NITTY SCOTT is a pretty girl with the lyrical brawn of the big boys. With a breakout performance in a BET Cypher at the 2011 Hip Hop Awards, Nitty solidified her place as a real spitter. As focused as she is fly, Nitty tells DOPE the difference between “rapper” and “emcee,” breaks down “The Pretty Girl Syndrome,” and shares why she’s intent on making a big difference before making big money.

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(Arionne Alyssa: AA) You’re a Michigan girl, or at least born there before moving to Florida, and ultimately landing in NYC. How did your Michigan and Florida roots prepare you for the big city of New York and all that comes with it?

(Nitty Scott, MC: NITTY) Being someone who was born in Michigan, I’m definitely no stranger to the cold and the city. I have family in Detroit and even though I moved pretty young, it definitely exposed me to some of that inner city stuff. I can’t say that Florida is anything like New York. Everything from the pace at which people move to the way it looks is a very different scene, but I would say that I started to master my craft, discover my passion, and sort of start to polish that while I was in Florida. I attended an arts school, the Osceola County School for the Arts, as a Creative Writing major and that was when I just dove into my love for writing. I was always a poet, I was always expressing myself, but it wasn’t until I got to high school that I decided I wanted to be formally trained in how to write and explore it even more. Once that happened, I took off to New York City when I was 17. So, my ability to handle the cold grizzly weather comes from up top, the Midwest, and then, just getting my first taste of really learning how to write and how to use my words as power began in Florida.

(AA) With Joey Badass, Azealia Banks, A$AP Rocky, Teyana Taylor, yourself and others, NYC Hip Hop is experiencing a resurgence onto the scene. What do you feel is igniting this reemergence and do you think artists in the NYC area may be ready to dominate rap again?

(NITTY) Yeah, I feel that New York is the home of the pioneers – it’s where this whole thing happened. We haven’t been at the forefront for a while, but I think a willingness to kind of embrace that New York sound again definitely has something to do with why that scene is kind of starting to buzz again because I do think that for a while, sonically, the south had Hip Hop on lock. I think people, from different areas of America, were actually trying to imitate that. I’m not really getting at nobody because I see how sometimes these artists feel that they have to keep up with the industry and keep up with what’s popular. I feel that the New York sound kind of lost its popularity and now we’re getting back to a point where people want to embrace that again. Whether it’s Fabolous or someone in that lane all the way to Action Bronson, Flatbush Zombies, Matthew Ragazino, Joey Baddass, Pro Era, people who are just really down to embrace this community, this sound, as opposed to what’s really been popular in Hip Hop. I think that’s what’s really been going on and I love it!

(AA) Where do you fit into the mix? How does New York help galvanize your journey?

(NITTY) I feel like I’m a part of it and it’s the exact reason why I left Florida to come here to pursue this because I felt like there was an entire world of music, an entire scene of people that relate to this kind of music. It’s a community and that scene wasn’t really there for me in Florida. Once I came here and discovered it, it was like watching “8 Mile” for the first time. (Laughs!) Just jaw dropping. Like “Wow! It’s a bunch of people just like me who like to sit around and appreciate lyricism and DOPE Hip Hop and sweaty rap shows. It’s phukn awesome! (Laughs!).

(AA) Speaking of popularity, in a world that is all about the glitter and gold of the industry and not necessarily what music is saying, your focus on creating Hip Hop with a message is so refreshing. What separates an emcee from just another rapper?

(NITTY) Well, I feel that “emcee” and “rapper” are literally two different things, they’re two different titles. In order to be an emcee, it’s short for “master of the ceremony” so you have to be able to master that ceremony, which means rock the crowd. The perfect example that I always give is that an emcee can get up in front of a crowd of people that don’t know who they are, that are not familiar with their music, and can still have hands in the air, people shouting, people participating and people talking about whomever that was when they walk off the stage. That’s the definition of an emcee. You work that crowd and you make them love you appreciate what you’re doing. I’m not saying that rappers don’t know how to work a crowd but I’ve seen a lot people who I consider to be rappers have catalogues, records that people know so people automatically sing along. I’ve seen some entertainers disappoint me and not really perform that record because they don’t have to. I think that’s a big difference. Rapping is a verb, it’s an activity. It is like painting, dancing, running, and jumping – it’s what you do and I don’t think it’s that hard to make words rhyme with each other. I really don’t think it’s that impressive anymore to be able to rhyme cat with hat and bat. It’s just not. However, to be an emcee, you have to embody certain characteristics and truly represent something that is based off of skill, not just entertainment necessarily. That’s where I make that division.

(AA) What’s your definition of real Hip Hop today?

(NITTY) As far as real Hip Hop goes, the phrase is so vague to me that I really have eliminated it from my vocabulary. I don’t really call anything “real Hip Hop” or “fake Hip Hop”. It’s so subjective that I think you have to be specific with what you’re talking about. Are you talking about the message? The subject matter? If something has no substance, is it not real Hip Hop? Are you talking about a sound? The sound that was prevalent in the Golden Era in the 90’s? Is that real Hip Hop? It’s all about what your definition is. I just think that whenever you wanna call something real Hip Hop, you just have to back it up by saying more specific things. “I think it’s lyrical,” “I think it has substance,” “I think it’s representative of a generation” – it’s just such a wide phrase and you can ask one person who’s real Hip Hop and they’ll tell you Mos Def, you can ask another person and they’ll tell you Gucci Mane. It’s all in the ear of the beholder.

(AA) You’re a hard core lyricist and although you’re just naturally pretty, you don’t rely on your looks or your beauty to make you popular. In a time when sex sells more than ever, do you feel your approach creates an even greater challenge?

(NITTY) It’s a catch-22 because I do have what I consider “The Pretty Girl Syndrome,” which is when somebody looks at a chick that is attractive and fly and just because of that, doesn’t expect anything of substance to come out of her mouth. They automatically expect you to be talking about your red bottoms and your lip gloss and your handbags. It’s kind of because the reputation that women have as rappers, but then when you approach it a different way, it kind of allows you to stand out from the crowd. It causes people to pay attention to you although they may not know if they like you or like what you’re doing. It’s different enough for people to say: “Well, all I’m getting is apples, apples, apples, apples, apples from every female who steps to the mic, so I’mma listen to these oranges right here and see what’s up.” So it can cause people to kind of dismiss you and not take you seriously, but it can also make you stand out and because of that, get attention from the people you want.

(AA) You’ve mentioned that there are a lot of gimmicks you could use to increase your notoriety, but you haven’t gone that route because you want to be known for the music and haven’t just gone for the money. Is money the root of all evil? Or just a lame excuse for all the evil people do?

(NITTY) That’s exactly what I think (the latter). I do not think that money is the root of all evil because money is a piece of paper. We are the ones that give it so much value and value it over human life, over art, over good morals… over all of these things. I understand money’s place in the world. It is important and I want to make a lot of it (Laughs!) but I also don’t glorify it and I won’t kill somebody, or myself, over it. It’s just about having a balanced relationship with money and not allowing it to be your God. We, as a society, have done that and that is a problem.

(AA) As an indie artist you’ve had the freedom to make your own choices, but with that, a lot of responsibility also. How have you molded your career and chosen your own path? What has your philosophy been in regards to decision-making?

(NITTY) I just try to be a barrier breaker. That’s been my whole thing, doing things in an unconventional way to essentially open doors for artists, to empower fans, kind of making a difference before I make millions. I’m not necessarily in here to “just get mine,” but to actually change certain elements of the game or at least to be an example of another way. Even with me being indie, I’ve sat down with labels. I’ve been offered deals. It has nothing to do with not having mainstream appeal, but I really want to demonstrate this alternative way of putting yourself out there when you’re an artist that has integrity and when you’re an artist that is putting art before the business. There is a way to have a flourishing career. You just gotta be willing to put the time in that it really takes to build something from the ground up, especially with no backing and no major label help. It can take a while and your talent has to be there. You know how a label can create a star? If you’re an independent artist, I think that your talent has to speak for itself because you have no hype, you have nothing to actually sell you to people, other than what you’re actually doing. You can have a flourishing career, you can have a cult following, you can be critically acclaimed, you can make the music that you want to make, say what you wanna say, dress how you wanna dress, be who you wanna be, and never sign your name on a dotted line. I’m not anti-label, I’m just pro-us and I don’t think people understand that a label deal is a loan from people who are now going to have a say in what you do creatively. If you want that freedom, there’s a way to keep it and still have a career and still make a living.

(AA) Speaking of labels, there’s a lot of talk and rumors about who you may be signing to. Can you give us any hints? What would a major label need to bring to the table to get you interested?

(NITTY) A major label is a future possibility, but I can’t say anything more than that. What I do know is that should I sign to a label, it has to be a mutual marriage. These labels are a big bank – you’re giving me a loan and exercising your connections to take my career to the next level. I know what they’re there to do, but I also understand that when if I step into this corporate world, it’s not just about me and the art anymore. I’d be making money for someone else at that point and I’d have to deliver. It just has to be the perfect marriage of creative control. I think that’s every artist’s plight. You just want to sign with someone that will allow you to do your thing and not shelve you. I honestly want to get to a point in my independent career where signing to a label is just the cherry on top and I’m not relying on them, but it’s just a bonus.

(AA) Sometimes, when success starts to roll in very quickly, it’s hard to just sit back and think about everything that has happened. What has been your most humbling career experience so far?

(NITTY) Hmmmmm (pauses, reflects)… It wasn’t anything so extreme but I remember doing a show in Brooklyn and there was a boy in the audience. I performed, everyone left, the whole venue was clearing out, and he was still there sitting on the bar with his composition book. We all said, “What is this kid doing?” but when we were getting ready to leave, he approached me. He was kind of timid, his voice was all shaky, and he said, “I waited all this time because I wanted to show you my rhyme book. I wanted to share with you some stuff that I wrote.” I get a lot of people on social networks wanting me to listen to their music or watch their videos, but for him to come to the show, watch the show, wait for everyone to leave, and risk not knowing my reaction, was big. It was bold and I was really touched by the fact that someone would put that much effort into being heard by me. It’s like: Who am I that you want me to check out your rhyme book? But, I did and it really made his day. That’ll always stick with me.

(AA) You started your music career at an early age. In what ways do you want to grow and develop, both in your music career and personal life?

(NITTY) Musically, I just want to evolve and become better and better. I want to master my craft and be someone that’s known for truly mastering what I do. I want to have longevity. My music is going to be a reflection of me and my human experience. I don’t want to be trendy. I don’t want to be an artist that we don’t talk about in five years so I’m definitely taking my time. I want to go through all of my different phases and really document everything that I’ve experienced as a person musically, which is different for me. When I came into this industry, most of my material was about declaring who I am and making it known that I am a spitter. Basically, trying to impress people with my ability and earn respect. Now, that I’ve gotten that respect I really want to dig deeper into who I am. I’m very young (20) so I’m still finding that out. I have a very interesting past that I’d like to explore musically, that I haven’t done yet so for me, I want to die with a catalog full of records that truly documents my time here and in that way, I think I would truly live forever.

(AA) You’re definitely on your way.

(NITTY) We working, girl! We working! And then I would say too, that I would like to get to a point where I don’t just make music, but where I can use my influence, and hopefully, my money and my connections, to give a voice to causes that I think are important. I really have this kind of humanitarian spirit where I wanna advocate things, I want to bring light to things, and essentially, be just a selfless person that really donates many of the things I’ve worked for to make the world a better place. It’s all about giving back and putting good energy into the world.

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