How a Childhood Musician Started a Woman-Owned Rap Label In A Male-Dominated Industry
The excitement in the air was palpable. Lady Legacy spent months fine-tuning beats, punching up lyrics, and running photoshoots. She designed merch, moderated heated creative debates, and booked shows at dive clubs. Now she was ready to launch the artist that would catapult her independent rap label into the national spotlight.
Lady Legacy was born into a family of musicians. Her mom was a singer, and her Dad was a rapper. As a gifted vocalist, she stood out from other students in her class. Her music teacher helped Lady Legacy realize that her voice was an instrument and a drum, cultivating her passion for music throughout her childhood.
After school, Lady Legacy spent her time learning to write lyrics and record tracks in her bedroom studio, practicing vocal techniques with her friends to prepare for middle school and high school competitions. She won All-District and All-State in vocal music and drama and came in first place at the All-District Drama Competition in Prose.
Lady Legacy still cherishes her collection of notebooks with original lyrics and poetry from her childhood. She occasionally retrieves a selection of them from her library shelf to celebrate her humble beginnings.
Lady Legacy recorded her first demo with her musician boyfriend at the time. It was about as far from rap as it gets: Alice in Chains’ “Down in a Hole.” But it was the perfect song to showcase her vocal range, which spanned four octaves.
The song is a haunting ballad about heroin addiction, and it gave Lady Legacy the confidence she needed to enter the local music scene. She started performing at churches, weddings, pageants, and parties and quickly gained a loyal following.
Teachers, students, friends, and family knew that Lady Legacy was going places, and when she walked into a room to perform, everyone would sit up straight. They’d get quiet and give her their full attention because they knew that what she was about to do would be exceptional.
Lady Legacy parlayed her powerful singing voice and charismatic personality to break into the rap business with a fresh vision. Although she is the first to admit that she is a metalhead at heart, she respects the art form of rap and hip hop and has a sharp eye for talent.
When she started rapping, Lady Legacy was shocked to learn that none of the established labels would give her a shot. So she started her own. Lady Legacy Promotion, an independent record label specializing in rap and hip-hop music, represents a community of artists and producers united by their independence, passion for rap music, and fierce determination to succeed on their terms.
Lady Legacy entered the rap game at the management level with such force and velocity that she was able to recruit a talented team of undiscovered young rappers who later went on to create Gold and Platinum records under her leadership.
She quickly learned that the key to success in the rap game is having a unique sound, look, and story that sets you apart. In an industry where it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle, Lady Legacy and her team are finding, nurturing, and launching new artists in rapid-fire succession.
Whether they’re making music in their basements or touring the country’s underground rap venues, Lady Legacy represents a new generation of artists breaking down the barriers that have kept women frozen out of this male-dominated segment of the entertainment industry for far too long.
When she started, Lady Legacy was a relatively unknown music executive. But she had a vision for her label and the artists she signed that would set them apart from the rest: she wanted to create a space for young, talented rappers to tell their stories in their purest form without interference from the big labels.
There are few women in the industry that you can turn to for advice and support when you look around. Nearly all of the other labels are male-owned, and many people in the music business seem unaware or disinterested in supporting a female-owned business venture in the space.
“I was one of the only women in the room, and it was intimidating,” Lady Legacy says. “But I knew that if I could just get my foot in the studio, I could prove that I had something unique to offer that no male executive could match.”
Lady Legacy is back in the heat of her launch. She is monitoring five social media feeds. Her new artist will drop a music video and introduce a clothing line via product placement.
She is negotiating with a TV producer and warning a significant entertainment magazine that they are about to lose the exclusive. Lady Legacy puts them both on hold and picks up a third line to arrange for more percentage points on the backend of a docudrama featuring her artist.
She won’t get much sleep tonight because she’s managing a live talent show until 4 am. The following day she will wake up to her phone ringing. It’s her client. The song she promoted last night had over two million streams.
