Rapsody

Rising from staunch autonomy toward partnerships with leading figures across hip-hop, the versatile MC Rapsody has matured through successive projects. Early mixtapes paired her with the psychedelically soulful productions of veteran beatmaker 9th Wonder, and by the close of the 2010s she was exchanging lines alongside Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Anderson .Paak, and additional standouts. Her second album, Laila's Wisdom (2017), deepened both her lyrical range and the sheen of its beats, earning multiple Grammy nominations. With her third studio album, Eve (2019), she underscored the lasting impact of Black women throughout political and creative spheres. After guest spots alongside Robert Glasper, John Legend, and Remy Ma, she issued Please Don't Cry in 2024, led by the single "Asteroids" (with Hit-Boy).

Born Marlanna Evans in 1983, she spent her childhood in Snow Hill, North Carolina, where her parents' record collections sparked an early fascination with music. Exposure to the video for MC Lyte's "Poor Georgie" and Fugees' The Score prompted Evans to commit to a rap career. She spent a short time in the hip-hop collective Kooley High before launching her solo work in 2008. Late 2010 brought the Return of the B-Girl mixtape, crafted with DJ Premier and boasting appearances from Big Daddy Kane, Rah Digga, and Mac Miller; two further mixtapes, Thank H.E.R. Now and For Everything, arrived the next year. Also in 2011 she supported Miller on the Incredibly Dope tour and later toured with Phoebe and 9th Wonder.

Her first EP, The Black Mamba, preceded the 2012 full-length debut The Idea of Beautiful. While 9th Wonder had dominated the mixtape productions, the album drew on the Soul Council collective, which included 9th Wonder, Khrysis, and Ka$h Don't Make Beats. She followed with the 2013 mixtape She Got Game, then earned a guest slot on Kendrick Lamar's "Complexion (A Zulu Love)" from the Grammy-winning 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly. The 2016 EP Crown coincided with her signing to Jay-Z's Roc Nation. Her first project for the imprint, Laila's Wisdom, arrived in 2017 and included verses from Lamar and Busta Rhymes; it received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album, while "Sassy" was nominated for Best Rap Song. In 2018, besides appearing in the Mass Appeal documentary series Rapture, she contributed to the 9th Wonder-produced compilation Jamla Is the Squad II, trading bars with J. Cole on "Sojourner" and joining JID on the horn-driven "REDBLUE."

Rapsody's third studio album, Eve, landed in 2019 with guest turns from Queen Latifah, GZA, JID, and J. Cole; it debuted at number 76 on the Billboard 200, nearly fifty positions above her prior LP. Throughout 2020 she added high-profile features on recordings by Robert Glasper, John Legend, and TeaMarr, and released a remix of the Eve track "Afeni" featuring D Smoke. "Afeni [Remix]" and other Eve selections anchored five thematic EPs bearing titles such as Wisdom and Soul Sistah.

She teamed with Remy Ma and DJ Premier for the 2022 song "Remy Rap" and supplied the title track while co-executive-producing the soundtrack to Sanaa Lathan's directorial debut, On the Come Up. In 2023 she resumed solo output with "Asteroids," featuring Hit-Boy, marking one of the earliest releases tied to her fourth album. Please Don't Cry arrived in May 2024 and included contributions from Erykah Badu, Lil Wayne, Baby Tate, Alex Isley, Keznamdi, and further guests; alongside "Asteroids," the project spotlighted "Stand Tall."