Rapsody’s God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops Examines Being Black As A Celebratory Act

Rapsody has covered significant ground in the last two decades, emerging first as a talented upstart to garnering well-deserved attention from the industry overall. Rapsody’s latest body of work, God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops, is not only a culmination of her years of focused evolution, but also a vivid reminder that being Black is and should be seen as a celebratory act. Rapsody, affectionately called Rap by both her peers and fans alike, won her first Grammy Award last year for Best Melodic Rap Performance for her track, “3:AM” featuring Erykah Badu. Rap’s last album, Please Don’t Cry, on which “3:AM” appears, was her first without mentor and Jamla honcho 9th Wonder’s production touch.For those who experienced that project, Rap allowed listeners to learn the inner workings of the artist born Marianna Evans, doing so with a vulnerability rare for an artist of her ability. Before that album, Rap had become the female avatar of “Real Hip-Hop,” a weighty yet empty descriptor that divides rather than unites. Resisting the urge to cater to one segment, Rap may have lost some fans who were seemingly taken aback by her desire to promote the all sides of the culture and different produc...