Southern Plug Magazine: Leaders of the New School 2017 Volume 2 Issue 1 A | Page 122

Delivering brutally honest and quick-witted lyrics over a sound
palette that traverses soul, R&B, and hip-hop, Rapsody (aka
Marlanna Evans) is an American rapper from North Carolina.
Growing up in the town of Snow Hill, Greene County, she
developed an interest in music at a young age through her
parents' record collections, which included artists such as Luther
Vandross and Tina Turner. After viewing the video for MC Lyte's
"Poor Georgie" and discovering the Fugees' album The Score,
Evans decided she wanted to pursue a career in rap. She briefly
joined the hip-hop outfit Kooley High before beginning her solo
career in 2008 after signing with the It's a Wonderful World Music
Group. She put out the Return of the B-Girl mixtape in late 2010,
produced with DJ Premier and featuring Big Daddy Kane, Rah
Digga, and Mac Miller before swiftly following up with two more
mixtapes, 2011's Thank H.E.R. Now and For Everything. That
same year also saw her open for Miller on his Incredibly Dope
tour before heading out on the road again with Phoebe and 9th
Wonder.