Foxxjazell kicks the door down on hip-hop — with a stiletto!

by Ashley Love

The new queen of hip-hop is just that—a queen! Transgender rapper Foxxjazell has had the most explosive start of the year. After releasing her debut album, Introducing Foxxjazell, in March, the video for her current hit single, “Feel The Vibe,” reached No. 7 on Logo’s The Click List last week.

Just as the world was beginning to acknowledge this emerging artist for her talents, controversy broke out on TMZ.com, when the gossip website aired a segment of the rapper coming out of the MTV Making The Band’s Day 26 album release party. Foxxjazell left the party with her manager and a man she has been recently dating. TMZ photographers ambushed Foxxjazell and interrogated her about her career, and proceeded to bring up the label “transgender.” At this point her date pulled away from her, and questioned her “identity,” and even became physically aggressive. The next day thousands of people tuned in to watch “the sensational drama.” To add insult to injury, TMZ.com gave viewers the option to vote if it was staged or real.

“I look forward to the day when a trans woman artist can get media attention for the merit of her work, and not for the novelty of her gender!” Foxxjazell told Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans the following day.

But Foxxjazell’s worked far too hard to allow the authenticity of her ship to sink due to pop culture’s sensationalization of transgenders. Just five years ago, the 23-year-old MTF, who stepped off a Greyhound bus from Alabama with only $20 in her pocket and a dream to inspire people with her music, was in dire financial straits, landing in a couple different youth homeless shelters and even spending some time on the mean streets.

Eventually, she found her way, joining the L.A. hip-hop group 125, where she became the group’s only woman. It was there that she managed to impress a music producer from a big record label, who was very interested in signing her. However, Foxxjazell did not disclose that she was transgender, because her music was about life as a woman, not about the flesh of her temple. Somehow, the label found out, and dropped her immediately.

But you can’t keep a good woman down. Foxxjazell started her own record label, FKJ Records, and released her debut album, Introducing Foxxjazell. Last year, Foxxjazell became even more widely known after Tyra Banks proclaimed her the “first transgender rapper” on an episode of The Tyra Banks Show exploring the homophobia of hip-hop.

And things continue to look up for the once down-on-her-luck hip-hop revolutionary, who joined the HomoRevolution tour this year and has a busy summer schedule ahead of her, having joined the Pretty Thugs Tour. “I feel honored to be a transgender artist that little trans kids can look up to and actually see a reflection of themselves in,” explains Foxxjazell. “I never had a transgender role model growing up; they were not too visible. Times are changing fast, and I do love change!”

To listen to Foxxjazell’s music, go to www.myspace.com/foxxjazellmusic.