Lady Dame Here to Take the Game

By Jhantu Randall
Staff Writer

When it comes to female emcees, truth in the game is rather antiquated and outright bias. For every dope artist, they promote there are at least 100 that deserve to be heard that are, for one reason or another, shelved until the ʻappropriate time.ʻ Currently when I think of female emcees, I am referring to women such as Jean Grae, Remy Ma, Queen Latifah or Lady of Rage. However, when the subject is brought up to most people they say names like Nicki Minaj or Cardi B. The difference between the two types can come down to many things, namely being marketed through a major label vs. staying independent or unsigned; thus superficiality vs. originality is always where the line is drawn between the two types of emcees.

With so much clutter, it is an absolute joy to come across Washington DC Native, Lady Dame who has performed with the legendary hip hop group, The Lox which only solidifies an interest in her bars. Upon hearing Lady Dameʻs music, it is quite evident that she draws influence from the iconic Missy Elliot as well as a sound that pulls heavily from the best part of the ’90s aka HipHop’s golden era.

“Since ʻ10, [I] really started paying attention to the lyrics as opposed to just a beat which [I] had done previously to that,” Lady Dame shares.

Lady Dameʻs track, “I Wonder” opens the second verse with: “Very explicit when it comes down to my business/Rated R/I don’t do shit for the cheerin/Bitch Iʻm the bomb.” While that may seem like a pass-over line for most listeners, it tells real listeners everything they need to know about her character as well as her hunger and passion for this.

Her song “Spaceship” sounds like it should be in current rotation among todayʻs well-known artists but in the same vein as Missy. Perhaps the sound is too ahead of its time. “Spaceship” is definitely a jam that will keep your head bobbing along with it. In addition, it is evident that Lady Dame draws her influences from the likes of J Cole, 2pac, Missy as well as a few others.  Upon multiple listens, she also has hints of Eternia, Jean Grae, Lil Kim and even a bit of Da Brat. There is something in Lady Dameʻs delivery that strikes a similar chord to those often overlooked emcees. Her songs are more than just catchy, they are actually worth repeated listens as her production alongside her voice makes her sound complete instead of gimmicky.

Currently, Lady Dame has traveled and performed in venues all over, including North Carolina, Atlanta, New York, Las Vegas and Miami with plans to take her sound global as she continues to influence countless others by lifting people up out of their day-to-day mundaneness and stress, giving them a voice through her work. Based on what Lady Dame has completed, musically thus far, it is fair to keep your eyes on this woman as she may be the dark horse who suddenly takes over the entire game.

Photograph by Travis Houze for Travis Houze Photography. Please DO NOT crop and/or alter in any way.

Photograph by Travis Houze for Travis Houze Photography. Please DO NOT crop and/or alter in any way.

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