XTATIC

XTATIC: FEMALE RAPPER, SINGER, SONGWRITER RECORD LABEL: SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT MANAGEMENT: ROCKSTAR4000 BOOKINGS: bookings@rockstar4000.com MEDIA: media@rockstar4000.com MORE ABOUT XTATIC: Xtatic has something more than whip-fast, super-smart rapping ability: the Nairobi-based Emcee matches her flow with words that mine her deeply felt commitment to lyrical content that reflects the mind of a fun-loving but also thoroughly independent young African woman. In this, Xtatic is set to stand out amongst the new wave of female emcees including Dominique Young Unique, Rye Rye and, of course Nicki Minaj. Her singular sound is evident in the first single off Xtatic’s much-anticipated debut record, due out later in 2012. Titled “Wild!”, the club banger is an explosive showcase for Xtatic’s attitude-laden deep voiced rapping style – and a spot-on hybrid of rap and R&B for the 21st century. Produced by hotshot new South African producers The Fahrenheitz, it’s also a great signpost towards Xtatic’s signature sound. “Wild!” follows “The Prep Track”, the 2011 song that sparked the interest of Pan African music and entertainment company, ROCKSTAR4000 which steered the Kenyan rapper into a deal with Sony Music Entertainment Africa earlier this year. That breakout hit features the prescient lines: “My name be international/and still on the streets,” pointing towards the place that Xtatic is headed off the back of her first singles and then full-length record. Although unflinchingly confident about her abilities, Xtatic finds the sudden flush of interest in her surprising. As recently as early 2011, Xtatic had almost given up on music and was preparing “to become a lawyer or something like that”. “The hip hop industry in Kenya is really, really struggling and often artists within the genre move into a more popular form of music to be able to earn something of a living,” she says by way of explanation. But chucking in her passion would have come at a price because the truth is that since she first started rapping at the age of 13 and writing lyrics in her high school notebook, Xtatic has been driven by the desire to properly combine the three elements of rap. “It’s all about content, flow and delivery and I’ve been pushing hard in all three areas for nearly 10 years now,” she says. Although still not a hugely known entity in Kenya, it was when she was 16 that Xtatic began making moves into taking the words in her notebooks and the flow and delivery she’d been rehearsing privately into a more public space. That said, Xtatic (who got her name from her high school crush who “always seemed to think my energy was infectious”) had to face-off crushing nerves when performing in public. Among her previous live performances was Channel O’s MC Africa, an MC talent contest that saw her reach the Kenyan finals in 2010. Unfortunately circumstances prevailed to prevent Xtatic from seeing the event through to the end. She gained some confidence performing at Nairobi’s now iconic Words and Pictures (WAPI) events but was still uncertain about fully representing her flow on a stage. In studio, it was a different matter and when she first worked with producer Sniper of G-ganji studio and later Mandugu Digital Xtatic’s ease with her genre revealed itself. After a stop-start push in 2009 and 2010, it was finally in 2011 - when she hooked up with producer Jerry for the track “Venom” and rap artists Khaligraph Jones and Ace The Don - that Xtatic hit her stride. The turning point came when, pushed ahead by her partner and videomaker Mushking, Xtatic teamed up with producer Provoke to create “The Prep Track” and Nicholas Mugambi who originated the idea behind "The Prep Track". Working with King, a raw yet compelling video was also produced to take the song into the digital space and onto the different music video channels in Africa. The video featured Xtatic as a streetsmart skateboarder and a glammed up partygirl. “The two sides basically represent who I am - as a rap artist and my ‘femnicity’,” Xtatic explains. “I’m street smart alright, tom-boyish at times but at the end of all that I have to have a more feminine side.” In the end, whether it’s as a teenager recording for the first time in Nairobi or a signed artist working in a studio in Johannesburg, Xtatic is always in pursuit of three things: content, flow and delivery – all in a perfect mix. “It’s hard to incorporate word play and the content that you have. You might have content without the correct word play. I’m trying to get the balance of that right and then match it with the best flow ever,” she says emphatically. With that as her benchmark, and “Wild!” as her powerful first lobby ahead of her full-length album it’s easy to believe that nothing will stand in the way of Xtatic taking her rightful place in the African and global rap firmament once and for all.

Nairobi, KE