was different. As a young woman I was turned off because I was told by A&R that I had to do “favors” in order to get ahead. So I stopped, and spent the next 10-15 years finding my voice in the world of Spokenword Poetry. Despite the mishaps. One day while watching the 1st Season of Wu Tang Saga on Hulu, I was inspired to link with my boy Eugene Oneil and drop a freestyle over the iconic DJ Premier “Devil’s Pie” instrumental and I haven’t stopped since.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I want to create meaningful, good, timeless music and poetry. I want to heal people and be a voice for the voiceless. I want my gift to be heard and felt around the world! Of course I want to make a living doing what I love, but pure passion and the love for my art is the driving force behind my pursuit in my creative journey!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: PrettyBlaqOfficial