EBONY EYEZ  (October 2005) | Interview By: Yash

       Dubcnn.com had the chance to hook up with the first female hip-hop artist out of St. Louis, Ebony Eyez. We sat down and asked Ebony Eyez about her new album, the "7 Day Cycle". Who her influences were growing up in St. Louis and who features and produces on the album. She also told us about how the name of the first single came about, named "In Ya Face".. Please feel free to send any feedback regarding the interview to: nima@dubcnn.com
 

Huge thanks to Ebony Eyez for taking time out to answer the questions fans wanted to know! (Interview was done by phone on October 7th 2005)

Questions Asked By : Yash

Transcribed By: Inspire

Ebony Eyez Gave Dubcnn.com A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Interview Audio: Here

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Dubcnn: Go ahead and introduce yourself to the people who ain't familiar with Ebony Eyez

Okay. Ebony Eyez, first female rapper out of St. Louis, and I'm signed to the track boys production company, signed to Capital Record Label. I've been on J'Kwons first album, he was hot. I've been on the XXX soundtrack with J'Kwon and Petey Pablo and my first single was "In Ya Face", produced by The Track Boys. And uhm, now my new single is out called Take Me Back featuring 112, the album just came out Tuesday, October 4th, called "7 Day Cycle".

Dubcnn: Okay tight. You started rapping at a young age, can you briefly speak on who influenced you and kept you doing music when things maybe wasn't going as good at first?

Uhm, just Hip-Hop as a whole has influenced me, I can't really say theres just one person that has made me say, you know what? I want to rap, this is what I want to do with my life, kind of thing.

I admire so many different people that I've watched on TV and infront of the radio, read in magazines, and I just think that as long as we're striving to do it, it's kind of been my own umm Im tryng to find the word I'm looking for..

where as anything I start I like to finnish, I don't like to quiz and wonder what would of happened if I woulda stayed doing this or stayed doing that, so I just kind of follow my own instincts and my own intuition and kept doing it after seven years of seriously persuing it, everything just kind of started coming into place, so you know, I'm feeling good about it. But I'm definately respect for all the females that have come before and pathed the way, the Mc Lyte's, the Queen Latifa's, the Salt n Peppa's, Lil Kim's and Foxy Brown's, , you know?

They definately helped, so that I can break through the door. Female rappers as a whole have definately helped influenced me.. Jay Z, you know I love UGK, I love 8 Ball and MJG, Scarface, Tupac, you know? So alot of people!

Dubcnn: Okay. How was it growing up in St. Louis?

Uhm, it was cool! I love my city! I was an only child, moved around a little bit, I always have had a love for music, so we'd be outside with the radio blasting, rapping and making up fancy things, you know? When Nelly broke through the door for us, it was a real good look for St. Louis, everybody always was just starting to have hope, you really can make it even comin from St Louis, so you know urm, I got mad support for my city I love the city that I'm from.

Dubcnn: Okay. You appeared on J'Kwons platinum "Hood Hop" album, how was it working with him?

Cool! J'Kwon, that's like my little brother. We're all Track boy family and actually the song that I'm on, on his album was actually going to be my first record, but at the time he was recording his album too and it was like my record and he was going to be getting on it as a guest appearance.

Then everybody was listening like, Okay - this turned out hot, we need to put this on 'Kwon's album, and maybe it'll be his second single and introduce you, but they ended up going with "Hood Hop", but it definately gave a buzz throughout the country, it was definately a good look.

Dubcnn: You were also on the "XXX 2" soundtrack?

Yeah, yeah. produced by Trackboys also, me being their artist they make sure that whenever they get work, they try to get me involved with it, so the "XXX" soundtrack people came in and wanted music from them so in turn they put myself and J'Kwon on the record with other artists and ended up getting a video for it and everything.

Dubcnn: Yeah, the videos hot by the way.

Yeah, yeah. Thank you! I was happy about that, I was like "Oh my first video!"

Dubcnn: Did you get a chance to meet Ice Cube?

No, I didn't get a chance to meet him but when we performed the song at the Soul Train Awards he was sitting out in the audience and everything, so I got a chance to see him but I didn't get a chance to speak to him.

Dubcnn: Hopefully in the future you guys can do a song.

Exactly!

Dubcnn: Are The Trackboys handling all the production on the new album?

They have done probably about ninety percent, there was about four songs on the album that they didnt do. I had some guys out in St. Louis that I'd done some work with that I was cool with who have done something on there. I had a guy from ??, his name is J.R, he did a track.

Dubcnn: Okay. Why is the album called "7 Day Cycle"?

Yeah, 7 Day Cycle. It took me seven years to finally break through the industry and get to this point where I'm having an album coming out. And the album kind of reflects how a womens work is never done. Seven days a week, we always have to grind and work hard and it's a seven day cycle hard at work, so that's where the name came from.

Dubcnn: Okay. Can you explain how you came up with your lead single, "In Your Face"?

Yeah, urm, I was in a club and a guy came up to me and was just like, you know how he wanted me to do certain things, bend over and touch my toes, you know? Do all this kind of stuff, so me being a sarcastic person as I can be at times,

I was like okay, if you want me to bend over then you have to let me put my ass in your face *laughs*. So you know, it was a sarcastic comment and he had his boys around him and they started laughing and he looked embarrassed and everything

so I was like, you know what? This might be a good idea for a song, so I went to the studio and we came up with it and it was not meant to be taken so literally, it was meant as a joke song, but it caught on.

Dubcnn: Yeah, it's hot. Who is featuring on the album?

Urm, of course, Trina is on the remix of "In Your Face". We have J'Kwon on the album, I have ?? on the album and 112, who's on my new single called, "Take Me Back", we just shot the video for that, so that's coming out soon.

Dubcnn: Okay. What is your favourite song on the album?

Urm, my favourite song right now would be a song called "Good Vibrations", that I have on the album and it's kind of speaking about a vibrator *laughs*, I'm definately trying to fill the void, there's a lot of songs out nowadays that you hear on the radio, but nobody is really filling the void for the females.

I'm definately trying to do that, and it's just kinda like saying to the ladies, don't get so worried if your man is out late at night, or if he's out cheating or tripping or if your single right now, you know?

Say hello to my little friend is the slogan I use for the song and the vibrator will always get you through hard times *laughs*. That's what the song is about and that's the one where I know I'm definately speaking to the women to the most on my album and a lot of women, when I'm on the street that have the album, that's the song they refer to the most.

Dubcnn: Okay. Have you been on tour yet or do you plan to go on tour after the album is released?

Urm, yeah, we're trying to put some stuff together right now as we speak, so definately within the next couple of weeks I plan on being out on the road touring. We've gotta figure out which one we're gunna get me on, so I definately plan on doing that.

Dubcnn: Do you plan on coming overseas, like to Europe?

Yes! yes, hopefully very soon, I'm definately trying to get overseas.

Dubcnn: Okay. How do you construct a song? Do you listen to the beat first, make a chorus. How do you do it?

I do both, sometimes they may already have the music prepared and I listen to it and I kinda always like to come up with a melody or something before I start wording it and everything. Or sometimes when I'm driving or having a conversation with someone, an idea will just pop up in my head, and then I'll goto the studio and explain what I wanna do with the record and they'll make a beat around what I'm talking about, so it goes both ways.

Dubcnn: The albums already out?

Yeah, yes. It came out Octobor 4th.

Dubcnn: Do you like the romantic kind of dude, or someone who's straight thuggish or..?

Uhm.. I like him to be all in one. I like him to be kinda mean, thug. But when it comes to me, to be more soft, softhearted, outspoken and more romantic with me but as far as how he carries himself with the rest of the world, I definately like a man with a little edge to him who is a leader, a go-getter, stands firm and knows which way he wants to go and everything, but with me I like him to be a little more soft *laughs*.

Dubcnn: Alright. Why do you think there is not so many big female MC's in the game, Is it harder for a female to make it?

Yea, it's definately harder, but it's not because we lack the talent, it's because it's a male dominated field, which is like a lot of other things. Even women athletes feel the same struggle, and it's just like alot of us have to break through off male artists who are already in the the industry, and it's just one of those situations where in the end, if you have the talent and the longetivity the music will speak for itself. It's not really making an excuse being a women, but you do have to work harder being a women, because a lot of the time people can't look past the sexuality and really don't wanna give you props, even if your just as good as the male

Dubcnn: Yeah, real talk.

Alot of it comes from inside the industry and not from the public, whether it's radio people or the video or your record label. It's not always the consumer.

Dubcnn: Right. Who would you like to work with in the future, who you haven't worked with so far?

Urm, I like the singer, "Pink". I definately would like to do a collaboration with her, I think she's hot, I think she's talented and that we could come up with a hot record, somebody like Bun B from UGK, Scarface - somebody like that, I'm definately in to those guys. I like other singers, Joss Stone, I like her. So I really just want to do something out of the norm.

Dubcnn: Okay. That's about it for the questions, any last words for the fans?

I just wanna say you know give a shoutout to anybody who's supporting me and understanding the movement I'm trying to make and they can check me out on my website and to make sure they get the album and to do their own research, don't go off of what magazines are telling you it's hot, go cop the album and find out for yourself.

Dubcnn: Okay, what's the website address?

http://www.ebonyeyez.com/