American princess

“While Lil’ Kim tends to look and sound like LaToya Jackson on crack, Princess Superstar comes off as a lady with clever wit and hooks to match.” — Wu-Tang Clan Newsletter

As you read this, the usual FM playlist drivel is currently being brightened up by a naughty pop rap gem entitled ‘Bad Babysitter’ with a classic comedy chorus; “I’m a bad baby-sitter/got my boyfriend in the shower/I’m makin’ six bucks an hour! (Whoop! Whoop!”).

This global hit has at last brought the talents of this self-styled MC, producer and record label head honcho to the attention of the world. “I’ve been working very hard for years,” explains the wonderfully named Princess Superstar. “This is my fourth album so I’m really happy with how my whole career has unfolded. It is nice that I’ve built it up gradually from a grassroots following. This is no overnight success. I’ve been doing this a while.”

But this Superstar’s background is as far removed from hip-hop cliché as it gets. Originally, she was involved in a few quirky underground guitar bands based in and around New York, including Gamma Rays who recorded a 7” for the seminal alternative pop label Teen Beat. “I’ve always loved music and I started out playing guitar in a couple of bands and then I just invented Princess Superstar,” she explains. “I always loved hip-hop as well, but the thing was I was pretty bad at it! I just kept practicing and doing it and doing it and then basically I got good at it.”

Princess’ blend of in your face sassiness could only really be from the City that never sleeps.

“I was born there and grew up in Washington Heights in Spanish Harlem until I was three,” she recalls. “New York City is so inspiring and amazing. It has hip-hop and all sorts of things going on. I’m friends with writers and actors and whatever. You could definitely say that New York made me. It was always a port city and port cities definitely attract adventurers. It has retained that history and regard in people’s minds if they want to become adventurous - the old cookie that you can go to New York and be anything you wanna be.

“I love the whole idea about CBGB’s and how the Ramones were there and how they influenced the Sex Pistols and how punk rock was made. I’m a huge fan of The Stooges and the whole garage punk thing is very important to me. When hip-hop started, it was overtly politically and essentially the black punk rock. I feel that what I do is political too in its feminism so I want to carry on that tradition.”

And what better hot-blooded statement of punk feminist intent than Princess Superstar Is... – a thrilling filthy kaleidoscope of sex, attitude and self-assertion. Of course, the package immediately lends itself to being pigeonholed as an on the button album from a white female MC.

“The thing is that I feel that I’m a musician first and foremost and I’m also an MC and a producer,” Miss Superstar maintains. “I play instruments and I write songs. People tend to classify you as a white female MC or whatever because it’s easier for them to get a handle on it that way and because there isn’t anyone like me that does all the things I do. I think it’s hard for people to get their heads round all that and realise that this is unique and doesn’t come with a long list of precedents or reference points. When people take the time and check out my history - all my old albums and my entire new album and not just the ‘Bad Babysitter’ single, they start to understand a bit more.”

Princess is baffled yet chuffed with her newfound success thanks to ‘Bad Babysitter’. “It is surprising because I’ve made a genuine commitment to staying indie and keeping underground so for me to have that silly song and see it blow up like that - yeah, it’s weird! I really don’t know how to take it. My bottom line is to be an innovative artist and to change the rules and to be unique.”

Does that principle become harder in a hip-hop landscape that is marred by a ridiculous competitiveness and an obsession with ego and wealth over artistry? “Well, the thing is it’s not even hardly the artists fault,” she offers, “it’s the record companies. It’s the white, old, Jewish guy – and I’m Jewish and I love my people – but you know the thing. It’s the old guy signing someone new and they dictate their image and how they are projected.

“They get brainwashed themselves and they want to have the video with the fish eye lens and the girls dancing because that’s what gets them on MTV or whatever. It’s not the artist’s fault. I blame the record companies more than anything.”

Miss Superstar’s live show hits these shores for the first time in the coming weeks, and as you’d expect, it won’t be any ordinary hip-hop jam. “I have a live bass player, a live DJ and another MC with me whose name is Twizz. Basically, we put on a real show. It’s theatrical and I have costume changes. I also have a theatrical background so I totally love to go crazy. It’s more punk rock than anything.”

For those about to rap, we salute you!