I Am The Empress

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As a conceptual emcee, Empress manages to find the universal truths in everything from love, trust, relationships, business dynamics, to real hip hop, and the streets. Most react with skepticism to the thought of a female emcee who can be nastier than anyone they know and still be prettier than their girlfriend . but she's for real, and if they don't know yet - trust me, they will.



Empress, born Vera Lisa Claudio, has always been incredibly competitive. It wasn't until she fell in love with hip-hop that Empress found a place to blend her desire to compete with her need to create and self express. Coming from a family of artists, it came as no surprise that Empress was very lucid with her words and showed such a great deal of insight in communicating with friends and strangers alike. Santiago Claudio, her grandfather, painted all his life. His skill, particularly with oil paintings and depicting themes in nature, had apparently skipped a generation. Empress graduated in 1999 from The High School of Art and Design and majored in Fashion Illustration. Like other alumni before her (Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, Mob Deep) her talents did not go unnoticed. It all started with braggin' raps at the lunch table cyphas. She was intrigued at how peers would spit writtens or freestyle and huge crowds would form. During one of these sessions late in her freshman year, someone who knew that Empress could rhyme, said, "Yo, shorty's mad nice, she rhymes! Spit somethin' ma." The crowd couldn't have been more than 25 deep, but even at that size, one would almost expect a rookie to hesitate or even cave under that type of pressure.especially being the only female at the table. Although she never came out and asked, she had been waiting for that moment all year long; and she spit as hard as she could. After the applause subsided, Empress realized that she had faced her biggest fear and became instantly addicted to the adulation and even more in love with hip-hop. The people she met that day would later be the same people who, knowing her martial arts background, brought her into Zulu Nation as her chapter's Chief of Security.



It seems inherited talent, however, is much more pronounced when coming from the parents. Her mother was a professional jazz singer, and her father is an accomplished martial artist, pro kickboxing champion and actor who appeared in the 1983 cult classic "The Last Dragon." A talented fashion illustrator and sketch artist, young and exotic, with singing and acting ability, it would be appropriate to call the time before her first single hits, "the calm before the storm."



The way Empress looks at it, every day before she blows is another chance to build a stronger fan base. When she started getting serious, she joined an all girl rap trio. She needed to be free to create, so she soon decided that being a solo artist was her best move. Then came her chance to make her own demo. Two were made. On the first, she experimented with storytelling. On the second, she delved into deeper concepts, tighten her flow, and explored the combination of soul, jazz, r & b and hip-hop. The minute Empress accepted herself as a multi-faceted artist, and embraced her songstress roots, doors that had been once closed where immediately flung wide open. She saw how her ability to arrange and harmonize made her an even hotter commodity to industry big wigs. She's no dummy.and if she couldn't beat them, she was definitely going to join them.



Empress' affinity for the public eye can never be written off, and she will constantly seek the spotlight. From the open mic nights in the downtown hip-hip spots, like Nuyurican Cafe, Pyramid, Bowery Poetry Cafe, and Crash Mansion; to the AIDS Awareness benefits at Club New York; to being featured on MBK’s mixtape along with numerous other mixtapes and callabos; to appearing on MTV in the "Making the Band" auditions; Empress has her eyes fixed on one thing . taking her muzik to the top, pouring out her soul through hip-hop and relating to the world. She's ready to bring hip hop back to it's reality based roots where real spit takes precedence over the latest fashions and fads. She's currently working on material for her debut album; putting the finishing touches on her new mind blowing singles, "Go!" and "Oh Yeah".



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