The US security guard turned rapper is about to break through with her latest mixtape of brazen rap
Back in 2016, the
California rapper Kamaiyah released one of the most exciting debut mixtapes of the year. A Good Night in the Ghetto put the then security guard on the map, with its clear love of 90s hip-hop and R&B: think fluid beats that meld new jack swing and gangsta-funk, topped with a joyful singsong delivery. Kamaiyah quickly became a need-to-know name, appearing alongside
Drake on a YG track that same year.
The 27-year-old had intended to put out her debut album around that time, but due to label issues regarding sample clearances, she instead dropped a surprise second tape independently in 2017: the much-lauded, more downbeat Before I Wake, which seemed to vent some of her industry frustrations. Kamaiyah was also listed in the XXL Freshman Class of 2017, an annual namecheck of some of the hottest new names in rap.