
If youâre on the internet, it's possible you saw the recent video for âCome Correct,â a song collab by MCs Gabrielle Kadushin, aka Gifted Gab (from Seattle) and Blimes Brixton (of San Francisco). Or perhaps you checked out the clip shared by UNILAD Sound, or you saw it on Urban Leak's Leak of the Week, or on Born Famous, which amounts to more than 10 million views, all told. That's enough to ensure that the video's stars are on their way to becoming household names in hiphop. Both women were also named in Pandora's Predictions Chart (and then name-checked on Billboard) this past February.
We talked to Kadushin about experiencing her career taking off, whatâs been going on in her day-to-day, whatâs on her musical horizon, and various other not-so-pressing topics.
You just got done with a video shoot. What was it for?
This one was for Watch Cut, which is a media company from Seattle. They have a lot of videos for the internet and most of them go viral. Youâve probably seen âem.
In the last two months, your profile has risen. What have you noticed most since your collaboration with Blimes went viral?
People are responding a lot faster than they did before and, you know, extending a handâeither when they didnât before, or they did and they didnât take it seriously. Normal stuff like that. For a lack of a better term, it makes them see your worth now that everybody else sees your worth. Itâs kinda corny that it takes 10 million people to say youâre filthy for other people to say, âYeah, I guess so.â But Iâm sure any artist goes through this when theyâre leveling up. People acting a little different than they did before. But it means there are way better opportunities coming. So thatâs good!
Whatâs one goal you want to achieve in the next year that surprises even you?
Probably relocating, probably leaving to LA. Iâve been going back and forth quite frequently since all this has happened. With what Iâm trying to do, I would need to be in LA. I always knew I would moveâin a way, I thought I would move to the Bay Area. I have a lot of friends there, people that have moved out there. But theyâre like, âDude, itâs the same shit thatâs going on in Seattle.â So moving was something I sensed was going to happen, but not as soon as itâs happening.
I want to learn how to freestyle. Whatâs the first thing I should know?
Donât even think. Just say shit. Just let a beat play and go with the first thing that youâre thinking of. Just blank out.
People say the future is female. Is the future of hiphop female?
I think life is female. So, yeah, that can be determined in everything. Everything is female. The past is female, the present is female, and the future is female. So what are you gonna do?
But yeah, females in hiphop have never been lost. I would call it more of a resurgence than anything else. Weâve always been around, since the beginning, but it usually takes a wave, or itâs just how time goes. For a while, no one was, like, really rapping in hiphop. I feel like musicâand especially rapâhas gotten to a point where people are about the lyrics again. Everything goes in cycles, and people are going, âYes, I guess girls can rap.â
How does your mind process a new beat?
I definitely have ADHD. So most of it is trying to sift out thoughts that will work versus one that are just thoughts. Iâm just trying to make some shit work. Itâs weird. I canât put a finger on it. Sometimes when I hear a beat, Iâm in that head space and something clicks where everything flows, and I immediately know what Iâm going to say. But sometimes I have to sit with it for a while and hear something. Like, I may not be in love with it at first, but I have to live with it again and have a new perspective. Itâs all in the mind of the creative, I canât really call it. It just happens how it happens.
Is there anything about the possibility of being well-known that scares you?
The fact that you canât really do the things you want to do anymoreâespecially if youâre just a regular person like me. We all know when you do this, in the back of your head, itâs a possibility that you might get famous. But you donât really grasp that concept so much until you have some form of high success. Even now when I go places, I can get recognized. But I canât imagine going to the dollar store and not being able to shop because people are going crazy. When I see famous people, I go, âWow, theyâre right in front of my eyes.â But I donât go crazy. So not being able to do regular stuff would make me sad. Iâm a very independent person.
How do you deal with moments of doubt?
Iâm really a power-through-it type of person. Sometimes you may take a step back or try to put something to rest in your mind. But even if I take a step back, Iâm still trying to figure it out. Yeah, thereâs definitely always moments of doubt as an artistâthatâs just in the name of the game. Thereâs always down times when things arenât moving but you have to use that as fuel for the fire. Art, especially music, is pure emotion. Sometimes you say, âFuck this shit!â but other times, âWell, donât fuck it. I have to get better.â
Your work harks back to the ruthless, rigorous rhymers of hiphopâs classic era. At risk of sounding corny, what does hiphop and rap mean to you?
Man, itâs freedom. Itâs freedom to be able to say exactly what you want to say without having to censor yourself. In everyday conversation, you canât talk to someone how youâd rap to them. Thatâd be totally disrespectful. But in rap, you can be without thought. Imagine just talking how you want to talk without processing how someone might feel? Itâs the ultimate freedom.