It seems almost impossible to dodge the performance spotlight when your mother is a classically trained jazz singer and your father’s an actor by profession, but up until recently Voice managed to do it. A modern day Renaissance woman, Voice made inroads into the world of visual arts and writing before coming to the resolution that her ability to write tied in closely with her love for music. Hip Hop music to be precise. Her writing style and delivery could no longer be boxed into the categories of ‘poetry’ or ‘spoken word’. Having exhausted the scene (she was tired of preaching to the converted) she took a break from performance poetry and began exploring her options with music. In 2001 she made a trip out to Toronto that would prove to be most beneficial to her career. She linked with a group of artists on an independent label called Public Transit Recordings (specializing in genre-breaking progressive music) and began to put her unique stamp on the hip hop scene. She recorded the tracks Baby Girl (or BB Girl) and Next Move produced by Moonstarr. Both of which eventually saw retail release dates. Next Move went onto Moonstarr’s critically acclaimed solo effort Dupont (PTR) as well as the Dupont and Christie EP (P-Vine Records, Japan) selling 5,000 copies in Japan. Baby Girl landed on the 4Heroe/PTR collaboration Scattered Snares- Across the Tracks (Twisted Funk, UK). Her efforts and persistence as an artist permeates in everything she does, whether she applies her creativity towards painting, photography, writing or producing music. Not only can she do them all, she can do it all damn well!! She is driven by a time where hip hop music forced the world to take notice of the natural talent blaring from the streets and MC’s had something to say. When asked to describe her influences, she first pays homage to the scores of gifted jazz and soul singer/songwriters and musicians who came before her as well as a period in hip hop that introduced groups like Public Enemy, NWA, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, DITC, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, The Pharcyde and The Fugees. She also makes sure to note phenomenal solo artists Rakim, MC Lyte, KRS One, Bahamadia, Big L, Aceyalone, and Medusa as mentors for their passion, wordplay, innovativeness and delivery on the microphone. This emcee has truly taken notes and created something all her own. Voice knows how to ride the beat, write the rap in the pocket and lace you with content while not taking herself too seriously. She is truly a combination of underground and accessible: the lyrics come first, but the beats sure as hell are funky enough to dance to and you just might walk away from listening to a song with more than just a catchy hook swirling through your brain! Her appeal is broad and far reaching hence her ability to share the bill with artists of all genres including: Vikter Duplaix, Fertile Ground, MUMS, Saul Williams, Jessica Care Moore, Abstract Rude, LA Symphony, Amiri Baraka, Little Brother, Sarah Jones, Typical Cats, Frankie Gunz and many more. If the name wasn’t familiar to you before, don’t sleep. It will be.