Trappin’ rapper Miss Money on her Pennsylvanian roots and entrepreneurial instincts

Pennsylvania rapper Miss Money has stormed onto the international stage over the last years from her humble beginnings in the hood of Hill District, Pittsburgh. She also has her own clothing line under Rich Chickz and is set to launch a shoe brand, Rich Kickz, later in the year. Miss Money didn’t have anything handed to her however, she’s a self-made woman coming up from the deprived hood, where her turbulent and troubled upbringing is what spurred her on and made her who she is today.

Her childhood in Pittsburgh was extremely difficult as she was in and out of foster care and detention centers since the age of 5 when the court took custody of her due to charges against her mother. These early experiences were rife with trouble and instability and are a theme throughout her music, also instilling in her a strong sense of independence and survival instinct. Arguably it’s in this context that Miss Money has been so driven to achieve and pull herself up from as she explains, “I continued to strive in this career to get the voice and message out through expression for those of the same background and as a way out of the poverty living lifestyle.”

Always staying true to her Hill District roots, she achieved international success with hit song ‘On The Nephs,’ which spread the usage of her local hood lingo all the way to South Africa where the track proved to be extremely popular. She was also featured in the Saturday Punch newspaper in South Africa. Her most recent single, ‘MrsParker,’ stays on point with the artist’s Rasta trap sensibilities and provides another catchy hook to her growing repertoire.

Pittsburgh has seen many artists come up over the years including Jimmy Wopo and Wiz Khalifa both of whom Miss Money has headlined with. As a woman in the hip-hop environment Miss Money feels the additional pressure when representing her hometown to the rest of the world, as she explains, “I feel like I have something to prove especially repping the Burgh, Wiz paved the way now it’s my turn.”

Miss Money started a movement called Rich Chickz, which embodies the “Mind, body, and the soul of independent women, building themselves from the bottom up,” as she has done. The musician also tries to give back to underprivileged kids and communities like that from which she came, “I travel to detention centers and schools with students who have behavioral problems or that are trouble at home and give them motivation and encouragement, being that they can relate to me.”

Miss Money’s latest venture is into the fashion business with her footwear brand, Rich Kickz, in collaboration with AliveShoes. Production has already started and there may be more releases further down the line. In the meantime, we can look forward to the next musical release, which is set to drop in summer 2019. Boosie Badazz and Miss Money have already spent time in the studio to record the next single titled ‘Pull-Up,’ coming soon.