Oakland native Kamaiyah speaks to Glass about her latest album Got It Made and her dream of becoming the first major female rapper from the West Coast on her own terms
WHEN she wrote her first record at the age of nine, Kamaiyah instantly knew that music was her calling. The rapper eventually made her entrance into the hip hop scene in 2016 with her critically acclaimed mixtape A Good Night In The Ghetto. Labelled as one of the best albums of that year, she was clearly one to watch.
The 28-year-old – full name Kamaiyah Jamesha Johnson – was born in Oakland, California, a place steeped in rich hip hop culture and hometown to influential Bay Area rappers like Mac Dre, Too $hort and MC Hammer. “I felt like at that time there was black excellence,” she tells me, citing Aaliyah, TLC and Dru Down as examples of who she listened to. Those glory days stuck with her to inspire the music she makes today. “I try to use that influence in my music,” she explains. “I try and keep my sound as West Coast authentic as possible.”
Referring to MC Hammer as the biggest artist to come out of Oakland, she adds, “Those are big shoes to fill. He was the first rapper to go diamond – that’s a fucking hard lane to try and dive in.”
Kamaiyah. Photograph: Taj Stansberry
Following the success of her first mixtape and featuring on YG’s track Why You Always Hatin? alongside Drake, Kamaiyah signed to Interscope Records where she released her second body of work, Before I Wake. However, in 2018 she broke free from her contract and set up her own label GRND.WRK (pronounced “groundwork”). Her struggle to continue her career independently was replicated earlier this year by fellow female rapper Megan Thee Stallion.
“In that moment, I contacted her because I felt like we both going through something similar and I feel both for you and with you because I literally just went through the same thing,” recalls Kamaiyah. “I think that it is important that women see that we stand together and we all overcome our obstacles. I feel like for so long in hip hop it has always been a woman needs a man, that we have to stand by the man and do what the man says.”
Female rappers are having their moment and are leading the hip hop genre this year, which Kamaiyah believes stems from modern sense of independence. “Women are very strong headed and strong willed now,” she declares. “The determination that women have and the ability to build our fan bases based upon the internet and not a label conforming or constructing that for you, means you have the liberty to move as you please.”
Kamaiyah. Photograph: Taj Stansberry
What have been her main challenges? “I haven’t really had any challenges because at any given moment whenever I am not comfortable with something, I can modify it to my lifestyle accordingly. It’s not like I have to call somebody.”
Her new-found creative freedom at GRND.WRK led to Kamaiyah’s triumphant return earlier this year with her third mixtape, Got It Made. This project oozes a bass-driven sound reminiscent of the 1990s, accompanied by lyrics outlining her recent struggles. The legendary Trina appears on the lead single Set It Up in an ultimate female rap collaboration, while Oakland’s own Too $hort’s Shake That Monkey beat is transformed on 1-800-I’m Horny.
Speaking about the latter song, Kamaiyah tells me, “I’ve been knowing Too $hort for so long that it felt like it was damn overdue.” Comparing him to an uncle, she says she grew up with the rapper around her. “It was always a thing that wasn’t hard to obtain – I just wanted to do it when it made sense,” she adds.
The mixtape is fuelled with a fight-to-go-to-the-top spirit, a record that will inspire all those who listen to it to. So what does she wants people to take from it? “I just want people to understand the boss and mogul mentality that I represent,”, she replies as she references Queen Latifah as a figure she wants to emulate.
“We saw her become the biggest mogul of our time, but we never got to understand how because nobody was telling you each step. That’s what I want to do with my story. I want people to see me become a top-tier female mogul and I am going to tell that through the stories in the music.” Her goals go beyond the music industry: “I want to be a world-renowned actress, a cover girl potentially and have a very successful label.”
With a Coachella appearance already under her belt, a Sprite commercial with LeBron James, a platinum record and a song going gold as an independent artist with no radio spins, Kamaiyah is nothing short of successful. But this is clearly only the beginning. “I feel like the next thing I want is to start getting those Grammys and VMAs,” she states. “Now I need to level up to the next level … I don’t want to settle for this level. I need to break the ceiling in this roof and go to the next one.”
When I ask her how she might next want to work with, she shoots back, “I feel like me and Pharrell could do some dope shit.” But she doesn’t stop there. “I want my own solo record with Drake. I want to work with Future. I fuck with Lil Baby and with what he’s doing. NBA YoungBoy is one of my favourite artists. Megan [Thee Stallion] is my girl … Cardi B, I want to do some shit with her. Anybody who hit me up, if we got a vibe, I am getting on the record.”
It’s clear that Kamaiyah is an artist who loves, lives and breathes music but enjoys the “shine” that goes with it. “To shine is the glitz and the glamour and the glory. It’s the jewels, the clothes, the Versace and the awards … The cars, the Lamborghinis, the Rolls Royces – that’s shiny.” With her career blazing full speed ahead, it looks is as if the Oakland native is set to take the title as the first major female rapper from the West Coast.
by Imogen Clark
First published in the Summer 2020 issue of Glass – Shine
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Photographer: Taj Stansberry @tajvstaj
Talent: Kamaiyah @kamaiyah
Stylist: Paris Cole @paris_cole
Make Up: Arissa Sherman @makeupbyarissa
Hair: Kimberly Craig