Interview: Rubi Rose Talks Juggling Both A Hip Hop & College Career (2024)

Seduction, sexiness and true feminine power.

That’s what comes to mind when talking about 21-year-old rapper Rubi Rose. She’s the newestedition to the next wave of female rappers such asMegan Thee Stallion, Saweetie, Cuban Doll and more.

A recent signee to L.A. Reid’s Hitco Entertainment, Rose joins an elite roster that includes industry staples like Big Boi and Jennifer Lopez, while also boasting young artists in Yella Beezy and SAINt JHN.

“[L.A. Reid] is amazing, he’s the best person ever,” Rose tells HipHopDX via phone. “[My label mates] and him, they all tell me what to work on.”

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But before landing her lucrative artist deal, Rose spent most of her youth in Lexington, Ky. before taking a year overseas in Switzerland. There, she was able to tap in to her Eritrean heritage, which is the same ethnicity as the late Nipsey Hussle.

“All of my mom’s side of the family stayed [in Switzerland]. A lot of Eritrean and East Africans during the war went there,” said Rose. “I’m not in touch with it as I want to be but it’s a very big deal and part of who I am and my upbringings.”

After coming back to Kentucky, Rose moved once more to the Hip Hop hotbed of Georgia, where she still resides today. She found herself more and more immersed into rap culture and landed a cameo inMigos and Lil Uzi Vert’s “Bad and Boujee” music video, giving her that first taste of the music industry.

“That video definitely played a big factor in getting me more followers and known throughout the world,” said Rose.

But in terms of actually getting in the booth herself, the origins of her rap career didn’t begin until she hopped on a song with her ex-boyfriend Playboi Carti. The track was dubbed “On Top,” and was one that the public didn’t think too fondly of.

“That was like the second time ever having headphones and a microphone in front of my face and people would skip my verse on that song. My own damn song,” said Rose.

Since then, Rose has showed a great amount of progression and potential in some of her latest tracks like “Hit Yo Dance” featuring label mate Yella Beezy and NLE Choppa. It’s evident in her delivery, cadences and her lyricism to better portray her reputation as an up-and-coming sex symbol.

She’s only got four songs out on streaming services currently, but the feedback she’s received so far has been positive. She really started to see the traction building after releasing “Big Mouth.”

“After I dropped the ‘Big Mouth’ snippet of me in the studio, it went crazy. Then I dropped the actual song, then I saw the reaction. That’s when I knew something was up,” said Rose. “Bitches be yelling every word to my music now.”

Not only does Rose find herself working hard in the studio, she’s also hitting the books at Georgia State University where she attends class twice a week.

Having to balance a college and Hip Hop career at the same time is a challenge — one she’s not willing to back down from with graduation just around the corner in 2020

“It’s definitely hard, but it’s worth it. If you want to do something, you stick through it and you do it. And I want to do (music and school), so I’m going to finish. It’s no biggie,” said Rose.

And while she’s in the early stages of her musical career, Rose is still adjusting to the perks of being a signed artist. After all, it’s noteveryday that college students are able to enjoy fruits of their labor at this magnitude.

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“Everyday I wake up, it’s nice to not stress about money and sh*t. It’s just a blessing” said Rose. “Even now, I’m in the Mondrian Hotel looking over all of L.A.”

With the potential for success already showing and females in the rap scene trending upward, Rose knows that it’s a vital time for her to make that jump.

But it won’t come easy as she knows that she’ll have her fair share of critics. She’s focused and determined to make this work, blocking out all the chatter of negativity that might come to her.

“I want to let people think whatever about me … I don’t care, honestly. f*ck it,” said Rose.

Rose’s debut EP is set to drop in the first quarter of next year. Though she wouldn’t give any hints to a title, she’s ecstatic about sharing her debut project.

“I’m going to keep it a surprise but I definitely got some lit features,” said Rose.

View Rose’s most recent release “Hit Yo Dance” below.

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