Grooveeffect Artist Pages - Featuring MC Tia

When you listen to MC Tia flow over easy breezy beautiful beats you can see this indie hop hopstress' talent shine through. We got to know more about her and see what she's been up to...

Tell us a little bit about yourself...

24-year year old feline old school Hip Hop & freedom activist based in Copenhagen Denmark, but raised all over the world! I call myself a cultural gypsy, partly because of my roots but partly because I'm always on the move looking for new cultural experiences and ways to re-discover hip hop. I've been MCing since 1999, featured, released and co-released on over 22 different pressings.

Performed live in Sweden, Denmark, UK, France and Istanbul. Had my first open mic experience ever in a ghetto ass club in Capetown, South Africa, haha!

Worked with music and production, artist management, arranged shows, hosted radio and recently started scratching. Oh yeah! And starting up a clothing label with funky hip hop gear for ladies and babies.

How would you describe your sound?

My influences are wide. I grew up listening to Johnny Clegg, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Curtis Mayfield, etc... My true love is Soul Music. I try not to always pick the same kind of beats but I tend to lean towards the soulful and jazzy vibes. People often compare me as the female Nas flow wise over Pete Rock sounding beats, whatever that means haha!

My sound is delicate but hardcore. I love to bring out a certain feeling in a song and that's also my goal with music, to make the listeners identify with that feeling. My sound is pretty different since I'm not entirely on that Bahamadia poetry shit or that Rah Digga rawness. I'm just being myself over music really.

Who are some of your favorite music artists and why?

Man the list is too long, but straight off the dome here it goes:

Ok well, rappers off the top of my head would be: Masta Ace, Nas, KRS One, Common, and Busta Rhymes. Why - because they are real. They are all amazing poets but also good entertainers and flowers. They represent, to me what Hip Hop should be all about.

Other favorites are: The Delfonics, The Jackson 5, Jazzy Fatnastees, Chaka Khan, Randy Crawford, Radiohead, Jurassic 5, Madonna, Erykah Badu, Damon Albarn and Fat Boy Slim.

Favorite DJ's are: (of course my own) DJ Lp2 & Bobbybob, hehe bless! Dj Format, Dj Spinna, Dj Premier, Dj Revolution, A-Trak, Jam Master Jay.

Production: RZA, Hi-Tek, Pete Rock, 9th Wonder, Alchemist, DJ Premier.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Life. It sounds like such a standard answer but it's true. I'm mainly influenced about the different periods and ups and downs I've had in my own life, but I'm also inspired by other people and their situations. I'm inspired by world politics, history, egoism and love. Something I think about a lot is how MySpace, Facebook, etc, influences the way we see ourselves. Most people need to create a virtual identity, it's no longer 15 minutes of fame, it's 15 minutes of fame everyday, we need to feel popular and loved more than ever these days and I think that's kind of scary.

Everyone is so god damn concerned about who's talking to who and how we can look our best. It's no wonder out parents generation were miles ahead of us career wise at the age of 20-25. That being said, it can inspire me and almost give me a "mission" to, with my music, remind people that it's ok to just be who you wanna be. It's cool to work full-time or study or grind whatever and not have to show any results or be down with the hottest DJ in town - people like that fade with age anyway.

How would you describe your sense of style when it comes to fashion?

Roxanne Shanté meets Madonna...kind of. When I was a kid I was all about the 90's tomboy look. I was rockin timberlands, flannel shirts, and wore white wife beaters and Calvin Klein boxers paired with doorknockers. (Laughing) I thought i was so hot. Fashion is like music. It evolves constantly but the vintage style is always the best. I try to combine a female hip hop style with rare accessories. I love to shop vintage in Copenhagen, Paris & London for Dior handbags, multi colored scarves and beaded necklaces. I usually rock semi baggy pants with tight tops full of print, ghetto golden jewelry and my accessory number one is of course my Adidas with different types of fat laces. I also love "French caps".

I think the trick is to combine high street fashion with underground couture. I spend a lot of time looking for independent designers and I also have designers linked to me who make me custom shit. I also recently started pressing my own t-shirts, and will together with my b-girl start a collection of baby gear it's gonna be super fresh! We want to be able to give mothers and fathers nice clothing for their kids, but not in that icky superficial fashion way. We just want the babies to look fresh on the playground!

Anything new on the horizon?

Yep. Just released my mixtape called "The Super Fresh Remix Mixtape" which features producers and DJ's like Lp2, Dj Bobbybob, Jim B & DJ Netik from France to Spain to Canada and Sweden. Listen to the snippets and buy on my myspace.com/mctia or through cdbaby.com /mctia

Also working on my EP "Shades of variety" which is going to be an extremely personal and soulful EP released through my label during 2008. Besides that I'm also writing for a newly started cultural and political magazine, based in the UK called "R.H.A.S (Rhythm.Has.A.Struggle) Media. I'm writing a featured article on Hip Hop & Revolution and will continue to write for them together with many known American and European Hip Hop personalities. Get cha copy in 2008 people!!

Also me and my partner in crime, Artist Agnieszka's clothing label "TinkerBelle Designs" will be up soon with super funky gear for b-girls and babies. Once again tune to the net to check it all out in the next year, where hopefully the world be more colorful and more peace...

We're excited...Thanks for chatting with us!

Visit www.myspace.com/mctia.