That’s the Way of the World Dwele // I’m Not Afraid Jill Scott // Smooth D’Angelo // So Far To Go (ft. D’Angelo) Common // So Simple Alicia Keys // Right Here (Featuring Dwele) DJ MITSU THE BEATS // Act Too (The Love of My Life) The Roots // Reminisce Bilal // 1nce Again A Tribe Called Quest // Ridiculous Musiq Soulchild // Keep It Real Jon B // Mesmerized Faith Evans // I Changed My Mind Keyshia Cole // Runaway Eric Roberson // Got 2 Be Down Thicke // That’s Sexy (feat. Andre 3000) Q-Tip // He Can Only Hold Her Amy Winehouse // All My Love Mary J. Blige // The One for Me Rahsaan Patterson // Enjoy Janet Jackson // Whatever U Want Jazzy Jeff featuring Little Brother // Brown Sugar (Extra Sweet) Mos Def / Faith Evans // Love of My Life Worldwide Erykah Badu/Queen Latifah/Angie Stone/Bahamadia // Up & Down Remix Deborah Cox // Everyday (Neptunes Remix) Angie Stone // My Apology Floetry // Heard It All Before (SoulLife Remix) Sunshine Anderson & Brandy Less

The Return of Illadephia’s First Lady-Bahamadia By Davey D Many of us who live outside of the City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia) first got introduced to Bahamadia in the early 90s when she showed up on an Ill Kids EP put out by Guru of Gangstarr. For folks in Philly, she had established a bit earlier when she released a track called ‘Funk Vibe’ that was championed by DJ Ran of the Technitions on Power 99. Many of us were blown away by the sista with the raspy-sultry voice that was often compared to Guru. Her flow and her on point lyrics caused a buzz and put everyone on notice that Bahamadia was a force to be reckoned with. Her first album Kollage did not disappoint. The production and her rhymes were critically acclaimed. Songs like ‘Uknowhowedo’, ‘True Honey Buns’, ‘Rough and Rugged’ and my personal favorite ‘Spontaneity’ were in heavy rotation on every deejay’s turntables. Unfortunately, Bahamadia did not blow up the way that many of us would’ve liked. It wasn’t that her material wasn’t cracking. It was just a sign of the times. Mainstream Hip Hop as defined by commercial radio and video outlets like MTV and BET is what most people tended to respond to and use as a barometer as to what was hot or not. They had started to embrace what we now call the Jiggy era and let’s face it Bahamadia is far from Jiggy. There was no way you were going to see her sporting shiny suits. Nor was she going to move in the over the top sexual persona exuded by dominant female artists like Foxy Brown and Lil Kim. Bahamadia is a true emcee who by her own admittance came into the game at a time when the influence of Hip Hop’s pioneers set the standard. She wrote her own material, perfected her flow and lived up to the motto ‘its all about skillz not gimmicks’. Had Bahamadia dropped Kollage during the hey day of Hip Hop’s Golden Era, there’s no doubt she would’ve been more of a household name. With all that being said, Philly’s First Lady gets her props. There’s no denying her. Tachelle who runs the incredible website Femmixx.com recently sat down with Bahamadia to get an update on her career, give a run down about her history in the game, let us know about her new projects as well as her thoughts on the industry. Bahamadia spoke candidly about taking time out to learn more about the business side of the industry so she could be a more effective business woman. She noted that living in today’s information age, new technology allows an artist so much more freedom to blow up and escape the illusion that signing to major label is the only way to make it. She spoke openly about the need for artists to be spiritually grounded so they can tap into themselves better and improve upon their art. She also spoke about the meticulous process she engages in when it comes to writing songs and picking beats. She says she involves herself in all aspects of her projects. She also emphasized that in 2006 every artist has a responsibility to be in better control of their careers. Bahamadia has been hard at work putting together her new album which has production by King Brit and Kev Brown to name a few. Her new song ‘Good Rap Music’ speaks to her current state of mind as well as the current state of Hip Hop. As you peep out this interview be sure to check out other insightful interviews on http://www.femmixx.com. Big shout out to Tachelle for hooking this up. Less