And the Black kids there are very vocal about their self hatred, very vocal about Black being bad, and vocal about Black women being ugly or wrong played a really big role and hurt me in a lot of ways. So being in all-Black schools having all Black teachers to then going to Robbinsdale where I'm the minority. I always went to schools in North Minneapolis. It was just a lot of culture shock for me. And then going to high school in Robbinsdale. And then we moved to Brooklyn Park, but I still was in North Minneapolis all the time. But my parents are teachers who always worked in North Minneapolis, so I was always there. He originally had a house in the Rondo neighborhood, and they got paid to move so that they could build I-94. I was born, like, right down the street from Jimmy Lee. How much have the Twin Cities influenced you as an artist, especially when you started to take it more seriously these past few years? And what does the Minneapolis sound and Ricki Monique sound like? ![]() When the pandemic hit, I was like, "What am I doing with my life?" The pandemic gave me time to think about what I wanted to do and gave me space to explore new music and tap into my own artistry a little more. In 2019 I was going to sessions, hanging out, turning up, but I wasn't really taking that time. And I realized I wasn't happy, so I decided to full-force work to find my art and start creating more music. I originally thought I would be able to make a bigger change in education. I just wasn't really rocking with the school system. And so that year into 2019, I was just working odd jobs. I went to school for elementary school teaching. What was happening in your life or things that you were observing that motivated you to say, "You know what, I'm gonna do this right now?"Ģ018 was the year I graduated from college. I tried to push out more, put some sort of intention behind the meaning of my music, and saved up for visuals. Honestly, 2020 was when I decided to take my music serious. And then I started writing as a kid, but I never shared it or really wanted to show anybody. He used to make beats and he would be like, "Let's go bar for bar." Like, "Finish my bar, and rap with me” and be silly in that way. When did your musical journey begin? And when did you start giving it your all? ![]() We chopped it about her origins, how she gets camera-ready, her experience as a Black woman from the Midwest, and why she doesn’t quite feel that she’s arrived. It’s with this love that I sat down with Monique before the release of her debut EP Good Seeds, out today. One of the greatest joys of reporting on Twin Cities hip-hop is taking the time to connect with artists - truly taking the time to know them and understand their commitment and love of their craft.
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