Rapper Mama Duke’s New Album Is A ‘Braggadocious Body Of Work’

The sounds of Texas.

By Leah ScarpelliMarch 15, 2021 1:23 pm, ,

Mama Duke is a singer-songwriter and rapper. She says her new album is a riff on the many ways she identifies that make her an underrepresented person in the music world. She says being a gay, mixed race woman in hip hop has put a chip on her shoulder. But “Ballsy” is a “braggadocious body of work” that confronts her frustrations. She grew up in a small town with “more cows than people” and very few other people who were either Black or gay.

“My mom actually told me I was gay. Which was weird – and the coolest story ever,” she said.

“During lunch, like in high school, right, what people did – what the community did, Black people mostly, people of color – we just gathered around with a Sprite bottle, beat on the door and made music and melodies and stuff like that. Growing up like that, it’s mostly men, mostly guys. And I thought, ‘you know what, I’m gonna rap today.'”

“I always was just like, trying to be seen and heard. And I think music just did that for me. And I was like, ‘yeah, I want this forever.'”

“I think we’ll forever be like, there’s not enough of us. But I’m OK with that, because I’m starting to not feel defeated… But you could be one. Just focus on that.”

If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation to support it here. Your gift helps pay for everything you find on texasstandard.org and KUT.org. Thanks for donating today.