FEATURE:
Spotlight
ScarLip
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TIPPED by Vevo…
as one of their DSCVR Artists to Watch, I wanted to spend some time with the magnificent, empowering and essential ScarLip. I am going to get to some interviews from the New York rapper. One of the finest new voices coming through. Before that, here is some background and biography about the incredible ScarLip:
“With the wave of female rappers entering the game being the strongest it's ever been, the newest leading lady out of New York has everyone asking, “Who is Scar Lip?” With hits like “New York” and her infamous “Glizzy Gobbler,” Scar Lip is making her presence heard with her aggressive delivery and sharp punchlines. Like other artists emerging from Hip Hops modern era, Scar Lip’s social media presence keeps her new fans close to her and gives insight into who she is. With plenty of competition in the form of fellow female artists on the scene, she is looking to stand out with an iron fist. Here is everything you need to know about New York’s own Scar Lip.
Childhood
Growing up in the Bronx, Sierra Lucas, also known as Scar Lip, didn’t have an easy upbringing. In fact, the traumatic events in the rapper’s childhood shaped who she is today. At 12, she lost her mother in a hit-and-run car accident. Her brother caused a traumatic injury as a child, resulting in a trademark scar on her lip. While living with her aunt, Scar Lip also faced alleged abuse from her uncle and aunt as well. Soon, Lucas moved into foster care after leaving the abusive household. This is where the rapper began writing poetry to cope with the events she had experienced. She details these experiences in her songs “Therapy,” “Foster Care,” and “Suicide Awareness.”
Famous Co-Signs
Since emerging on the scene, Scar Lip has received a lot of love from fellow rappers. The latest A-lister to give her praise to Scar Lip is fellow Bronx native Cardi B. When asked if she would consider being featured on the “This Is New York” remix, she enthusiastically replied, “I love that song! My fans keep asking for it." Earlier this month, both artists attended the Met Gala celebrations. On Instagram, Cardi B reposted a pic of Scar Lip in her Met Gala ensemble with the caption, “I love her.” The new upcoming artist also went to Instagram, sharing her excitement at the moment with her fans.
“Cardi B just posted me,” Scar Lip said in a video. “She inspired me. She from The Bronx, bro. I’m from The Bronx. She showed us young girls we could make it, and we could be something, bro. I can’t f**king believe this sh*t. We did it.” In her post, she also got support from other figures as well. Tony Yayo, Wack 100, Lola Brooks, and Latto all joined in showing love in Scar Lip’s comment section. The 22-year-old has also received praise from the likes of Busta Rhymes and Jadakiss. Even NBA legend, Shaquille O’Neal, gave his stamp of approval. On Instagram, the basketball player told the rapper, “It’s time for you to take over New York.” Snoop Dogg gave his praises to the artist as well.
Influences
Being New York to the fullest, Scar Lip's musical style is heavily influenced by legends who are also fellow residents. The rapper has also cited the late DMX as her main influence. Several others have made striking comparisons between the two artists. Scar Lip says well-known other New York artists, including Onyx also influence her. Among fans, she is also often compared to Brooklyn rapper Casanova.
Last May, ScarLip gave her thoughts on the Rap scene in New York to COMPLEX. She was asked about comparisons with other artists, getting advice from Swizz Beatz, and why she leans into her unique and distinct voice. This is an artist who should be on everyone’s mind this year. I am new to her as it turns out, yet I am excited to follow her through this year and see what comes next:
“New York is in the midst of a rap renaissance, with sevral subgenres dominating the city, and Scar Lip is here to restore the gritty gangster rap feeling.
The 22-year-old Bronx rapper embodies her borough and reflects her past experiences. When it comes to her stage name, Scar Lip shares that she landed on it after being assaulted by her brother when she was young; the incident left a gash on the left side of her upper lip. Despite the traumatic experience leaving a permanent mark on her face, Scar embraced it and made it a part of her rap persona.
“I was like, ‘I’m going to own this. I’m going to turn my pain into my power,’” she tells Complex. “If I call myself Scar Lip, anything somebody says about me can’t affect me and they can’t say anything about me because this is who I am. And now it’s my scar. My scar is my brand. I just turned my pain into my glory.”
Beyond her recognizable brand, Scar has a special lyrical ability that reflects the New York legends she’s inspired by, including DMX, 50 Cent, and Busta Rhymes. After getting into spoken word when she was young, Scar Lip eventually picked up rap in 2018 and started taking it seriously, leading up to the release of her 2022 track “Glizzy Gobbler,” which took YouTube by storm. As the name suggests and she made clear to us, Scar isn’t rapping about hot dog lovers, but “dick-eaters.”
“So I’m like, ‘How am I going to catch these people’s attention and spit them hard bars so niggas know I can rap,’” she recalls. “So I just started picking up some items. I started picking up glizzies, I started picking up noodles, and some nuts. I was just like, ‘What could the hood relate to?’ And they were fucking with that shit because it was funny.”
When and how did you get started doing spoken word and slam poetry?
I’ve been doing poetry since I was a little girl. Poetry is like an expression to me. And I’ve always written raps, but I never actually posted them. My first time ever posting a rap video was in 2018. And it went viral in 2018 or 2019. I did a rap, a regular rap, not even a poem.
I saw your reaction to Cardi B reposting your recent post. What did that mean to you as a Bronx artist, and where do you hope that relationship will go?
It was like my dreams came true, because Cardi B from the Bronx. And I’m from the Bronx and she made it so when you from the Bronx, you are going to look up to her. She made it happen for us. Now she’s opening the door to make it happen for us.
So that shit was crazy. It was really a dream come true. Every day I work, every day I post my events, every day I grind and I finally see some results. For all the upcoming artists, they know how it is when we finally get that little taste of just recognition. Once we get that recognition, we go beast mode.
You have a unique voice too. What makes you lean into it?
I have multiple voices. I’ve always done that. It’s just not released. I have multiple characters, I have multiple personalities, multiple alter egos in my music. It was just like, I don’t drop a lot. I wasn’t dropping a lot of music.
I know you linked up with Busta Rhymes for a “This Is New York” remix. What advice did he give you as an up-and-coming artist?
One thing I can say is Busta is a big help and a big support for me. He’s like a mentor to me. And he always gives me advice to stay who I am, stay authentic, don’t change for nobody, and to be consistent in my music. He always gives me pointers. Like when I first went into the studio with Busta Rhymes, I was very nervous. I was nervous because we were laying down tracks, we got more than one.
And I feel like I was too nervous about, “I got to get them bars right. I gotta make it sound good for him because this is a legend,” you feel me? And he was just like, “Scar, just chill, just vibe. We good. We got this.” But yeah, he’s just a good support for me. I ain’t going to lie.
How would you describe the state of the New York rap scene right now?
We are bringing this shit back. No, I’m joking. I don’t know. There are multiple talents, and multiple genres. Everybody always asks me how I feel about this kind of rap or that type of rap. It’s an expression. These people express themselves. Not everybody’s going to express themselves in an old-school way. Not everybody will go and express themselves in a new school way. Artists bring different vibes to the table, and different flows. That’s why when you see an artist, they stand out because they’re unique, right?”.
In December, Stereogum spoke with the phenomenal ScarLip. It was noted how women are dominating Hip-Hop right now. Certainly when it comes to what is happening in the U.S.. There is also this feeling that Rap is a little too clean or sweet right now. ScarLip is here to mess it up. Bringing something rawer and less apologetic to the plate. Sitting alongside contemporaries like City Girls, ScarLip is offering something fresh and invigorating. A sound that lingers long in the mind:
“I bring authenticity, unapologetic rawness, and aggression. I’m bringing pain back to rap. I’m always gonna bring the ugly side.”
It’s a pretty perfect summary of why 2023 has been such a breakout year for this fast-rising 22-year-old, who passionately raps about unpleasant realities in a hoarse rasp that cuts through the air like an uncoiled spring. Her voice carries the bite of someone – finally – turning the tables on a lifelong enemy.
No other rap song released this year slapped you across the face with the icy chill of ScarLip’s “This Is New York,” with its stomping, warped bassline replicating a motorbike revving up and all the war-ready bars (“Get the fuck out New York/ You ain’t welcome anymore!”) helping resurrect the rebellious spirit of the golden era Ruff Ryders crew doing wheelies in the direction of terrified Shiny Suit rappers. This song had no time for pretty, IG-ready diversions; it’s too gnarly and far too busy aiming for the jugular, forcing fuckboys to run off screaming.
“This is New York, fuck I look like telling a ni*** good morning?” ScarLip spits like a cantankerous hood-rap Larry David, snarling like she’s protecting NYC from an invading army of yuppies and gentrifiers. “Fuck I look like being nice, sweet, charming and warming?”
At a time where there isn’t too much to smile about amid the current neverending abyss of our bloody news cycle, ScarLip’s warrior energy; husky, imperfect vocals; refusal to wear a fake smile; and decision to fully embrace the stereotype that New Yorkers are naturally wry and grouchy is pretty radical stuff. She is a much-needed female voice telling the masses that it’s okay to want to scream into the void and be imperfect, or even long for more mainstream hip-hop that speaks for the poor rather than elevating all the venture capitalists. “This Is New York” is the ugly truth.
Comparisons to DMX carry enormous pressure, but it’s obvious ScarLip shares the late rap legend’s ability to sound simultaneously invincible and vulnerable during her verses. When rapping this pair sounds like they’re purging to a priest and emotion is therefore extracted from every syllable.
“My earliest memory of freaking out to music was hearing DMX on ‘Ruff Ryders Anthem,’” ScarLip recalls while giving me a rowdy rendition of the legendary song’s battle-cry hook: stop, drop, shut ’em down, open up shop, etc. The comparison to X doesn’t seem to phase her, not one bit. He’s practically her spiritual advisor, and her hope is that her major-label debut will continue in 2024 where It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot left things back in 1998.
“That thing, that thingggg, that thiiiiiiing,” she continues, laughing loudly and mischievously as she sings “Doo Wop.” “Lauryn Hill inspired me a lot too! When I saw her on TV it told me it was okay to be dark skinned, have nappy hair, and look like me. You can still go right to the top, as both a singer and rapper.”
On wax, you’ve never shied away from the darkness of your childhood and how you were passed around children’s homes. Was writing poetry an escape?
SCARLIP: Poetry was a way I could express myself and, whenever I was going through things I didn’t feel comfortable speaking to anyone else about, I would just stay in my room, writing. It was a healthier way to let my anger out. I spent a lot of my younger years in the system and care homes, so I would write about how those experiences made me feel. My first three songs were just three poems: my life as a Black girl, me being in the foster care system, and losing my mom. The same way Billie Eilish can make those big songs about overcoming depression? That’s what I am trying to do. Before I even made it, I said I wanted to get so big from music that I could open up homes for children.
I want to talk about the importance of the line, “If you feel like you’re alone, it aint your fault,” on “Therapy.” So often victims of sexual abuse are made to feel like they brought it on themselves, somehow. Why is it so important to change that toxic mentality?
SCARLIP: I believed as a young girl that it was my fault and a lot of the things that happened – my mistreatment, my abuse, losing my mom, the poor treatment from my aunt – were all things I deserved. That’s what they taught me: “Oh it is you! It is on you!” I repeatedly said that lyric, “It ain’t your fault”, so other people wouldn’t be brainwashed into thinking it was their fault either. I want everyone [who has been abused] to know: It isn’t your fault! If you can be in the system and still make something out of yourself, even after the world and everyone else turned their backs on you, then you can make it through anything else in life.
I hate this expectation that we all must be jolly right after waking up. I think “This Is New York” captures that so perfectly when you complain about having to wish people a good morning and instead embrace being cantankerous. The world is fucked up right now, so it’s okay to have an off day, right?
SCARLIP: Yeah! Not everybody wants to be happy every day. Not everyone can be jolly all the time! Sometimes I want to be mad. Sometimes, ni***, I want to curse you out! We gon’ put all the emotions in the music, you feel me? It ain’t gon just be happy go lucky energy, ni***, we about to go do a drill too! Let’s make a song about punching a ni***s in the face. We don’t always need love.
Does it feel like New York rap is re-energized right now? And are a lot of the best rappers from the five boroughs women? I think so.
SCARLIP: I ain’t gonna let you trick me with that question, haha. But I will say this! Women are dominating, you feel me? New York is as grimey as it has ever been! We winning right now. We got people like me, Lola Brooke, Ice Spice; we all turning the city up! And we all got our own edge, and I feel like we’re bringing something new to the game and something new to the city. Especially the legend Cardi B! She is full-on Bronx. Most of the best rappers right now; we from the Bronx! We’re bringing it back to where hip-hop started. We all soldiers out here, you feel me?”.
I will wrap things up soon. I will finish with an interview from Hot New Hip Hop. ScarLip reflected on a busy and memorable 2023. One where she was getting kudos and recognition from some incredible fellows. Artists bowing down to her clear talent and brilliance.! That energy and momentum will carry her through this year. Somebody who is going to put out some amazing music:
“HotNewHipHop: How do you feel about 2023, a year of abundance, lessons, and valuable experiences?
Scar Lip: This year has been a mix of highs and lows, but it brought tremendous growth and invaluable life lessons. I've learned so much about myself and the industry.
What were some of the most memorable moments for you in 2023?
Meeting Busta Rhymes and receiving a diamond chain from him was unforgettable. Also, being in the studio with legends like Cardi B and Mary J Blige, and having Cardi B bring me out on stage in Dubai, were surreal experiences.
How did you establish connections with industry legends like Busta Rhymes, Cardi B, and Mary J Blige? Was it all organic?
Social media played a significant role, but I was also proactive. I reached out through DMs, Instagram Live, and even approached Snoop Dogg. Being a fan of Cardi B, I took the initiative to connect.
Why do you think it's important to be public about your journey and story?
I want people to know that no matter where you come from or what you've been through, you can make it. Sharing my story is a way to inspire others and show them that overcoming challenges is possible.
How do you handle the overwhelming support and love you've received?
I'm incredibly grateful and cheerful about the support. Sometimes, I can't believe how far I've come.
Any surprising moments where someone unexpected showed support?
Definitely, Cardi B and Shaq reaching out were unexpected but amazing moments.
What can we expect from Scar Lip in 2024?
Look forward to new music, new opportunities, and more of me being myself and striving for greatness”.
A name that is going to be among the most talked-about this year, ensure that ScarLip is someone on your radar. With incredible singles like No Statements and Blick arriving last year, eyes are on her to see where she heads. Maybe a mixtape or album is coming along. I hope she gets chance to visit the U.K. at some point. Someone who would be embraced here, this is an artist ready for global success! All the signs look positive. Proclaimed and celebrated by some pretty huge contemporaries, there is no stopping one of the most compelling voices coming from New York. This majestic and mesmeric artist is…
BUILDING her empire.
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