Kreayshawn

Oakland rapper Kreayshawn – AKA Natassia Zolot – has never been one to curtail her controversy-magnet ways. From run-ins with perpetual stropmonger Azealia Banks to trading disses with Rick Ross and The Game and the cataclysmic dismantling of Zolot's hip-hop collective White Girl Mob, the Kreayshawn train courts drama. It's not a bad thing in the slightest – it makes for transfixing live sets and the kind of larger-than-life artist that you'll struggle to get out of your head. It probably helps when her mother, Elka Zolot, is a renowned punk musician (with The Trashwomen) and Zolot's been making rap films for over a decade. Bounding into our lives with the phenomenally addictive pop-rap Cthulu “Gucci Gucci” – a divisive monstrosity/anthem, depending on your outlook on life – Kreayshawn pulled no punches and spat flows with zeitgeisty poignancy and acerbic twangs. “Go Hard (La La La)” and “Bumpin' Bumpin'” are equally bombastic, hook-slathered bubble-rap, luring a cultish following of fans that can't get enough of her Marmite-y noise. Regardless of your views on Kreayshawn's offerings, it's hard to deny that they're catchy as all hell. In the live arena, she's there to prove that her songs aren't just fun on tape. Donning bizarre outfits that challenge the term 'fashion', Kreayshawn takes to the stage with all the energy of a kitten on catnip, flinging herself across the venue with gusto and spilling acid rhymes with hedonistic barbarism.