by SCOTT C

It's kind of a shame that hip hop as we know it right now employs about as many standout female MCs as there are fingers on your left hand. That's not to say that all the men get top marks either, but sometimes I wish there were more ladies making noise.

One beautiful, deep-voiced, killer MC from New Jersey has always made sure that she stood apart from every other rapper in the place, and even though she's been quiet for a little while, she plans to turn it up again very soon. Rah Digga, who made a name for herself as the one woman in Busta Rhymes' Flipmode Squad, continues to chip away at the hip hop interior. She's confidently picking up the pieces after getting caught up in an unfortunate split between J Records and Flipmode, an arrangement in which her record deal was lost in the shuffle.

Digga, one of the most underrated MCs ever, is sitting on her unreleased new album Everything Is a Story, and had stories to tell when the Mirror spoke to her in anticipation of her playing hostess in the hip hop room at Circus this weekend.

Mirror: When exactly did you first start dabbling with the microphone?

Rah Digga: This is something that I did for fun in elementary school. We used to write raps and memorize them. I kept on doing that all through high school, when I got it in my head that I was going to put out an album some day. By the time I had reached my second year of college, it became clear that this was not just for fun, and that music was something I really wanted to do.

M: What was your focus in college?

RD: I was studying electrical engineering, but in my second year I withdrew to focus on music.

M: When I was younger, there were always guys who could write rhymes well, or guys who could freestyle well. I knew a couple of girls who were wannabe MCs too, but they more often than not got dismissed by some male bravado. Which one were you?

RD: I was always a very good writer. I fell into the "great written material, but not so nice off the top of the head" category. I used to write a ton of raps but whenever it came to the cypher or the battles, most of my stuff was memorized or had been prepared in advance. There was this guy I used to go head to head with all the time, and he was somebody who could freestyle for days, and man, he used to dig in my ass! My little prepared rhymes wasn't doing anything. But he inspired me to get better. I would go home and write three more rhymes directed at him.

M: So you never had a problem getting' in with the boys?

RD: I never got punked by guys. I only ever really battled guys, and never got into it with other girls, but it was pretty much established early on that I was "that bitch" when it came to rappin'. Whatever girls from around the way rapped, became my allies. There were no chicks that called me out. Guys thought enough of me to say stuff like, "Yo! I got a homeboy who could take you," though.

M: So did it get to the point where people were just stepping to you based on your reputation?

RD: Yep. And I'm not even the type of person to walk around braggin' and boastin', either. I always tried to be humble, and I still do to this day. People always felt the need to step to me, though.

"Tight" and up

M: How'd you first get signed?

RD: I was in another group with this girl, called Twice the Flavor. We were down with Das EFX before EPMD broke up and the Hit Squad was still in full effect.

M: When you say you were down with Das EFX, do you mean you were diggity-down with Das EFX?

RD: Nah. I was never rappin' like those guys. As a matter of fact, "Tight," the first song I ever released, was made up of verses I wrote back when I was hanging out with Das EFX. We did try to dress like them, though (laughs). We did our hair up in braids 'cause they had dreads, and would always rock the black hoodies and all that. My partner actually was into flippin' rhyme styles like those guys, come to think of it, but I was just straight punchlines in your face.

M: Were you good?

RD: We were good. We won a talent show in NYC where Smooth da Hustler came in second place! I eventually went solo, and left Das EFX alone, and started rollin' with the Outsidaz soon after. Hanging with them, I was able to complete a real demo with help from a guy named Ski from Rok-A-Blok, and that demo ended up in the hands of Q-Tip.

M: How'd you meet him?

RD: I met him at a session Young Zee had, and we just started talking. He invited me to perform at this Lyricists Lounge show he was hosting, when I was already in my third trimester of pregnancy. I got up there and did my thing, and he said he'd find me a record deal. I was feeling really pressured to have something happen, because of the baby, and it sounded good to me. Long story short, I got signed to Elektra, but things didn't work out with Q-Tip and he eventually turned the project over to Busta Rhymes.

M: And then the Flipmode magic started to happen!

RD: (laughs) Me and Busta were on the same page. He put me on the Flipmode LP and I later released Dirty Harriet.

M: I remember having arguments about who was the real weight in Flipmode, and it always came down to you or Lord Have Mercy.

RD: Lord Have Mercy was set as the next to blow in Flipmode, and I didn't have a problem with that. I just thought that my shit was hot, too. I just kept making hot joints and those songs ended up speaking for themselves.

The story on Story

M: So, you went to Old Dirty Bastard's funeral last night?

RD: (sighs) Yeah. How sad is that, that he passed away? They had the RZA saying some really nice things, and his daughter read a poem, or speech, that she had written about her dad.

M: It was definitely a sad way for such a charismatic dude to go.

RD: It's just heart-wrenching. He had just completed a song with Busta Rhymes too, and that's gonna be golden, whenever it does come out.

M: Yep. Hip hop has been really good at treating its dead artists to a whole new improved career.

RD: That's right. That's hip hop for ya! You're nobody till you're gone.

M: Your last LP, Everything Is a Story, was marred by major-label foolishness and unfortunately shelved. What's the plan from here? An independent release, maybe?

RD: I thought about that, and I don't knock the indie route, but as of right now, as long as the majors are still fuckin' with me, I'll take my chances. I'm juggling offers right now, so it won't be long. I don't feel like I have to get an album out anyway I can. We're still doing mixtapes and white labels all the time. It's got to be about the music.

M: I know exactly what you mean.

RD: Some of the conversations I have with people - what they love about hip hop and why - are just disgusting. Sometimes I don't even want to talk about it anymore. There's so much of this industry that has nothing to do with music anymore, and it's really a shame. When I got into this, my dream was to host MTV Raps. Before I ever thought of coming out with my own record or anything like that, hosting that show was my main reason for being alive. I just loved music that much. All I know right now is that I'm gonna be the last bitch standin' in this hip hop shit.

With Christian Smith, Doc Martin, Dave Ralph, Mightykat, DJ Lazy K, FP Crew and more at Circus on Friday, Nov. 26, 1:30 a.m., $30

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