Ak'Sent Song Review
Female Rap and Hip Hop Star
After seeing Ak'Sent perform at an LA showcase, Capitol records offered Ak'Sent a contract the very next day. She was 16 at the time, and her career began on a high.
She had already compiled a desirable resume dance training and performing in other girl bands. But Ak'Sent really wanted to do it on her own. After losing her parents in two different ways, she has more than enough experience on learning how to do things on her own, and a group mentality just wasn't the right fit for her. Her independence spread over to her music in the forms of lyrics and melodies as she discovered and expanded her voice. Her unique sound is what sets her apart from other female rappers.
Although she has enlisted the help of seasoned pros like Reggae icon Beenie Man, DJ Quik, and the Jaggernauts, in her first album International, the voice talent and words are all hers. "Unless it's a male voice," she says, "everything on the album is pretty much me."
Ak'Sent "My Life"
Although her father died when Ak'Sent was only four from a gang-related shooting, the glorification of violence is something Ak'Sent is careful to avoid in her music, which sets her apart from some of her peers, but has created a huge fan base for those who are looking for something more than guns and sex in rap. Ak'Sent prides herself on returning to the "old school" way of thinking of hip hop as a form of street poetry.
After her father's death, she as sent to live with her grandparents in LA, where she had difficulty fitting in as both an African American and a Mexican. During that time she was influenced both socially and musically by both her cultures, the inspiration behind her song My Life.
Ak'Sent "Zingy"
Ak'Sent clearly finds comfort in not only her family and mixed culture backgrounds, but in the strength of having girlfriends, something not written about much in the rap world. Evidence of this can be seen her lyrics to her popular Zingy: "You don't want no problems cause my girls got my back yea/dress to impress...we ain't worried about our hair."
"Ak'Sent International"
One of her other popular hits is Ak'Sent International, a song about the importance of finding her own voice, and using it: "I'm about o take a lot of people mad, my bad/you got served with the words from my pen and my pad."
Breaking New Ground
The hip-hop/rap industry is primarially dominated by men, with the notable exceptions of Missy Elliot or Queen Latifah. Most African American female musicians are in the R&B field. Ak'Sent not only stands out in her chosen field of rap and hip hop, she is successful at holding her own in the industry without the negativity that surrounds some of the public perceptions around more hardcore rap artists.
Ak'Sent's albums are available wherever music is sold.
Ak'Sent
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