She started out as an art student in Boston. Then she became the founder/curator of the world’s first traveling gem sweater museum. Now, on the strength of her “lady raps,” Leslie Hall of Leslie and The Lys is rising through the ranks of Internet stardom.

Maybe it’s the gravity defying hair, Sally Jesse Rafael glasses, or the now famous gold pants. Whatever the cause, Hall fans are some of the strongest, carrying her off MySpace and on tour while coming to shows decked out in their own gem sweaters. Thursday, D.C. will get the full Leslie Hall experience when she headlines Taintsgiving at DC9. The Iowa native took a brief pause between tour dates to chat with DCist.

Is it hard doing a show on Thanksgiving instead of the usual turkey deal?

Actually, this will be my first Thanksgiving Day show so hopefully it will be very Macy’s Parade-like. Spectacular, spectacular.

Are you still going to get a holiday dinner?

Probably not, because I’m driving from Philly and it’s supposed to be, like—the worst day to drive, so I’ll probably be on the road. I’ll probably do Boston Market instead of the pilgrims and the great feast.

That’s a good idea.

I’ve gotta have cornbread or something.

So, how did you get into music? I know you had your sweater collection first, was this career a part of that or a separate idea, entirely?

It was definitely like a program that comes free with an Apple computer. I had no desire to become a lady rapper but it was so easy to put beats together and sing vocal that I was like, “Oh this is fun, I can do this. I’ll try this out.” And then, obviously, it’s an all natural gift of beautiful music and I’m just going with it.

When did you start with your lady raps?

It was summer of 2004 when we started so about two, two-and-a-half years, something like that. I mean, I don’t anything about rap music so I’m kind of doing what I believe, in my heart and my body, to the best of my ability. And I’ve seen some Snoop Dog commercials for Boost Mobile, and I get the style. And the BK broiler commercials, so I get it. And I just put that Midwest spin, real wholesome values and some Oprah Winfrey—lessons on life and liberty.

So who are the Lys? Are you touring with them? I see you have DJ Dr. Laura with you this time.

She’s not even coming this time. She’s going to stay in Philly and spend Thanksgiving with her folks. She’s a traitor to mankind and to evolution, but it’s okay, though. I warned the Taint people. I was like “Just so you know, it’s just going to be me.” It’s hard without the girls, you know, because they sing along—but you know what? At every show there’s a guy in the audience—guy or a girl—who knows all the words. I can put them onstage, put them in Laura’s outfit and they become her.

Speaking of outfits, can you talk about the clothes? You have a song about the gold pants, will they be making an appearance this time around?

Are you kidding me? Of course. Seriously these shows are all about the gold suits. My mom made new outfits for the tour. There will be a lot of fringe—which is actually pretty dangerous on stage and the original gold suit. I mean. I have so many of these gold suits now because when you rub, in between your legs, it actually wears the gold off, it’s unbelievable. And the armpits, the armpits start to go brown; just like a t-shirt or something. But I have some nice new ones that are nice and clean, really have a good shimmer to them. So I’m going to come prepared to really dazzle, dazzle the eyes. Are you going to be coming to the show?

Well, I have a family dinner so I have to see how long it lasts.

I understand. I think this show is probably for people with no families, no homes. We can all be together and share Thanksgiving. I’ll probably be really like, “I wanna dedicate this jam to nobody because we don’t need anybody.”

Back to the clothes, will you be bringing any of the famous gem sweaters with you?

No I won’t. Hopefully—I don’t know about Washington D.C. style—but hopefully people will wear gem sweaters, to see what this local scene is like—with the gem sweater fashion. Hopefully, people will make their own gem sweaters, with puffy paint—or just get into it, make something pretty for the show, sparkle and shine. The show has really become a festival of all things shiny, which is really fun for everybody.

Would you describe a typical show someone who’s never had the Leslie Hall experience?

Okay, there are two ways to go about it: 1) Go on the Internet see all the videos, learn the rhymes, see the photos, and you get a taste of what to expect. Or you can go in there blindfolded, without any background knowledge. And either way, I have a hundred percent money back guarantee; no one has ever asked for their money back. I’m gonna shock and awe and throw it down. I’m gonna lay it down, what I’m cooking. It‘s exciting though, I get really into it, I dance.

My dance moves—oh my gosh. Justin Timberlake can dance and he can sing. Trust me, I graduated from the Justin Timberlake School of Arts and Crafts because I can move my body and sing at the same time. Two hundred pounds, I don’t know what’s with it. I just feel the rhythm, I guess. In between each song I have to sit down and relax but it’s an exciting adventure. And we do costume changes and we have videos playing at the same time. Oh my gosh, it’s “Must See TV on NBC”, it’s so exciting. It’s supersized.

You have this fan base that’s pretty hardcore, can you talk about how you developed that?

Oh my gosh, I will tell exactly how, for some crazy reason, this is actually happening. Because people are so bored and they’re on the Internet and they’re just looking for pure entertainment. I seriously think people are just bored at work or just need a good giggle or a pick me up song about gold pants. Who knew?

I don’t know actually, maybe I don’t know the meaning of it all. But I definitely think, with the die-hard people, they know all the songs they’ve seen all the music videos and they’re just like, “Oh my gosh, I want to see it to believe it.” They come out. I don’t, maybe they’re just looking for their hometown hero. There’s a connection though, when you see me on the Internet and everything. They know where I went to school, they know—oh it’s very US Weekly.

Leslie Hall plays the DC9 Taintsgiving 9 p.m., $5