Photo by Nina Parks. Photo Color & Retouch by Lady Lexx

On Valentine’s Day, we dropped the much anticipated “Married to the Hustleâ€? mixtape by EyeASage and today, we bring you the interview with the lady behind the moniker, EyeASage—Ms. Krishtine de Leon (many apologies for the delay!)! Now, don’t let the length of this interview scare you, this lady has a lot of important knowledge to share and you’re going to want to read about it. Also, check the handwritten survey at the end of the interview. Let’s get on it!

M.I.S.S. Crew: Ok, let’s start off with where the name “EyeASage� came from?

EyeASage: EyeSage started off as—you know how Eminem’s name is M and M for Marshall Mathers? Well, “EyeSage� started when I got into college. My friends use to call me Ish and so it was I-S-H, or “I A Sage�. Sage is like a learned and respected name. So it’s like a double entendre. It basically means, “I am a wise and respected person.�

M.I.S.S. Crew: Your target audience—who are they and is there an overall message you want to deliver to them?

EyeASage: I would say my target audience is young women, you know, but I want my message to be for everyone. I’m sure that young women would be able to relate. I think there’s a lack of presence of young women in music and in Hip Hop, especially now. Coming from an era where there were just as many female rappers as there were male rappers, you wouldn’t have to say, “She’s a female emcee.� You would just say, “She’s an emcee.� And coming from that to now, where there are only a handful of female rappers and they’re hyper sexualized. Misogyny in hip-hop is so rampant that it’s almost not welcoming. I address that in my song, “Find Me� and I think that my target audience is basically, anyone who’s willing to see a balance restored in Hip Hop and I think that people are hungry for it—so, anyone who’s willing to listen, really.

(Get more after the jump!)

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