A while back, I curated an Instagram post dedicated to this fierce femcee, Lady London. The post captioned “reintroducing Lady London.” Shall I do the honors again?
The “Cutthroat Femcee” is another New York native talented female rapper. Life directed her into sports medicine at Howard University. It’s amazing how clear the parallels between her moniker “Surgeon” in her raps and her Bachelor of Science in sports medicine degree are. But it all seemed destined for her. Last year, when she sat down with Girls United, she reiterated how her experience at Howard molded the woman she has become.
“I had a very strict 10-year plan. My mother told me since I was a child what I was going to do, and I believed it myself, I knew where I wanted to do my fellowship. I knew which med school I wanted to go to. I knew everything down to the T.”
London then proceeded to music professionally in the year 2018 when simultaneous events pushed her there. She went viral off of the poem she posted on her Instagram on a random day. Sometime later in that year, record labels approached because of London’s undeniable talent. Those were signs to encourage the push to music and rap.
Last year, she dropped the 13-track mixtape titled Lady Like: The Boss Tape, and she enamored me with the whole tape from track 1 to the last one. The storytelling, the tones chosen on each track, the powerful accent that does not come by often, and the penmanship. I fell more in love with New York female rappers.
The Pop Ya Shit Review
Now, when Lady London snuck this ‘Pop Ya Shit’ freestyle on her socials with a surprise video—I was stunned. The walk she strode in seconds into the video before I turned on the volume confirmed the cocky, abrasive approach I was yearning and hoping for from her. She delivered. I was content. Then she raised the stakes by rapping on The Clipse and Baby’s (Birdman) What Happened To That Boy beat.
As a Hip-Hop enthusiast and scholar, that gave me bonafide goosebumps. I don’t know how else to explain that initial feeling. Lady London rode this beat with her usual grace, confidence, and clear cadence. Her clever use of “Boomerang…zoom me close…Instagram…watch me close” lines and the body movements reenacting her lyrics are brilliant.
At the 20-second mark, when the classical beat rumbles she pairs it well with a flow matching the pace of the thrumming. When it settles, she transitions into her brash blows about her loving “dealing with a rich nigga,” and explains why.
Pop Ya Shit freestyle was a statement from Lady London. She exploited this throwback classic beat with her rich rhyme schemes, double entendres, slick punchlines, and her idiosyncratic voice. I want more miss Lady London.
Watch Lady London outwit Baby’s beat on the ‘Pop Ya Shit’ freestyle
