In Her Own Words: Who Is Kreayshawn?

In a matter of mere weeks, Natassia "Kreayshawn" Zolot has become a viral sensation who went from Internet oddity to possible million dollar signee. Her infectious anti-consumer anthem "Gucci Gucci" was posted on Youtube two weeks ago and already it's racked up nearly 1.5 million page views and counting. Thanks to its success, Kreayshawn (pronounced Kre-ay-shawn or Kray-shawn, a play on the word creation) has been courted by every major label and is rumored to have signed to Sony. But who is Kreayshawn?

We got on the horn with the 21-year-old California native to find out (though, you can always hit her Twitter, Tumblr, and Youtube page to get to know her better). We looked her up about everything from how she got into making music and directing videos, to why she doesn't agree with what Nicki Minaj represents, to her sexual orientation. She also broke down the message behind "Gucci Gucci," her White Girl Mob comrades Lil Debbie and V-Nasty, and her relationship with Lil B and Odd Future. And of course there's the time she tried to rob Yung Berg...

Growing Up In Oakland

Kreayshawn: “I was born in San Francisco and raised out in Oakland. I moved to Oakland when I was like 10 years old. I moved out to L.A. recently. I grew up in East Oakland, in this area called the Murder Dubs [San Antonio district in Oakland, California]. I was growing up in places like Tenderloin, Fillmore, Mission. Oakland is ghetto. I’ve lost friends, done shit that probably would have never happened if I lived anywhere else.

My mom was like, ‘I love listening to your mixtape every day when I drive to work.’

“Before that I was moving a lot because my mom was young. Can you imagine a 20-year-old woman with a three year old? I don’t want to say, “Yo I was a mistake” or nothing like that, but it was definitely hard for a single mom to raise a kid.”

“My mom was in a punk rock band called The Trash Women and they toured and all of that. She had me when she was 17. Growing up, I was staying at home getting babysat [while she was on tour]. There was definitely times where I missed my mommy, but that’s kind of sad to talk about right? [Laughs.] She had her life and I learned to be independent.

“She always put music around me. She inspired me to do this. She loves [what’s happening with me now.] She was like, ‘I love listening to your mixtape every day when I drive to work.’ She’s always texting me with updates of new articles that are out about me. She’s definitely been living this life with me the past couple days. [Laughs.]”