Brooklyn-born rapper K Goddess knows how to hustle and make things happen, a grind ethic that’s part of her Brownsville birth right. Raised on the drill sound her neighborhood has become famous for, the energy the music conveys stayed with her as he attended college with an eye on becoming a WNBA player.
Encouraged by her teammates to perform in a talent show, K Goddess (real name Kemiyyah Parker-Washington) stepped out and made her unofficial official entry into the game.
She immediately got to work, linking with producer Swift on Demand with her early efforts, leading to multiple singles and four mixtapes: “Diary of a Goddess,” “Big Goddess V1,” “The Arrival” and just last week, “East Coast B*tch.”
While the grind in music is endless and it’s easily to get self consumed, Goddess lived up to her moniker and took action when her community was first rocked by COVID-19, followed not long after by the unjust deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police.
Over the past seven months, Goddess has used her platform for the greater good by donating over $30,000 to individuals in need, an effort that included providing 30 mothers and fathers with diapers and diapers wipes.
Snobette had the opportunity to chop it up with the Brooklyn-bred rap baddie about supporting Black Lives Matter organizations, how her skills in sports translated to her music career and her next moves in reality television and on-screen ventures. Check out our convo below!
SNOBETTE: How has your Brooklyn upbringing influenced your music career and your unique style?
K Goddess: “Growing up in Brooklyn influenced my music career because it helped me keep my authenticity. I’m an authentic rapper and I rap a lot about what I went through growing up in Brooklyn and how it shaped me into being the tough female that I am today.”
SNOBETTE: What was the inspiration behind the visual for “Friends” and how was it shooting during COVID-19?
K Goddess: “The video or “Friends” was just something I always wanted to do. I always wanted to do a visual with a mink coat on, bossed up and letting people know I’m coming.
“It was kind of crazy shooting it during COVID due to the fact that I couldn’t really be close to everybody and I had to keep cautious while shooting the video, but it was really dope. A couple people that were just bystanders were out there, so it felt really dope because I felt like a hood celebrity when I shot that video.”
SNOBETTE: What’s your process for composing a song in terms of putting lyrics together and choosing beats?
K Goddess: “My process with music really depends on how I’m feeling because being that I write all my lyrics, I have to be in a certain state and have to be feeling a certain type of way. Sometimes I really write music when I’m fed up and I’m aggravated so I let it all out (laughs). Other than that, it depends on the feel. It starts with the beats and the beats will basically take me where I wanna go and what I wanna say.”
SNOBETTE: Speaking of mood, what environment helps you to foster new music ideas and what gets you into your creativity?
K Goddess: “When I’m in the studio, I like to have the lights off and maybe a neon glow light to set the tone or the mood. It starts with that, then it starts with the beats. The beats always set the tone and they always set the vibe, so it’s really dope to always have either a producer on deck or have a producer that will send me the beats to my email because beats will take me where I wanna go. If you’re in a studio session and you don’t have the correct beats, it’s gonna be a waste of time and you’re gonna be aggravated because then you’ll be forcing something instead of it just letting it organically come to you.”
SNOBETTE: Let’s talk briefly about basketball and your athleticism. A lot of fans don’t know that you’re a baller who actually thought about going overseas or to the WNBA. What was your transition like from ball player to rapper?
K Goddess: “The transition was pretty easy. When I was playing college basketball, there was always a crowd of people and it was always packed, so I was used to crowds and having to perform.
“It was so organic when it came to crowd control and doing certain things because when you’re on the basketball court, you’re trying to impress the crowd and trying to impress your fans. You’re doing little slick moves so people can cheer for you and it’s the same thing with being on stage and being a rapper. You have to impress your fans, you have a fanbase that you have to connect with and keep up with, and you have to do certain things to put certain things in your rap song to make them cheer for you and make them want to keep spinning your songs over and over again. You want them to keep hearing your music. It goes hand-in-hand with basketball and it was an easy transition.”
SNOBETTE: During COVID-19, you’ve been engaged in some philanthropic efforts, including donating to charities seeking justice for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. What prompted you to take an active approach?
K Goddess: “Because I grew up in a community where if your family can’t do something for you and your family needs help, that’s when your community steps up and they help.
“I grew up in the project building where if I needed some sugar, I could go to my next door neighbor. If I needed some eggs or something, or a little backup, you go to the next door neighbor or somebody in the building. When it came to giving back, it was just something I felt like I needed to do because so many people needed help when it came to George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
“Me actually seeing that being done to my people, reading up on Breonna Taylor and how the police went into her house and they did what they did to her, it was really heartbreaking to me. I felt like these families needed help and they had families, too. While I was financially stable, if I had it, I’m going to give back.”
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SNOBETTE: These are unprecedented times for the Black community. It’s especially hard for us to keep our mental health in check. As an artist and as a creative, how are you personally practicing self-care?
K Goddess: “I try to meditate, exercise and take time to myself. I don’t over push myself anymore because I’m already really hard on myself. I take a day or two to myself or even just an hour to just get ‘me’ together before moving forward to avoid all that extra stress that just weighs you down and be bad for your mental health.”
SNOBETTE: What’s next for K Goddess and what can we expect from your upcoming project?
K Goddess: “I’m getting more in-tune with my artistry. I call ‘East Coast B*tch’ ‘real commercial music’ because they’re songs. It’s not just me rapping on a trap beat. It’s me really bringing my creativity to the forefront.
“People can get ready to actually hear K Goddess become the artist you always wanted her to become and I’m planning on being everywhere. I’m trying to take over, I’m trying to be on every network, I’m trying to be seen everywhere, I want people to see me down their explore pages, on billboards–everywhere. K Goddess is the only goddess in the rap game at the moment and I’m really trying to make my stamp.”
SNOBETTE: Are there any upcoming reality show appearances we can catch you in once show production resumes?
K Goddess: I really hope so. If an opportunity presents itself, I won’t turn it down.”
Check out Goddess’ recently dropped visual for “PIMP” below.
