Imagine only being two years into the game, and performing at Druski’s pool party in Jersey. This is a reality for up-and-coming rapper and Syracuse University student, Praise.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Praise has deep family roots in the music community. Her family was heavily involved in their church’s choir as her father wrote the music for the group. Their house was consistently filled with music; her sister was a singer while Praise learned the play the drums at the age of five, yet she always had a love for writing.
Praise shares she always loved writing as a child and thought she would grow up to be an author one day. She remembers writing her first song at four and understands rapping comes naturally from her literacy background. When writing music, Praise focuses on communicating herself properly through her expressions while toying around with wordplay.
Currently in college, Praise is an active participant of The SENSES Project which offers open space and support for students to explore the dynamics of hip-hop, music, and beat making. Here she has been able to learn how to use studio equipment independently on her own time, for free. Praise spends as much time possible in this studio, tending to daily visits at this point. Releasing new music is in the near future for Praise, but as a matriculated student, navigating the music industry for the first time can be very tricky. When it comes to budgeting issues, balancing producing the best quality music possible and school simultaneously is not easy. Although Praise has a library of options to drop, she is tedious in the standards of her work and is only interested in showcasing exceptional projects.
Praise is currently focused on drill music, pulling influence from artists like Pop Smoke, Fivio Foreign, and Young Devyn. She shares that she finds difficulties entering the drill space as a female artist. Recognizing that music fans tend to be more concerned with what female artists look like and how they move, Praise intends to surpass her male counterparts lyrically. She sets herself apart from handfuls of mainstream female artists who tend to ride the “overtly sexual” path. While working on developing a niche between femininity and hard energy, Praise wants her audience to understand the emotion behind her verbiage and connect with each other through her music.
Praise dropped her first song, both produced and written independently, Don't Deserve Me in May of 2021. At the time drill music was rising up in Brooklyn, but Praise currently is challenged with finding a sound suitable for Syracuse. Currently, she is working on developing a sound for audiences from different environments that can “hype” the crowd up, while staying connected to her story.
Praise has a love for performing and shares that it is her favorite aspect of entering the music industry. Jumping down and performing on the ground so the concert experience is of mutual enjoyment for both Praise and her audience encapsulates how much energy she brings to a room. Praise has recently seen a lot of growth on her end after performing at one of comedian, Druski’s, party this past summer. The opportunity came her way after competing at a Hot 97 concert and winning first place. Druski later went on to review her music on his youtube channel, and some of her music was then put on some of Hot 97’s playlists. While this brought an incredible amount of engagement for Praise, she is currently working on building a team for herself while trying to lock down the business aspects of the industry in addition to the artistry.
Praise has a lot of finesse when it comes to the hip-hop space, and wants her audience to feel connected to her and her story with excitement. She wants the community of support around her to know that she isn't rising as an individual but rising with the people surrounding her. I am very excited to see where Praise’s journey is headed, and highly recommend viewing her work.
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