From Azealia Banks, to Angel Haze and Iggy Azalea, there’s been a steady rise in female rappers taking centre stage. Hackney based Phreeda Sharp, has confidently staked her claim in becoming the next rising female rap artist, with the release of her free debut mixtape ‘7 Days In The Life Of A Sharp Shooter’. Born and raised in Ghana, 24 year old Sharp has been heavily influenced by the likes of Jay Z, The Roots andMissy Elliot. Sharp has been gaining momentum with her 7 track mixtape, which sees production styling’s from the likes of Diablo, Bass Drum Snare Drum, Time is Whatever, Myles Sanko & Sugaroc. Sharps character throughout is edgy and raw. You can’t help but feel excited and empowered after listening to Phreeda Sharp and eagerly anticipate what else she has to offer.
The title track ‘Sharp Shooter’ samples Meek Mill ‘Young & Gettin’ It’ and opens with the feint echoes of sirens and punctuated synth stabs. Sharp goes hell for leather in the opening track and literally goes in with a ‘Bang Bang’. Her feisty lyrics effortlessly flow over the looped synths, as Sharp delivers with such vigour and conviction. ‘Bouji Gully Chic’, produced by This Is Whatever, creates a sense of chaos with its use of ‘Chiptune’ style production (music made from game console sound-chips). It’s loud, in your face and snappy, but never taking away from Sharps skills.
‘Can You Bang’, produced by Base Drum Snare Drum, oozes confidence, as Sharp packs a punch with her strong lyrics and catchy hook, while ‘T.I.T.T’ emphasises her confident outspoken attitude, similar to the abrasive quality of Angel Haze. With the latter being produced by Myles Sanko & Sugaroc, the duo have also produced ‘Take You Out’, which immediately launches into yet another catchy hook and a further round of lyrical feistiness and synth driven accompaniment.
In ‘Gutter Brain’, Sharp samples Chris Browns ‘Don’t judge me’, where she highlights her vulnerability and honesty. The down beat track is stripped back with minimal accompaniment, and gives us a sense of her raw talents. ‘Spilla’ closes the mixtape in true style, with production coming from Dutch DJ & Producer Diablo. ‘Spilla’ is a powerful track and includes siren style synths to drive the energy to the anthemic style chorus, until we’re all chanting ‘Go Hard’ and ‘Spilla’ with great energy and ferocity.
Sharp’s debut headline gig took place at Hoxton Square Bar on Monday 26th November, with support from Mr Play and the soulful sounds of Myles Sanko. Sharp, accompanied by her fierce backing vocalists/dancers, brought such energy to her performance and completely owned the stage with her skillful free-styling and re-working of Jay Z’s 99 problems: ‘I’ve got 99 problems, but a prick aint one.’ There’s no doubt Phreeda Sharp has a bright future ahead of her, and has already been nominated for the ‘MTV Brand New for 2013 Unsigned‘. Be sure to check out Phreeda’s next gig at Camden Proud on December 21st.
‘7 Days In The Life Of A Sharp Shooter’ has clearly set the benchmark for UK rappers. It’s strong, confident and passionate – everything a debut release should be. Check out my original posting forGlasswerk, where you can download the free mix-tape!
