They claim all cats have nine lives, but last week on Vh1’s Miss Rap Supreme Lionezz was doomed after her second chance and was sent packing [click to read].

More tension built in the house between Byata and Chiba, but there was one femcee who stayed focused on the competition at hand: Lady Twist. The cool, calm, and collected Chicago native not only tried to mend feelings within the house, but took to the stage with the topic, spittin’ her 16 bar elimination freestyle about the drama that’s been plaguing the house. But when she failed to give enough insight in her lyrics to the judges, she was told to “Step off!”

This week, HipHopDX chops it up with the multitalented cast-off about the many hats she wears (including being a budding journalist, comedian, and radio host), why Soulja Boy needs to “Crank Dat Dictionary”, and whether or not ‘ size matters’ within the industry.

HipHopDX: How did you get started in the rap game?
Lady Twist: I started performing at like seven. I used to see little groups on TV and I wanted to be like them; I liked the feeling of performing and stuff. So I literally sat down and looked at the Yellow Pages and started callin’ up record labels like, “I wanna be a rapper; how do I get started?” And that’s literally how I learned about making demos and sending out press packages and all that sort of thing.

DX: So the record labels were actually talking to you at seven years old?
LT: Yeah, but I’ve always been mature for my age and rather well-spoken. So yeah, they were taking me seriously. I’m pretty sure they might have been like, “Who is this damn kid playin’ on the phone?” [laughs] but I had one record label that I sent a demo to and they listened to it. Obviously nothing ever came of it; but I’m surprised they kept answering their phone…after awhile they changed the number though, probably because I called them so much.

DX: What name were you going by back then?
LT: Back then I was callin’ myself Shorty G. Then as I got older it was Shorty Brat; that lasted from 4th grade to high school. Then one day I was writin’ a rhyme, describing myself, and the “Lady Twist” popped into my mind so I just ran with it.

DX: Do you remember a defining moment when you said to yourself “I was born to be an emcee?”
LT: That’s a good question. When I was about three or four me and my mom went to this place down in the city. We were walkin’ past a gymnasium and there was a stage. I stopped to look at it, and my mom kept pullin’ my hand. But I was just staring. I stood there with this feeling. A feeling came over me like, “This is it. This is where I need to be.” I remember this other time, my cousin had a performance at his school. And I cried and acted a complete fool until my mama let me walk up on the stage. I don’t know what I was tryin’ to do; I just got up there and looked around [laughs]. But those are two major moments when I knew this was for me.

DX: Who were some of your influences growing up?
LT: I started off heavily into Kriss Kross and Another Bad Creation. And then when Bone Thugs-N-Harmony [click to read] came out; that was it for me. I pretty much got my whole style from listening to their songs. Till this day I literally know every lyric they’ve ever written, released or recorded both underground and in the mainstream. Also there’s Eminem and Ludacris.

DX: You made a parody of Soulja Boys “Crank Dat,” called “Crank Dat Dictionary." Was that specifically towards Soulja Boy’s lack of verbal skills?
LT: It wasn’t even just him; it was music in general. I was listening to “Crank Dat Soulja Boy Youuuuuuuu,” like, what the hell? [Laughs] I swear, with a lot of artists right now, they could sing the ABC’s and go platinum. So everyone was making these different versions of the song: “Crank Dat Batman,” “Crank Dat Robocop,” I was like I wanna crank somethin’. So I looked over and saw my dictionary and I just ran wit it. So it wasn’t just Soulja Boy; it was everyone in general.

DX: On your MySpace blog you posted up a rant about viewers hatin’ on you for your size. Do you think that your career has suffered because you’re not a size 2 or overtly sexual?
LT: I’ma tell you the truth: I one respect I would say yes because it’s the industry standard to be all curvy and doing the Nicky2States booty shake. [Laughs] But, I notice a lot of people are receptive to me and a lot of people are open to the chance. The thing is, right now everyone is playing follow-the-leader. Everyone is doing what the last person did. Nobody is being innovative. Nobody’s being original. Everybody’s just taking what the last person did and puttin’ their lil' spin on it. So I personally think that people are ready for a change in the image of the artist as well as the lyrical content. When people hear my music, by the time I’m done they don’t care what I look like. Continued on page 2 »