Once a B-Girl Always a B-Girl; Repping Hard for the Emerald City Seattle
by Davey D
Listen to this Breakdown FM Interview on the new “Love of Fate” album featuring B-Girl and Julie C by clicking here!
We sat down with longtime Seattle dj/producer B-Girl Chillz from the Emerald City-Seattle. She just released her 4th album ‘Love and Fate’ which has been getting rave reviews.
During our interview we covered a lot of topics including the importance of being seen and known as a b-girl. Chillz explained that she’s a practioner of all 4 of Hip Hop’s elements and that she wanted to rep the culture to the fullest by being all encompassing. She also explained that it was important to highlight the b-girl who has always been alongside the b-boy from day one but is often overlooked.
We talked about the Seattle scene as B-Girl Chillz talked about many of the pioneering female figures like; Laura ‘Piece’ Kelly, Toni Hill, DJ Ms Broadway, Angel 179 and many more who helped shape the sound of the city.
Chillz talked about Seattle’s evolution within Hip Hop after the country was introduced to Sir Mix-A-Lot. She talked about the important role producers like Vitamin D played in bringing national attention to the city as well as groups like Blue Scholars, Common Market, Gabriel Teodros and their Massline record label.
During our interview Chillz talked to us about the challenge facing female producers and how she goes about executing her craft. She talked about the equipment she works with and went through the process of recording a record and how she engages the many artists who come through her studio.
Joining us in the interview was well know Seattle organizer and emcee Julie C who is prominently featured on the album. She is newly signed to B-Girl’s independent record label as one third of the newly formed group ‘The Knox Family’ which includes B-Girl and a cat named Jermz.
We talked about the recent attention being paid to female emcees thanks to MTV/VH1’s new reality show featuring ‘Yo-Yo’. Chillz described the attention as the industry shining a flashlight and rediscovering a big part of Hip Hop that never left and has always been there.
We concluded our interview by talking about the music business and how Chillz stays sharp and gets her hustle on, not only as a producer running her own label, but also as someone who starting to licence her music to commercials and TV shows. She also talked about how one should get their international game on.
Lastly we talked about the community program she runs called B-Girl Bench which offers safe haven to women coming into the business. She teaches women how to break dance and gain confidence in a world that is often out to shatter it.
