Kreayshawn

Kreayshawn is just a stage name for 21-year-old Natassia Zolot, who was born in San Francisco and grew up in Oakland, California. Music runs in this young girl's family. Her mom Elka Zolot was in an influential San Francisco punk garage band called the Trashwomen. Even though Kreayshawn has gone a different direction with her music (less guitars and more beats), she's definitely inherited her mom's punk spirit and do-it-yourself attitude, but has all the swagger and flair of a street-wise Oakland rapper. She works with a posse she calls the White Girl Mob, consisting of herself and her friends DJ Lil' Debbie and vocalist V-Nasty.

Natassia isn't just creative when it comes to music; she received a scholarship for the Berkeley Digital Film Institute after leaving high school and attended the institute for one year before taking her music to another level. But her film talents didn't go to waste; she directed videos for fellow Bay rapper Lil B. Kreayshawn is a self-professed "weirdo" and says she gets inspiration from other oddball artists, like Kool Keith and director John Waters. We think it shows in her passionate music, and insane personal style.

She told GQ Magazine: "When I go out to a party I make a point to wear crazy little tube tops and oversize jackets with baggy jeans. Right now, I'm at the studio wearing Jordans and a leather jacket - just fresh, you feel me? I usually have to thrift shop at Goodwill, which is why I have crazy swag. But I've been getting free clothes, so now you might see me up in those."

People talk about overnight successes, but with YouTube it doesn't have to take all night! Just a year after she released her mixtape Kitty's and Choppas, Kreayshawn put her song "Gucci Gucci" on the web and within in minutes she had more hits than she ever could have imagined. By the end of one week she had 900,000 views. She's now signed to Columbia Records and living in LA.

On June 23, 2011 it was announced that Kreayshawn would direct the music video for "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie," the first single from the Red Hot Chili Peppers album, I'm with You, which is due for release on August 30, 2011. Kreayshawn told MTV that she was shocked when the band's label contacted her management about directing the video. She said she went to film school but never thought it would translate to something this big.

She is currently nominated for best new artist at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards airing on August 28th.

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