You Glo Girl: The Trap Princess Behind Gucci's Beats, K.Lee
- showmedmani
- Aug 1, 2016
- 2 min read
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of crossing paths with Kesha, also known as K.Lee. While our meetup was intended to be a business connection, I believe it was fate. At the time, I was scared of leaving my home in Atlanta and questioned whether or not moving to New York would be the best move for me. I promise you, after leaving the studio on the day I met K. Lee, I went home to pack.
K.Lee has made her mark in the new era of trap music by breaking barriers as a young woman in hip-hop, a male dominated industry. At first glance, you may not assume that someone so demure would be responsible for the hardcore trap beats hip-hop legend, Gucci, raps over. While many of her beats have gained mainstream success, and at such a young age her resume consists of household names such as; K.Michelle, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Chilli and more; success for K. Lee was more of a walk-up than an elevator ride.
Prior to being sought out by the likes of Pharell, Missy Elliot and being Gucci's protege; Kesha attended engineering school whilst working in retail to make ends meet. She'd even moved from her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama to Atlanta, the mecca of hip-hop. She gave herself one week to find a job, an apartment and enroll in school; and in one week she did just that. After graduating she moved downtown to be closer to the music scene and major studios. Because of her job, she often missed paid sessions and battled between quitting and possibly struggling to further her career, or staying in retail for guaranteed income. Kesha’s faith and tunnel vision led her to quitting her job and it was a career move she most certainly wouldn’t regret.
One night Kesha decided to go to the club; which was rare for the self deemed home-body. Lucky for her, Gucci was in the section right next to her. A gut feeling told her to introduce herself to the soon to be, "Trap Gawd" and she listened to it. To her surprise, Gucci gave her a chance, even though she was still in school. One night in a club led to many trap classics and ultimately jump started K.Lee's career.
K.Lee's tunnel vision and focus on her personal growth; opposed to competing with others has played a major part in her success. The street, yet sweet trap engineer stated,“I really don’t think of competing with other engineers because when you’re in the studio it’s really just you.” “I know if a job is meant for me, I’ll get the job.”
While at just 27 her resume is practically endless, the trailblazer has no plans of stopping anytime soon. K.Lee is truly "Girl Power" personified, creating a lane all her own in the male-dominated industry of hip-hop. Seeing that legends such as; Lil Kim, Missy Elliot, M.C. Lyte and Angie Martinez have all done the same, it's safe to say she's in great company. K.Lee, may you continue to grow-- and to the bossy babes reading this, I hope you too are inspired to break barriers.
You Glo Girl!
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