A Master of Flow

BYATA is a creative soul, a native New Yorker, a master of flow. A true product of her environment, she was born in Brooklyn and raised by Russian immigrant parents. At a young age BYATA began writing poetry and songs to escape a tough home life and the lure of the street life that was always knocking at her door, promising easy money for the price of a young soul.

Willing to sacrifice anything for her music, she worked from the ground up, taking her talent from the streets of Brooklyn to the stages of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, The Time Cafe, and numerous ciphers and competitions, winning battles, gaining confidence and expanding her audience.

BYATA received praise and well deserved exposure from the hip-hop community after appearing on the TV show 106 & Park, where she was the first white female to ever be seen on the show. Always ambitious and open, she is on a continuous quest to perfect her craft and ultimately make her mark.

VERBALISMS caught up with BYATA to talk about her views on being female, the hip-hop game, and individual style.

Tell me a bit about your background.
Backgound, let me see. My parents came over here when they were 16, from Odessa (Russia), met each other, had me at age 18, and we lived on Brighton Beach, in Brooklyn, a Russian community. There was a lot of fighting that would go on between the two of them so I would lock myself in my room and write, little poems, rhymes from a very young age to escape. My father had a serious drug problem, which messed with my head. The entire time this went on I kept writing constantly. They got divorced and my mother remarried a guitar player. I got introduced to music through my new stepfather, Marvin Gaye, the Beatles, and just developed this love for music. When I got into middle school writing was my thing. I won awards, English awards, storytelling awards, and poetry contests. My best friend was a black girl, she taught me how to write raps and from then on that was what I wanted to do.

How has your experience been with hip-hop?
I have found that it is very hard to get respect as a female emcee because the majority of female rappers don’t write their own rhymes. They usually have a guy writing for them. There is always this feeling that you have to prove yourself a lot more than male emcees, especially being a white female emcee. People sometimes react like “whoa”, since there are not many in the game right now.

So do you feel color is still an issue that can make or break someone in the game? And gender?
No, I just want people to not judge based on appearance. I want people to hear me and say “she’s dope” and then find out what color I am. Again, as a female emcee it is difficult to get people to look beyond the fact that I’m female, and believe I write my own raps and perform them.

Have you ever had a bad experience on stage?
I’ve been received very well, although one time I got booed, but they were just haters. I hadn’t even started rapping yet, it was at a dance club and they stopped the regular club music so I could perform. The people were like “What the?” and started booing, and wouldn’t listen to me. I guess I can attribute that to the fact that their dancing was interrupted, but whatever. Some people have no respect. Other than that I have had amazing experience in NYC, a great, great reception.

I’ve done shows where when I was done peoples’ mouths were wide open, coming up to me to praise my skill.

I know that you have met many, many people and gained respect of many, including notables that have offered to contribute to your art. Who have you worked with?
I worked with Marley Marl, which was amazing, and a lot of up and coming producers like Ollie D, who did some beats for me. I did a show with all the old school rappers like Dougie Fresh, which was great. I met and worked with many, such as Run DMC, Wyclef and family, Remedy, and others.

I notice that you have a great fashion sense and an eclectic taste in terms of your personal style. In your opinion, what is the mark of true style – what makes you say “Damn, he/she looks hot.”
If you respect and love yourself, if you can put something together and wear it with attitude, if you can have this air of confidence and carry off a great look, to me that’s style, that’s what it’s about the attitude and how you carry yourself, the posture. I don’t like to dress like everyone else. I think everyone should be unique, stand out, and be different. It adds color to life.

Do you have any influences, literary or musically?
Rappers are poets to me. Tupac, Lauryn Hill, they’re really poets to me. Lauryn Hill is the first emcee I really respected. I grew up listening to her, I respect her the most and like her best, her style of writing.

Are you interested in other creative arts?
Acting. I took a class to help me out on stage and discovered that I had a real interest in acting. I did a couple of independent flicks, I did a Spike Lee movie, “He’s Got Game”.

How do you feel about your Russian background? How has that influenced you and your artistic development?
I’m starting to develop a style, and realize what I want to talk about. When you get older you tend to perfect your style and sense of identity. In the beginning it was corny, I’d write rhymes about dissing people, but now I’m finding who I am, my element, what I want to talk about. Basically I’m Russian and I like to compare Russian culture to African-American culture, there are many similarities I see – the way we hustle, the way we dress, speak, show off – it’s a very similar thing, we love parties, money, clothes, I’d love to put my country on the map and let people know who I am.

Any inspirational words for our readers?
Keep trying if it’s in your heart keep doing it, all you have to do is believe in yourself.