What do you get when you mix two parts Chicago with one part tap dance, and three-quarters vegetarianism and then blend until smooth? I’m not quite sure, but I think it comes pretty close to Rita J. The Chi-town hip-hop artist has been gracing the industry with her lyrical poetry for years, but after returning from a successful tour with French super group C2C and a second album dropping this summer, Rita J is an artist to look out for.
Staying humble can be a struggle when you rocket to stardom. While she’s still at the beginning of an exciting journey, Rita J values the time she has to live a simply and has remained grounded so far. Her second album, Lost Time, which focuses on love, could easily be a tribute to those who’ve helped her along the way.
I got to chat on the phone with Rita J last week and learned all about the lifestyle of a fashionable, pescatarian, hip-hop artist from Chicago who dreams of traveling and bettering the world through music and her knowledge of juicing.
I read that you grew up listening to Stevie Wonder and Bobby Womack. How has that influenced you as an artist?
For me, they’re just very soulful. That was the music that my parents were listening to. They introduced me to those artists first. As a child, I didn’t know the difference. I just knew that I like the sound and the soul that came from that type of music.
You were a dancer before you got into singing. What made you make the switch to music?
I was a trained dancer from age three to thirteen. I studied tap and modern jazz and taught myself hip-hop dancing. I danced at recitals all throughout my childhood. In high school I was pretty much dancing, “freestyling,” at parties. I really did have a passion for dance, but I got to a point where I guess I got too cool. I was getting ready to go to college, and I didn’t really see a lot of opportunity for dance on a bigger scale, so I kind of refocused. During [my time at college] I picked up a pen and started writing poetry, which turned into writing lyrics and rhyme. I just kind of abandoned the dancing thing a little bit. I still enjoy dancing and still do it for fun. I might bust out at a show, or I’ll dance in my videos. I want to get back into it. I do miss it. But those are both my passions: singing and dancing.
I think it’s bigger than any other music right now. I think hip-hop and hip-hop culture has taken over all genres. I just see the influence it has over people in other countries, and I don’t see that so much with all other genres, like country, for example. I’ve been to Brazil and I’ve been to Europe and they love [hip-hop] and respect it, and I think that’s beautiful. I think it reaches a lot of different types of people. In hip-hop culture, there are DJs, breakdancers, emcees… it’s a variety of talent. I think hip-hop is the biggest genre at the moment, as far as influence.
What sort of struggles have you faced as a woman making music in a genre that’s mostly male-dominated?
Mostly in the beginning, people didn’t take me seriously. They didn’t believe [that I was making music]. I’d go out with my crew and everybody else would get handshakes and I would just get ignored or overlooked like I wasn’t there to rhyme with them. That was kind of hurtful back then for me starting out because I just needed encouragement. I think all artists struggle with getting their music off the ground and developing themselves. The whole process is a struggle whether you’re a male or female. As a female, there aren’t as many of us in the industry, so there’s not as much of an urgency to work with a woman as far as singing and rapping goes. In general, I feel like I’ve had the same struggles that a male emcee would have, for the most part.
What’s the most important part of hip-hop for you?
I think it’s the attitude. I love great lyricism and I love great production, but at the end of the day I think what captures people is the expression. The attitude. The fact that we can express ourselves in a way that is freeing and young and just creative. I don’t feel like it’s very restrictive or you have to be a certain way. You can just kind of create whatever you want under that umbrella.
How would you describe your “attitude” in one word?
I’m just really chill. So “chill.”
Who are some of your current musical influences?
I really like J*Davey, Flying Lotus, and Georgia Anne Muldrow out of Los Angeles. I like ONRA, a producer from Paris. Muhsinah, a vocalist/instrumentalist from Washington DC… The list can go on forever. That’s who I’m currently listening to in my car or on my iPod.
What is it about those artists that draws you to them?
I like their sound. They all have a new, modern type of sound that isn’t like anything before. It’s not quite hip-hop. It’s kind of a mash-up of different sounds. They’re all being really creative and taking an initiative that other artists haven’t taken yet. They’re being really bold with their music. They’re self-starters and they’re pushing the envelope and making really good music. I don’t want to live in the past and hang on to all the great music of my upbringing. I want to play something new and modern and still have that same [authentic] feeling about it. I think those artists are doing that for me right now.
You were teaching a nutrition and juicing class last year. Are you still doing that?
I’m not. I was doing it as an experiment. It was at a jewelry/accessory store, and I don’t think that was the proper place for it. I did it for a month or so and then attendance kind of fell off. I’d love to do it again. I’ve been studying nutrition for the past couple of years. I’ve always been interested in health and yoga. I’ve been studying herbs and I think it’s really important for us to take care of ourselves. I just wanted to teach and spread the word on juicing because it can save your life. I just want to make people aware of the beauty of juicing.
Did you have a personal experience that made you want to be more health conscious or did you grow up that way?
I grew up eating meat and junk food and sugar. It wasn’t until a couple years ago when I started to travel internationally that I was more aware of the food [I was eating]. I was in France and a family friend made a roast for breakfast and it was really bloody. It was kind of gross to me. It flipped me out and I was like, “Okay, I really can’t eat meat. I don’t want to eat blood and meat.” When I came home, I decided to make the transformation. I was already in a [nutrition] class, and I was learning that all of this stuff is so unhealthy for you to be eating. I just made the decision to stop eating meat – I do eat fish now but I just changed my diet.
How’s your second album shaping up?
It’s in the works — there are like two more things I need to tweak, and it’ll be released. I don’t have an official date, but it will definitely be out by this summer. It’s called Lost Time. It’s pretty much just a collection of songs. I didn’t go into it as an album from the very beginning. I had a lot of songs that were unfinished and I wanted to finish them, so I kind of pieced the album together like that. I have a single out now that I just released called “The Dough.”
Where did you record Lost Time?
I recorded it all in Chicago with Proh Mic, [a producer from Seattle]. He pretty much mixed the album and produced the songs on there.
What about this album are you most excited to share with everyone?
I think they’re really good, solid, classic songs. They all have a message. It’s more about love, I think that’s the undertone. It’s a lot of audio clips. There’s some DJ scratching on there. Some hip-hop beats. I have vocalists. There’s people playing instruments. It’s an embodiment of poetry and music. I do think people will enjoy it and appreciate it.
Who would your dream collaboration be with?
I really like Black Thought from the Roots and I really like Nas. But if Prince or Stevie Wonder ever wanted to work with me, that would be awesome. [laughs] There are so many great artists, like Lauryn Hill… But if I had to choose one, I’m going to say Erykah Badu. I really dig her whole style and music personality and attitude. She’s amazing.
You’ve performed in France a few times already and you’re heading there again soon, right?
Right. I just came back from France a month ago. I was on a tour with a group called C2C from France. We toured 13 cities in about two weeks. It was amazing. It was the best experience of my life because I’ve just been grinding and touring and doing shows on my own. This was the first time I got to tour with another group. They’re really popular over there. The biggest venue I performed at held 12,000 people, and they were all super excited. Screaming, mad energy… It was just incredible and I’m just blessed that I got to do that. They’re asking me to return with them on their summer tour in July. I’m excited to go back and do some more shows with them.
What do you have going on once you’re back?
I work at this herb shop that’s also a vegan restaurant. I’ll just keep learning the nutritional stuff that I’m into. I’ll be working on music, doing photoshoots, semi-modeling, whatever I can get into creatively. I can definitely always find something to do. But I kind of just like to chill and relax and live life when I’m not on the grind or on tour. We’ll see. But I think I’ll be traveling a lot this year. I have a few other tours in the works and some leisure trips that I want to take.
Interview by Sarabeth Oppliger
Photos by Jamal Jameel
