Hey ladies,

Check out my interviews with EyeASage and Hopie Spitshard about their upcoming performance at MILK SF this Friday!

Today marks the release of Hopie Spitshard’s solo debut album The Diamond Dame. The Diamond Dame is 13 original tracks written by Hopie and produced by 6Fingers and features Del the Funky Homosapien, Bambu (Native Guns), Topkat, EyeASage, Kid Static and Smigg Dirtee! The album is great and the ladies and I have been listening to it on repeat at M.I.S.S. Crew HQ. Last week we had the chance to sit down with Hopie to talk about her influences, how she got her start and what it’s like to be a woman rapping in a male-dominated industry.

When did you start rapping and how did you realize you were an MC?
Well I first started rapping at age 11. I wrote my first rap, but it was really bad. Haha. But it all started at Great America - they used to have a karaoke booth where they would record you and give you a tape. So it was three of my friends, we go to Great America, and of course we do TLC “Waterfall” where I’m Left-eye. The rest of it sounded like crap, but when I came on I sounded exactly like her. So I was all, “Oh Shit, maybe I could be a rapper.” Ever since then, I’ve just been writing.

Read the rest of the interview and get an exclusive free download after the jump . . .

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