Wicked Babydoll is coming into her own as a Salvadoreña on the mic. The 23-year-old rapper originally from Los Angeles has three mixtapes to her name with the latest, Words of the Wicked (download here), showcasing her impassioned delivery and hard time rhymes. The collection, laced with dope beats, features collaborations with D-1, Threat Loca, Dice Loks and others. Now rolling with Dirty Devil Entertainment, Wicked Babydoll got her start in hip-hop as a young teenager listening to the likes of 2pac, Eazy-E and Eminem before eventually deciding rapping was something she wanted to seriously pursue. The grind hasn't been an easy one having to balance responsibilities as an artist and a young mother of two children, but she persists onward towards her hip-hop dreams with plans for a new album next year.
The Weekly caught up with Wicked Babydoll earlier this week in Anaheim, where she's now based, on location for the music video shoot of “Fuck Authority” off Words of the Wicked.
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Gabriel San Román (OC Weekly): You're upfront about how rapping wasn't something that came natural to you. How did you start out and what has your development as an MC been like?
Wicked Babydoll: I sucked! It was really bad. I used to rap off beat. It wasn't the most perfect thing ever. What I think helped me out was when I finally found my voice. It was just empowerment. The way I rap, everything was coming from my stomach. I think that's when I started getting more confidence. And my ability to write expands all the time. Every song is just getting better and not staying in the same place.
Would you say that's also the case with your latest mixtape? Did you change up your style on it?
Words of the Wicked is a little more East Coast and a lot more different from what I've done before. It's also very deep because I'm talking about everything that I've actually went through. A Babydoll's Tale, where it was more like I had my love songs and everything, was kind of more like a subliminal type of a mixtape. There's big, big differences in all three of my mixtapes that I have out. The first one This is Why They Call Me Wicked is so West Coast, so gangster.
You were featured on Ms. Krazie's latest album Forgive Not Forget on a song called “What You've Done.” How did that all come together?
That collab came up because I was talking to her really cool on Myspace. We never got around to working together because at that time Urban Kings was coming up, doing its own thing and trying to establish her as an artist. When that happened and she could finally get me on that album, she invited me out to their studios in Monterrey Park. That was with their producer David Salas. I was overwhelmed. It was a big opportunity, a big chance. She is a big name out. A lot of people are listening to Urban Kings. It was one of those nerve-wrecking moments where I had to step up. I definitely think that I did that with the song.
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In addition to your solo mixtapes, you also founded an all-women hip-hop group. What's the Chicana Movement all about?
The Chicana Movement right now has a few girls. Threat Loca, she's from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tiny Jay is from Coachella Valley. What we're doing is just bringing all our individual styles together and trying to see what we can do. There's a lot of sick with it ideas that we all come with. Regardless of whatever I may branch out to, I still have that side of me where it's Chicano Rap coming into play. Tiny is little bit more like Snow Tha Product, a fast rapper. She can bust a flow on a trap beat. Threat is more like that soulful singer where she's not only telling you a story, but she's singing to you and you're captivated by her voice.
You've had a lot of struggles in your life. How hard has it been trying to grind as an independent artist and as a mother of two, one of which has autism?
Dealing with an autistic child is very hard. Not only because they don't understand you, they can't communicate with you. My son, right now, he's very smart. His teacher told me that he has a future in being an architect. He can solve puzzles so easy. It's just the attention that he needs. These last couple years, that's what I've been doing, just focusing on that. That's probably why I haven't brought out an album yet and why it's so hard to get me out to things. Instead of going to shows, instead of partying and bullshit, I'd rather be at home with my sons.
Lastly, what brings you to Anaheim?
I used to live in eastside Palmdale, in the desert. I'm from LA, but I moved out here because I needed a change in scenery. I recently moved about three weeks ago. I'm fairly new to Orange County. I've been cliquing up with a lot of local artists. Hopefully, I'll have some shows going down. It's just easier to do things out here than it was over there.
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Gabriel San Román is from Anacrime. He’s a journalist, subversive historian and the tallest Mexican in OC. He also once stood falsely accused of writing articles on Turkish politics in exchange for free food from DönerG’s!