Whew! Now that Iâve gotten some feminist concerns off my chest [Sneaker Wave, âWeâve Got to Talk Misogyny in Hip-Hop,â March 8], received overwhelmingly positive feedback, and endured just one instance of mansplaining (why do I even read Facebook comments?), Iâm excited to return to the central point of this column: highlighting my favorite new developments in the local hip-hop scene.
As I pointed out in my last column, there are so few quality femcees in Portlandâs scene that I can basically name them all. So imagine my surprise when I heard through the grapevine about the slayage that ensued at Mic Check this month courtesy of Wynne, a young blonde-haired rapper from Lake Oswego and Eugene.
She was the sole feminine presence on the bill, and took on better-known local artists Hanif, Vursatyl, Theory Hazit, OnlyOne, and Donte Thomas. To quote Mic Check photographer (and friend) RenĂ©e Lopez, Wynne had âbars on top of barsâ and âmurdered everyone in the cypher,â even though it was her first live performance in Portland. Itâs fitting, then, that her name is pronounced like âwin.â
âI went to Lake Oswego High School, was kind of witnessing the Portland scene, and had heard about Mic Capes and everything,â she tells me. âNobody made music in Lake Oswego, so I was just sitting in my room making hip-hop, observing it. And StarChile and DJ Klyph of [XRAY.FM show] Welcome to the Neighborhood found me. They just dropped me in and introduced me to the scene.â
Though just 19, Wynne is remarkably mature and doesnât seem to be trying too hard, with a style that comes off as down-to-earth and authentic. Just a chill, homegrown emcee whoâs focused, hardworking, woke, and serious about music.
âI started rapping when I was nine,â she says. âAnd then it wasnât until I was 12 where I was like, âThis is what Iâm gonna do with my life: Iâm gonna write two songs every day and make it happen.ââ
Wynne currently attends the University of Oregon, where she gets frequent opportunities to perform at WOW Hall and works music into the curriculum. âInstead of just doing violin and opera, theyâre starting a Popular Music Studies program, which is my major,â she says. âSo they started the hip-hop ensemble, and itâs actually a requirement for my major. They just started it last year, and I do a ton of shows with them.â
At first I couldnât find much of her music online, but did listen to a very solid track called âAn Open Letter to Donald Trump.â It was nice to see a young queen whoâs unafraid to speak her mind, especially about politics. But what really sold me was the official music video for âCVTVLYST,â which can only be described as icy.
Switching up her flow countless times, Wynne goes off for six smooth minutes with natural style and clever wordplay over a beat produced by OwenOBâno hook, no breaks. Thereâs so much here (several Disney references, Marcus Mariota shout-outs, mini political rants, feminist jabs), itâs difficult to choose my favorite line. I definitely couldnât resist when she says, â2016, you pissed me off,â and uses one section to address Trump supporters: âYou want me to stop grouping these orange supporters together/Does that make you less uncomfortable, is that better?/They arenât all racists and sexist, thatâs fair/But at the very least they decided they didnât care.â
Another highlight is toward the end: âYou tellinâ me sex sells, well homie just stop it I got it/Iâm already a hot topic/Iâm thicker than the oatmeal for your nonprofit/If I wanna strip down thatâs my decision/2017 women doing more than food in the kitchen.â At the end of the video, Wynne dubs herself âQueen Honey Pot,â confirming my suspicion that her name references the character Winnie the Pooh (her Twitter profile tags her location as the â100 Aker Woods,â and she can be seen with various Pooh bears on the interwebs).
With some more digging I found her first and only mixtape, 2015âs 10-track Snowball Effect, which Wynne now says she hates. âI can whip that out, having punchlines,â she says. âWhich, at the core, thatâs what I love doing. But now Iâm really doing more artistic music thatâs very different from my first mixtape.â
A self-proclaimed perfectionist who idolizes rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, Wynne says sheâs not planning to crank out any more projects that arenât just right. âRight now Iâm really working on perfecting my sound and taking trips to LA to work with different producers, and really figure out what that is.â
With the help of her partner, producer/music engineer Itay Lerner, Wynne says she plans to develop her new sound and create a solid, confident set before committing to another mixtape or album. Then she wants to start booking more opening slots at Portland shows.
Wynne tells me sheâll probably be back for another Mic Check this summer. In the meantime, I guess weâll just have to sit tight and hope she comes back up sooner rather than later. I know Iâll have my eyes peeled and my ears to the ground for whatâs next from the young âNala in the city.â