XXL released it's seventh 2017 Freshman Class freestyle on Tuesday, June 27. Over the past week, fans of the newbie talent spread have gotten the chance to hear an assortment of skills ranging from the melodic to the lyrical, with verses from Playboi Carti, PnB Rock, Kyle, Madeintyo, Ugly God, and A Boogie. With Kamaiyah, audiences now get a chance to hear the only woman to make the Freshman cut.
In Kamaiyah's pre-feature interview for the issue, she shared a few influences that might give insight into where she gets her style from. Although the 25-year-old Bay Area rapper has been playing with rhymes since she began bumping Bow Wow at around 8 or 9 years old, she admits to actually being a pop music fan who listens to the Chainsmokers and Zara Larrson. She would also give a telling perspective on the industry and how she approaches it differently from others coming out of the Indie hustle in a city like Oakland, saying:
“There’s like a mental trap in The Bay because the hustle is so independent that you can sell 100,000 out your truck. So you begin to depend upon that factor versus becoming national and worldwide. So there’s like a double-edged sword of how to make it out The Bay,” she told XXL. "So, how I stand out from everybody else is I see the benefits of the machine. I see how it'll help you in the big picture in the long run behind that, versus just settling for circumstances."
Source: YouTube.com
