Largely ignored by outsiders for decades, Milwaukee’s rap scene has started to get some serious shine beyond city limits in the last couple of years.
Aided by social media, the ease of sharing songs online and the phenomena of viral hits, rappers from here keep clawing their way closer and closer to the spotlight.
Someone who’s out front right now is Myaap, a young, high-energy emcee from Milwaukee’s East Side who’s dropping her second project of bouncy, party-ready anthems on Jan. 26.
Rap fans and TikTok addicts likely know her from the dance craze created off her “Getting to It” – which sampled ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” – and this new project has that same intensity and rapid-fire flow.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Big Myaap Not the Lil One, is a seven-track adventure that snatches you up and drops you in the middle of her world, where she deftly raps about not only her desires but also why she’s so desired – and so hated – by others.
Known for earlier internet hits like “Party Crackin” and “Wham”, the 17-year-old gets right to it on her new EP with tracks like the bass-laden, quick-paced “Pricey,” which explores Myaap’s expensive tastes and an unforgiving ability to stack cash.
Sonically, Myaap – pronounced “Mia P” – channels the cadence of recent chart-topping ladies of rap like Coi Leary and Ice Spice, but she also has the confidence of Cardi B.
Other standouts from the new EP include the deep-bass, speaker-shaking “All White Benz,” the track star-inspired “Sha’Carri” (Richardson) and the hypnotizing hook of “I Ain’t Hidin (feat. Mg Sleepy).”
Most songs on this new album share a similar vibe and theme of getting money while pushing off haters, and that’s certainly by design – Myaap knows what’s hot right now and goes after it. For those who want driving drumbeats and aggressively independent lyrics about doing what others can’t, Myaap more than delivers.
Myaap will hit the stage at Cactus Club Sunday, Jan. 28, joining other local rappers AyooLii and kill.dawnn. Doors open at 8 p.m.
