Artist Spotlight: Detroit Femcee Invincible

“One of the most talented emcees I’ve ever heard black or white, male or female…”
– Talib Kweli

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Autostraddle reader Nicole recently tipped me off about Invincible, a queer female emcee hailing from Detroit whose 2008 debut record ShapeShifters you need to check out.

Invincible‘s been making music longer than I’ve been writing about it, so hip-hop & rap enthusiasts may deem this post to be a few years too late. But is it ever really too late to talk about great music no I don’t think so.

There are many reasons to become a fan of Invincible. For one, the girl’s got things to say – she’s an activist for social and political change, creating tracks touching on issues from the plight of the Palestinians to gentrification of Detroit. But she doesn’t just sing about change, she gets out into the community and creates it – an example being her ongoing work with the youth group Detroit Summer.

Invincible’s talent is reflected in the company she keeps, having toured the globe as part of the We B-Girlz tour with renowned emcees like Stacey Epps and earning the acclaim from the biggest players in the Hip-Hop community.

Invincible shunned recording industry interest, deciding to start up her own label, Emergence, to release Shapeshifters. But making and releasing music is not the only thing that Invincible is winning at. After performing at South by Southwest in 2009, she was invited back this year as a panelist for the Southern Shift panel, ‘How to Grind, Hustle and Make It During the Recession.’ On top of that, she created The Revival, a short film offering “a glimpse into the first meeting of legendary Hip-Hop pioneer Roxanne Shante and veteran Philly emcee Bahamadia, as they trade stories of their struggles and triumphs in the industry over their long careers.” You can watch the video on Glennisha’s website, The Fembassy.

Want more? Check out this video interview and watch the music clip for her Shapeshifter single “Sledgehammer” below.

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Crystal

Founding member. Former writer. Still loves Autostraddle with her whole heart.

Crystal has written 320 articles for us.

10 Comments

  1. yes! thanks so much.. i love revolutionary hiphop. this is what i’ve been looking for. so far i’ve listened to one track and half of the interview but i’m loving what’s coming out of her mouth! yaay

    • i’m not surprised that this is what white folks are looking for. it’s white. lol

  2. A friend (and another hip hop emcee) turned me on to Invincible and the “Shapeshifters” album a couple years ago and I loved it right away. Seriously good record, and I’m psyched to see it (and her) getting some love here.

  3. Seriously LOVE that AS is talking about Invincible on here. Saw her live at SXSW….amazing artist.

  4. Normally I am not really into hip-hop but Invincible is really good. Enjoying her tracks.

  5. Pingback: Autostraddle Spotlights Invincible | The Fembassy

  6. I love Invincible! Shapeshifters is awesome, and she’s such an inspiring activist.

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