Griselda Records is running the rap game right now and with Armani Caesar on their label won’t be long before they’re on top. The Buffalo Native took the world by storm when she became the first lady of the label in early March. Since then, she’s finally getting the recognition she deserves. We know Caesar is dope on the mic but, there’s so much more to the rapper. FM Hip Hop had the opportunity to sit down with Armani and get to know her just a little bit deeper than the music.
Talk about how you got into music and how you got signed to Griselda records?
I’ve been doing music like, you know, since I was a kid as far as just like writing, it started off as poetry and then it turned into rap as I got older, and it was just something that I always love to do. I ended up me in Conway and Benny at the studio. I was like 16 in Buffalo.
We ended up waiting for some studio time. I ended up writing a rap to the music they were playing while I was waiting for the guy to come out of the back and somebody heard it and it was like all she can spit and then it’s like from there, boom, I was in a group. From there the biggest thing was we always got to come back around and do something. And then lo and behold, you know, what hit me about, you know, the First Lady idea and, you know, just telling that whole buffalo story, and I think that it just meshed, it just came together perfectly.
Your song with Westside Gunn ‘Lil Cease’ gives us major Lil Kim vibes. This has us wondering who influenced you in music growing up?
Lil Kim is definitely one of my biggest influences along with Foxy. There is a bunch of female rappers that influence me because I grew up listening to them. I think that I do a good job as far as balance. I’m definitely staying myself and having my own sound. However, you can also hear the influence of the women before me. It’s almost like having an accent from where you’re from.
‘Lil Cease’ made Pitchforks’ weekly playlist and has done amazing on the charts. How did you feel after that song dropped? How are you going to keep the momentum with your next project?
I felt amazing about it and I was very flattered. I was finally getting recognition for what I had already been doing but people just weren’t on to it. In the interim, I’m just glad that they like that song because I know that they’re going to love my next project.
Not only are you a rapper but, your also an entrepreneur with your own boutique and have a Manuel out about business? Can you give us some tips for people wanting to be business owners?
Definitely! Fashion and hip hop have always gone hand in hand. For me, it was only right, with me loving and fashion and loving music that put the two together. I started my first business in 2016. I just remember the money coming in from that, and people asking me how it went because at the time I was on Snapchat heavy, and documented every step of the process.
Once I got my business to where I wanted it, I ended up writing a manual. A step by step guide that you can download, and it tells you how to go about filing your LLC and more. I have all the resources that you need for any resale business as far as like clubs, vendors, business cards and graphic designers. and I just felt like it was important to bring it back this year— especially during this pandemic when people aren’t working.
As an African American, I just think that it’s important that we be able to cultivate our own businesses and put money into our own community and be able to really just help people have multiple streams of income. Even if they don’t want to be a full-time entrepreneur, it’s always good to just have multiple streams. This year definitely has taught a lot of people nothing is guaranteed. So I was glad to help.
So let’s talk the pandemic, how have you been spending your time and staying active?
Once I got signed, we were focusing on doing press and getting the project and stuff together. Then everything shut down. We had to regroup and switch gears and figure out how I can still do that either virtually or in a way that still had social distancing. I still put my project out in the midst of the pandemic and my business has done very well. So I appreciate all the support that I’m getting from those customers and supporters.
Nothing really stopped we just changed up the strategy a little bit. It’s about staying relevant and keeping my pen sharp. I have to make sure that I’m constantly putting out content. I’m making sure the visuals for this project and the music for this project are a1. Not just this project —I have other projects lined up even after this one.
We also have faced the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others in the past few months. How did you show your solidarity? Protesting, Black businesses, anything else?
Once the riots started, I initially was in Atlanta. So I saw firsthand how the energy and the pain of what everyone going through. Then I just so happened to be down there again when Rayshard Brooks was killed. So I definitely wanted to do my part. I attended a few of the protests, but then it was like they were getting kind of violent. I knew that was not the only way that you can fight. So I did it with my part with my pocketbook, and I made sure that I donated —Breonna Taylor’s birthdays actually on the same day as mine. I made sure that my voice was heard and made sure that I was supporting black business, especially ones that were affected.
Armani ended the interview letting us know that her clothing line, Armani’s Closet, is still open and she will be dropping a new project with Benny the Butler called ‘Simply Done’ which will release Aug. 5
More information about Armani Caesar can be found via her Instagram or website.
