How hard are you willing to push yourself in order to obtain your dreams? How many “nos” does it take to knock you off your balance? How long can you withstand hardship before you throw in the towel? Ten years! For nearly ten years, rapper PHILIPPE has navigated her way through the underground music scene facing multiple obstacles along the way including gender discrimination, racial bias, and depression. The New Jersey native’s new album, JUST PHILIPPE, co-executive produced by Shahid Elamin is more than a body of work but a testament to those difficult times.
After attending the official album release party, I had the chance to catch up with PHILIPPE to talk about the album, her nearly decade-long career, her Haitian roots and more. Read the full interview below!
When you’re young you plan out your life. Like, where you are going to live, who you are going to marry and what you’re going to do as a profession. Did you know you were going to pursue music?
“I’ve always loved music! But growing up in a Haitian household you are limited to what your parents listen to. For me, growing up, it was what is now known as AfroBeat. It wasn’t until middle school that I was able to experiment with other genres like Rock, RnB and lastly Hip-Hop. As much as I loved music, I never it as my career path. It wasn’t until my sophomore year of college that I recorded my first song. It was over a Sean Paul track after being gassed up by friends. I feel in love with it and have been making music ever since.”
In your music you speak a lot about the difficulties you’ve faced throughout your career, even in spite of all the struggle you decided to keep going.
“I’m a feminist! I’m pro-black! You can hear this even in my earlier music and I would receive a lot of flak for it. Now, activism seems to be a trend. It’s the thing to do now! But I was talking about this is my music in the beginning. I’ve always been ahead of the curve. I’ve directed my own videos, styled my own shoots, etc. So, I know frustrating it can get when you care some much about your craft and others to overlook you. I became discouraged and decided to take a break for a while. It wasn’t until my boyfriend (Shahid Elamin) who is the executive producer of the album came into my life that my love for music was sparked again. He would tell me, ‘if you don’t love it anymore don’t do it.’ He is the real driving force behind my reentry into the game.”
What was the inspiration behind the album? The recording process? What did you hope for when creating this body of work?
“The album is me being me. The project is co-executive produced by Shahid and myself. I had a break from work so I decided to dedicate myself creatively to put the album together. I am fortunate enough to have met and worked alongside so really talented artist so I called a few of them up and asked them to be apart of the project. The goal was to let go and have fun! On ‘Young, Gifted, and Black’ I was inspired by the late Nina Simone. ‘B.O.A.T.’ I was inspired by my Haitian roots. And ‘Movie’ is a love song I dedicated to Shahid. This album is my best project yet. This album shows how well rounded I am and my growth as an artist. I co-executive produced the album and learned a lot about my strengths as an artist. I also learned how to truly make a great record by bringing in others and letting others shine. This is my best project to date!”
So, the album is out! What can fans expect next?
“Well, I had the official album listening session which went well. I will be releasing a few videos for songs of the album including single, ‘Run’ featuring PapiDess. We are working on booking some live performances but it just needs to be in alignment with the vision. I’m soaking it all in!”
Watch the official All Hail Chri5 Productions directed video for single, “Run” featuring PapiDess below!
JUST PHILIPPE track list:
- Run featuring PapiDess
- Young, Gifted & Black featuring Natt Turnup
- Pray Up
- Hunnids featuring PapiDess
- My Dad’s Interlude
- B.O.A.T. (Being Original Always Triumphs)
- Kick Up featuring Lamar Brown
- Used to Be featuring Fame Gillette & Macc McCray
- Sports Car featuring Chad Piff, Lamar Brown & Mikee Mula
- Movie featuring Karma
Stay connected with rapper PHILIPPE across your favorite social media sites including Twitter and Instagram for up-to-the-minutes updates on upcomings shows, music videos, and more.
