Sexual, spiritual and buoyantly unrestrained, Tampa hip-hop duo Yo Majesty burst on to the international lesbian-club and electronic-music scenes before its hometown barely had any idea what it had on its hands. Their danceable sound and pointedly provocative subject matter have made them favorites among empowered women and filthmonger party boys alike, but the music's positive, live-and-love-your-own-way message rings through in any context for those willing to listen.

REAX's Marshall Dickson caught up with ringleader Shunda K to find her busy with solo projects, promoting fellow artists, and Yo Majesty's upcoming full-length release.   

REAX: So you guys are headed out to Coachella, right?

Shunda K: Yeah.

REAX: Anybody you're looking forward to seeing out there?

SK: I wanna see Prince. We did a remix of “Kryptonite Pussy” using “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” We heard he didn't like people messin' with his music, so hopefully he'll show us some love.

REAX: How do you describe the trajectory of your popularity? It kind of seems like you guys just kind of blew up, you had that party in L.A. and it seems like an overnight-success kind of thing.

SK: It don't matter if we would've started off in L.A. or New York like we were originally supposed to. And the reason I say that is because the party that we had in L.A., it was actually our ex-manager's birthday party. And so him, on some scheming and planning and plotting shit, wanted to step in and do our management because he saw we had all these other dates. But he was exactly what we told him we didn't want, we want somebody that's gonna keep it real, somebody that was gonna be honest, blah blah blah, and he didn't do that. He was trying to fuck us up the ass from the first time that we met him. So yeah, we did that show and killed it, and then went on and did other things that made it happen, but I don't want to give him no credit at all.

REAX: And it seemed like with the blogs, you got a buzz on the Internet and it spread.

SK: Yeah, you know, word of mouth is off the chain. It's so powerful. I'm starting to promote clubs here in Tampa now, and it's been kind of hard to get people in just spending money on flyers, but word of mouth is what's been really bringing the people out. People saying what a good time they had and so on.

REAX: You can put out all the posters and flyers and ads in the magazines you want, but it really helps when someone knows what's going on and is like, 'hey, you gotta come out tonight, I'm going here and you gotta come with me, it's the shit.'

SK: Right.

REAX: It's so much more powerful than a flyer.

SK: And another thing I've been doing is, pretty much the reason why I wanted to start promoting clubs was to give other artists an opportunity to perform at a live venue, you know, and just kind of create that whole atmosphere where local artists on the block can say 'I wanna come and play at your club tonight,' and it's cool ... It's gonna be building up real soon, I'm gonna start doing some radio and stuff. And it's helping Yo Majesty as well, to be grounded here at home, because we really don't get no love here.

REAX: Well, speaking of venues, what is your favorite venue to play here in Tampa, or anywhere in the state?

SK: Oh, man. My favorite, actually, is Beauty Bar in Austin, Texas, man.

REAX: Front room or back room?

SK: It don't matter. All over the motherfucker. We played the back, the front, outside. We just keep it movin', man.

I'm getting ready to tour Texas with my solo stuff, and it's gonna be called the Real Love Tour. I'm gonna be touring it for the month of August. I have a company called G-MEQCA, that stands for God's and Man's Eternal Quest to Conquer All. Within that, I have a management company where I manage other artists, and I'm actually the one that's been doing Yo Majesty's management up to this point. Got a production company, I'm trying to make it happen for other artists like I've been making it happen for myself, you know?

REAX: Do you have a favorite performer that you're working with right now, anybody that you want to push?

SK: I'm pushing all these projects at one time. I have an artist named Bla'que Pop, he's originally based out of Plant City, where I'm from. And then one very special project that I'm working on right now, I just recorded the first four songs, it's with one of my artists named Jersey, and we're doing a mixtape that's gonna be called The Best Ever Written ... Outkast. We're using all Outkast instrumentals, and the concept is about the lyrics. I take being a lyricist very seriously, you can't call me a rapper and get away with it, you know? I bring more to the table than that. So that's a really special project we're working on right now, and I'm really excited.

REAX: That's Jersey, or just you?

SK: It's me and him, we're doing the whole mixtape together. Then, I got another one I plan on doing, The Best Ever Written ... The Beginning. That one, I have a cousin, she's in Atlanta and she does internship for Grand Hustle, and man, her tracks is off the hook. I think what I want to do is use her tracks for that one. And I'm gonna be doing that with some guys out in Minneapolis, one of 'em is OSP, that stands for On Something Personal, and a guy named Contac.

We're looking to have all these artists at CMJ this year. We're gonna be doing a party in collaboration with Fanatic Promotions out of Manhattan.

REAX: So with all these other collaborations you're working on, what's your dream collaboration?

SK: Um, I really don't have one. My main thing is that the people hear me and what I have to say, and whatever the Lord would have me say to the people because the most important thing is the spread of love. That's something the world is lacking right now, and not only love but knowledge and truth. There's a lot of people hurtin' out there, they've been lied to, abused, misused, and they just need to hear the truth for once and know that they can make it through another day. Just keep it movin', man. Life is what you make it. I don't believe that nobody has room for excuses, you know what I'm saying? Everybody has a sad story to tell, but it's up to you whether you're gonna drown in self-pity or get up off your ass and make something of yourself.

REAX: That's inspiring. I just got some goosebumps off of that, lady.

SK: Right on. That's what's up. I'm on the real shit.

REAX: I've got one last question for you: Are you ladies still getting topless on stage?

SK: Well, that's Jwl. B's thing. That's what she's doin'. She says she don't do it to try to draw a crowd. It doesn't happen at all our shows. She says that she just starts feelin' so free that she can't contain herself.

myspace.com/yomajesty4life
myspace.com/shundak
myspace.com/gmeqcapresents