Source: @victoriasaidit / Victoria -Raleigh
It’s no secret that the music industry can be a cruel place. Plenty of stars and hopefuls have shared stories about shady contracts, predatory producers and a lack of label support for projects (or worse, shelving of projects entirely). For Love and Hip Hop Atlanta cast member Tokyo Vanity, who before the show shot to fame as a rapper with ‘That’s My Best Friend,” her experience has been having her opportunities limited because she allegedly doesn’t have a desired look. However, that hasn’t stopped the burgeoning star from being propositioned by those who have the ability to help her get signed to a label.
“Welcome to the industry where they wanna sign me to be a writer for h-es who can’t rap,” she vented on Instagram on Thursday. “Where I’m not fine enough to be marketed as a artist but when I’m in the studio the n—as who wanna sign me slick be trying to f–k this same woman who ain’t fine enough to be a rapper make it make sense…”
Tokyo said she’s been rapping since she was 10 and professionally recording since 15. She first gained notoriety doing Vine videos and skits.
Back in 2017, she talked with The Progress Report about similar barriers she’s encountered and setting an example as a plus-size MC.
“My goal in the music industry is to open it up. I want it to be where people close their eyes and you get your deals that way. I want it to be where you’re not being judged on what you look like. I want you just to be able to rap, be good at it, be good at performing and get you a deal. You shouldn’t have to be attractive to the guy who gotta push play on your button and smash him to get on the radio. You shouldn’t have to do none of that. A lot of our female artists really be gettin’ extorted. With that being said, that’s my goal. My goal is to push through and set new levels.”
And though she has, as of late, been on a fitness journey to look and feel her best, dropping more than 30 pounds, her message has always stayed the same. You don’t have to like her look, because she loves it.
“I’m cool with myself,” she told Refinery29 in 2018. “I’m fine with the skin I’m in and the world needs to see that.”
