The New Breed(s): Invincible

She's the kind of femcee that steps far beyond the title. That's how ahead of her time she is!

When I first saw her perform, I thought to myself "this dude is awesome!" because looking at her and listening to her in a small, dim-lit venue, and already drunk, I wasn't prepared to hear a woman (especially a crossed-dressed woman) to spit that hard and that real! That night she not only came with the rhymes, but also a philanthropy. During this performance, she had a backdrop of her docu-music-video "Locusts" playing as she was rhyming with disturbing city images of her hometown Detroit. She has been backed by Talib Kweli, Black Thought, Slum Village, just to name a few hiphop artists that know she can flow. Trust me when I say Invincible is the future of hiphop, HANDS DOWN.

DISCLAIMER: Although I place her in a new breed of femcees, that doesn't mean she (or any other femcee) is limited among or by their gender. Her image and her lifestyle says enough (see picture). She isn't just about empowering the female identity, but about empowering everyone! Invincible comes with rhymes about everyone's struggle, steering away from sexuality and materialism and everything else a woman talks about, in an attempt to blast on the scene tiptoeing with EVERYONE who rhymes right now. Like she said "I'm striving to be one of the best period / Not just one of the best with breasts and a period" (said on "Looongawaited"). She steers away from being limited as a female emcee by spitting something everyone can relate to. Instead of talking about feminism or flaunting her sexuality, she's educating people on international issues in every way an emcee can in addition to her own special methods.

What sets her apart from other female emcees in the hiphop world is her lyricism. She spits nothing superficial, let alone ladylike, yet her content is classy and thoughtful. The origins of Invincible's lyricism is clearly Detroit-bred, but her thought process is so beyond an 8-Mile emcee. She can break down metaphors like you put on socks, it is THAT easy for her. Take "People Not Places" off her album ShapeShifters, she says:

Settlements spreading like cancer and toxic sewage polluted the roads
Now full of checkpoints
I superimpose the truth and it shows
(see full lyrics and explanation here)

On a song that deals with the displacement of the Palestinian people, most people wouldn't expect such lyricism from the average emcee, as they expect a focus on talking about the issues. But Invincible isn't your average emcee; she has the ability to balance a deep rhyme scheme and a crazy flow with intellectual content broken down for everyone.

Her musicianship steps beyond just rhyming; she is also a filmmaker. Actually, she has a docu-music-video for just about every song! She stepped on the scene and caught the eyes of millions when Current TV aired her first docu-music-video "Locusts" on gentrification in Detroit. The amazing thing about it is that she didn't make the video alone, but with a Detroit youth group called L.A.M.P (Live Arts Media Project), where these kids do a yearly project researching current events and making CDs and videos based on their findings. They're basically the 'hood's youth CNN! Aside from her film work with L.A.M.P, she has worked with Beatnick & K-Salaam, and Iqaa the Olivetone. Her most recent docu-music-video "The Revival" looks at three generation of hiphop, in particular women in hiphop. This video, which you see below, takes you on the We-B Girlz European tour featuring Roxanne Shante, Bahamadia, Eternia, Stacy Epps, DJ Shortee, and Invincible. The documentary aspect of it includes Roxanne Shante and Bahamadia trading stories on what it was like at their prime in the music industry and what it is like for up and coming artists Stacy Epps and Eternia (who is responsible for the logo at the top of the first piece in this series) to grace the same stage as two previous generations of hiphop.

THE REVIVAL from EMERGENCE Media on Vimeo.

Invincible not only carries Detroit, but the world on her shoulders, with her supreme lyrical skills and in-depth ability to educate the masses. When, not if, she blows up, she can be the most dangerous emcee, excuse me femcee, in America because we all know how tough it is to be an educator for the minorities and do it without permission (just being real for a sec). Not only will she murk these emcees, but not murk these emcees in a skirt. She does it in her own style. To BUY her music, because we should support good music, peruse her site for all of her works.