DCist Interview: Yo! Majesty
Written by DCist Contributor Dave Weigel
Say it with us now: sex-crazed lesbian Christian hip hop. That’s what Yo! Majesty have been delivering for a decade, since Shunda K linked up with Jwl B and producer David Alexander and started syncing their raps about sex, weed, and dancing to jacked-up electro beats. They released their taut “Yo” EP in 2006, blew up at South By Southwest in 2007, and released their first full-length record, Futuristically Speaking… Never Be Afraid, late last year.
Yo! Majesty performs Saturday night at the Black Cat, with Natalie "The Floacist" Stewart and D.C.'s own Flex Mathews. Shunda K took some to time to chat with DCist.
So, how do you get D.C. crowds to actually dance?
I done been in D.C. before. They already know how the girl coming. The last U.S. tour that Yo! Majesty did, I had to do it by myself. I did solo stuff as well, and people responded pretty well to that.
What can we expect from your set? Is it heavy on material from the new album?
I’m ready to do these album tracks and promote this album. This is one of the hottest albums in our lifetime. We’re going to get some ass on the floor, get some club action going on.
When do you roll out “Club Action” in the set?
That usually comes at the end. That’s one that really drives the crowd crazy, gets the booty clap going on right out there. It don’t matter if you’ve got a big ass or a bitty ass, you’re gonna do the booty clap when you hear that.
Are we going to hear new material?
Yup. I had sent Jwl an email about the songs I want to do that aren’t on the album. You’re going to hear “Low Riders and Hydraulics,” that’s the only one I could see on the album that didn’t make it on. I want to do “Break Bread”; that’s one of my solo tracks. I have maybe three solo tracks I want to play to get the people grinding and shaking and getting down. “Low riders and hydraulics,” that’s some hot shit. (Shaunda sings the hook.)
I’ve read that you had trouble getting your music played early on because DJs thought it was “too gay.” Does that still happen?
Nah, man. For the most part, people been pretty receptive to the music we bringing. It has to do with the production. People get into the beat. I was listening to the album just now, and it don’t even sound gay, I thought we did a pretty good job, making it a universal album that don’t appeal to everybody. I just got back from Australia, and they love that shit. They say “It’s so old school, so real, you don’t hide anything.”
You’re playing a rock club that mostly plays indie rock bands. Is your audience mostly white?
I’m starting to see more black people out there. They still like polka dots in the crowd, but I see ‘em. I’m seeing older people out there. I recognized this one woman at a show in San Francisco. She happened to be elementary school principal, and she was jammin’ I’m like, that’s what’s up. What I envisioned Yo! Majesty being was a form where all people could come to our shows and feel free. That’s what God is; he loves us. I want people to feel God through my presence.
Your shows are mostly white?
Our shows used to be all white - not one black person in the audience. Now even on MySpace, on the friend requests, we got black people wanting to be friends. When these people heard “Booty Klap,” they’re like, what the hell is this, that booty clap shit.
But a lot of people are followers. I’ve watched this interview that Yo! Majesty did in Canada, where I said black people are closed-minded. I’m like, did I say that? I did. At the time, that’s how I felt. I don’t really know why it's so hard for black people to adapt to change and venture out into unknown. Now I got a couple guys coming over to my house studio. Now everybody’s on my dick. We got a lot of follows and not enough legit leaders.
How does your Christianity play out in your music?
I don’t want to be up here like, I’m a Christian. I’m a believer. I believe in Jesus Christ. He got me through what I’ve been through. God has promised himself to me again and again. He’s proven himself. In 1998 I was a solo artist. The vision behind that was, I was going to be the best MC ever. I wanted a name that represented God, that represented the most high. God is the same thing as love, in my opinion. That’s what I’m able to survive off of. Way back in 2000, I met Shaun B. In 2001, met Jwl. We the shit, but all these bustas was trying to do up our shit with contracts and stuff, and we had to fight against that. To see it come to pass without all of that… this is what the dream was. It’s a blessing. I have to give all the glory to God. I can’t even explain it to you. You have to know God.
What happened with the contract?
Aw, you know. Some local people here, claiming that they was going to do this for us, they tried to sell our contract to a label. They would have owned us. Once we figured out what happened, we changed our name. It was Ya Majesty. Yo! Majesty came into the picture in 2005, once we got with David Alexander. He said, “I think it should be Yo! Majesty, like 'yo,' with an exclamation mark." This guy, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. When you talk about production… I’ve never met anybody who could produce like he produces. I have to give him the credit for this album. We had some other people mixin’ it, and Domino had producers they wanted. We heard it and we said, what the hell is this? I told them David is gonna have to mix this album. He knows how to mix this shit. Damn sure, they had to fly this man in and mix it. He did the damn thing.
You’re in D.C. the week that Barack Obama became president. How does that feel?
I’ve written songs about this man. Prophetic songs. God is a just good, that’s what I’m getting out of this. After this whole Bush term, we fucked up. I mean, America fucked up right now. God’s not gonna let us fall off the cliff. I’m not gonna call Obama our savior, but he’s a man with integrity.
What do you want him to do?
Like Obama said, let’s spread the wealth! There should be no such thing as homelessless. Why not just wipe our debts clean? Let’s get our country back up together, instead of paying back people. These are the things I concentrate on. What I bring to Yo! Majesty is definitely political. I’ve written songs about this man. People say the change is going to be slow, it’s gonna be a long time. No, it’s not.
How do you mean?
God’s gonna use this man. It’s gonna be supernatural. I mean, I need some health insurance. I can’t afford dentures. Why can’t we have free health insurance for the people? Don’t be saying you love me and I can’t even pay my bills and shit. When you talk about Shaunda K, you wanna talk about what really matters, not just my bling and my vacation to Jamaica. I pray that I stay consistent, keep it real. Pray I get bought out. That’s a prayer I stay grounded and rooted.
What do you have planned next?
Yo! Majesty is touring through April, then after that I’m starting a campaign for my solo album. It’s going to be called, The Most Wanted Because So Many Niggas Frontin’. My second solo CD will be a mix tape called, “The Best Eva Written… Outkast.” I’m taking 30 Outkast instrumentals and rapping about how the man is supposed to honor his wife, about kids’ responsibility to their parents. Music is the universal language. Everybody ain’t gay, but 85 percent of the world, 95 percent of the world is. That’s what I think.
My third album is going to be a cappella tracks of my songs to inspire producers. I’m thinking about making it a contest: whoever mixes the best will get it released as a single. I just wanna have fun and reach the people. When it’s done it’s going to be the Her Testimony 3-CD set. You know, I thought I was gonna be in the WNBA, but things change. I’m still MVPin’. Hip hop is gonna know who Yo! Majesty is. When I rap over those Outkast tracks, I’m killin’ it. They got no choice but to answer back.