JBoogie

JBOOGIE AKA LOIS LANE'S SOUND PRODUCTION

Contrary to what BET might play and XXL might say, the female MC isn’t an oxymoron. In fact, it’s those morons who believe such rubbish that kindle the fire burning inside Denver-bred lyricist JBoogie aka Lois Lane.

"I basically want to show a different side of the music but, in general, the female MC," Boogie says. "There are only about three or four female MCs that are allowed to be out at any point in time. They’re all cookie-cutter and pretty much the same."

Needless to say, the Xeroxing on the mic stops here. JBoogie, who was born Jacinta Howard in Oakley, Kansas, had a fascinating start to the recording booth. While raised in the Mile High City, J came to Georgia after high school. In between term papers and late-night listening sessions with Scarface’s The Diary and Ras Kass’ Soul on Ice, Boogie earned a mass communications degree from Clark-Atlanta University.

She’d triumph in an entertainment journalism career upon graduation. Though working with popular urban publications like Rolling Out, Upscale and The Source had its moments, "I was getting kinda burned out with the writing," J recalls. "I was thinking about switching gears [into music], but when I got laid off my last job, I just took that as a sign that maybe this is what I need to focus on anyway. I may as well focus on it now and go hard this year and see what can happen."

Looking at the state of her city, Atlanta, you probably think you know what’s going to happen next: sistah, a soundstage, short shorts and snapping, right? C’mon, that’s not all that A-Town’s about. “It’s a lot of talent down here,” claims Boogie, offering a subtle shout-out to acts like Big Floaty and Killer Mike. “Even though the radio right now is wack or simple, it’s not like the city isn’t producing really, really talented artists. It’s being filtered, but that’s not the fault of the city.”

Boogie, the eldest of three, sees it as her personal responsibility to not just show Atlanta in another light through her verses, but to share knowledge in general to listeners. "I think that when you have a certain amount of knowledge about stuff, tells the passionate street reporter, I think it’s your responsibility especially when its something thats important and can enlighten and change peoples lives."

And you can hear wisdom beyond Boogie’s years in her rhymes. Keeping things topical like Kanye and showing the lyrical timing of Jean Grae, J’s style is not only unique to the South, but its different to an industry that frowns on the female MC.

Her mixtape series, The Other Side of the Game on her 4 Cryin Out Loud imprint are the first places Boogie shines, but they most certainly won’t be her last. Her latest release, The Other Side of the Game- Good Business Pt.1 (Love, Life and Lyrics) features production from Marshall Law Productions (Sammy Sam, Big Gee of Boyz N the Hood, South Circle, Fishscales of Nappy Roots, Skinny Pimp). She also handles some of the production, on cuts like “Eye See Through You” under her Lois Lane alias. The Audio Experience also features appearances by singer, Kayenne (recently featured in VIBE) on the mid-tempo groove “Hey” and rapper Toni Hickman (recently featured in Ozone) on the ode to Hip Hop “I Still Love H.I.M.”.

"I don’t have aspirations to be on MTV or anything like that," she says modestly. "I just wanna be able to go somewhere in Europe or Japan and be able to perform and have a decent following of people who genuinely like my music." Alas, a humble sensation. And it’s likely you thought that was an oxymoron, too.