Kelsey WhippleFor this week's music feature, we spent some time with 23-year-old rapper Lil Debbie. The Oakland native got her start with the Bay Area trio White Girl Mob before being kicked out in 2011 during a span of public infighting.
See also: Our feature profile of Lil Debbie
Since then, she's had YouTube hits with fellow hip-hop personality Riff Raff, and remains a colorful character. Her debut EP, Queen D, is out next week, and below are some of her excellent quotes that didn't make the story.
On collaborating with Riff Raff:
I met Riff Raff on the Internet, obviously — through Twitter. [Kreayshawn's hit] “Gucci Gucci” had dropped, and just the whole hype behind White Girl Mob and me and Kreayshawn and V-Nasty was happening. He reached out to me and sent me some of his music, like “Jose Canseco” and some other songs. He had told me he was going to move to L.A. and start rapping more and really push his career, and I was like, “OK, yeah, see you when you get here.” [dismissive hand wave] And he really moved to L.A., and he lived with V-Nasty for a little bit. He did what he said he was going to do.
I had moved back to Oakland [from L.A.], and Riff Raff hit me up four months later to come down and record. He had some ideas. At first I didn't really want to, and then I was like, 'Why not? If people don't really like it, Who cares?' People don't like me already from what happened with Kreayshawn.
…He's like, top diva. He takes a long time to get ready. He's a character, and everything's about having fun. His inspiration comes in spurts. He's always doing something or acting out a scene. He just does what he wants to do. He's very forceful. We both bring ideas to the table, but it's hard, and usually it's a girl and three guys.
On Riff Raff's fashion choices:
He needs a stylist. Sometimes I'm like, “What is he doing?” I would like to see him on the front of GQ, very slick but still Riff Raff.
On loyalty:
I'm just a sucker. I'm a loyal person. When I moved to L.A., it was really me, V-Nasty, Kreayshawn, Dirt Nasty and Riff Raff. Even today, Dirt Nasty's in my music video for 'Bake a Cake.'
On what made her prioritize rapping over DJing after White Girl Mob broke up:
I really don't know how. It just developed into me doing music. I like the whole creative process of it. I'm always thinking about songs, and I like picking beats and doing music videos, even though it can be frustrating. [I have] three songs in mind right now… Now it's very typical and hip to DJ. It's fun, go for it, but I'd rather be at the club having fun, listening. If I wanted to DJ, I could have been a DJ.
On online haters:
I've already seen and experienced all the hate. The only thing I'm scared of is people invading my personal space. People I don't know on Twitter will be using my full government name, and that's the kind of thing I don't know if I'm ready for.
On how getting kicked out of White Girl Mob changed her career:
There's more input. I'm like a whole different person. White Girl Mob was just a whole bunch of rules, regulations. I'm actually really thankful that I'm not in White Girl Mob anymore. It's sad, I feel like White Girl Mob could have gotten bigger than what it ended up being, and I think [Kreayshawn's] manager was kind of the person at fault with that. I really learned the game of the business through the situation with White Girl Mob. We were thrown into it.
Credit: Photo courtesy of TopShelf Premium
On reuniting with V-Nasty:
I started talking to V-Nasty on my birthday, February 2. V-Nasty is very harsh, but the deciding factor of me getting back with her is that she had the balls to call me and be like, “Hey, happy birthday.” I didn't talk to her for a while after, but then I dropped “Brain Freeze” [with Riff Raff]. She called me and was like, “I love it, I'm so happy that you're doing something.” Kreayshawn didn't really do that. Girl, don't be like that. We don't talk. It doesn't really matter.
On her five most important style staples:
[I have to have] gold hoops, light denim shorts, white strap shoes with kitten heels, my black bag and a baggy white T. I wear baggy everything. Everything I wear is huge, so it doesn't matter to me.
On her relationship with her fans:
I use to be a lot closer to my fans. It's just that people are so wishy-washy. I try to be close with them but also keep it to a distance. You don't want to ruin the fantasy the fan has of you. A lot of times fans want to smoke [weed] with me, and I'll be like, “Sure!” And [my manager] is like, “Your mother never told you not to take drugs from strangers?”
On Miley Cyrus cribbing her style:
I'm broke as fuck. What I wear, I wear every day and buy with my own money. People who have lots of money and are signed, it's just recycling looks. They can change up a whole wardrobe in the middle of the night with a new hair style and a new wardrobe. But with me, I can't just do that. It's still me. The only cool thing about it is that I'm broke and people who have more money than me are looking at what I'm doing, which lets me know that my creative process and my eye for fashion is never gonna end.
Honestly, I knew for a while that this whole Miley Cyrus thing was going on. People think I'm the one who breaks things up and gets mad, but it's literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people a day tweeting at me all day. It's not that I hate her. I just think she could have remained who she was … and still had the twerk or ratchet demographic, because she is a very cute white girl. I feel like she could have gone a more classy route.
Her performance at the VMAs made me feel like I could perform anywhere. Next year, they need to invite me. I have real twerkers. And what was that tongue action? I don't get it.
On leaving L.A.:
I want to move out of L.A. For my next project, I want to go to the East Coast and live there. It's kind of poisoning, kind of delusional. People get trapped in this Hollywood lifestyle that isn't realistic. There's a lot of plastic surgery out here. It's a lot to handle. It's kind of soul-sucking out here.
See also: Our feature profile of Lil Debbie
Like us on Facebook at LAWeeklyMusic.
Top 60 Worst Lil Wayne Lines on Tha Carter IV
Five Rappers That Fans Love and Critics Can't Stand
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.