Features : PrettyP turned viral TikTok videos into major features, launches first tour in September

She started writing music when she was 10 years old, but after a foray into acting, it was a social media platform that ultimately brought PrettyP back to her first passion. 

After several years away from the craft, the Dallas-based hip hop artist started doing “Freestyle Friday” on TikTok last year and soon went viral; her fans encouraged her to jump back into music with both feet, and she listened. 

“It was a really random thing, honestly,” she says. “I was literally just looking for beats to freestyle on and then I was like, ‘I’ve got to record this’ and it all happened naturally. I wasn’t intending on becoming PrettyP again, but it just happened that way. I got back into listening to beats everyday so I started writing songs and putting my music out there.”

In the short time since, PrettyP has already released nearly a dozen singles and freestyles, as well as her own Wu-Tang EP earlier this year featuring four members of the legendary group. Now record labels are reaching out to her for features. 

Her single “Roll Up” has quickly become one of her most successful, with more than 100,000 plays on YouTube alone. It also owes its existence to “Freestyle Friday”––she kept coming across the beat and liked the title: “Roll Up.”

“I’m a big stoner so I was like oh I’ve got to make a song to this, this was made for me so it really came natural,” she says. “I actually freestyled the whole song and wrote it out in like 10 minutes. I didn’t expect it to go as big as it did, it was really easy for me because it’s a subject I love and that represents me a lot.”

The song’s success––PrettyP says she was genuinely shocked and overwhelmed––inspired her to keep going and gave her a glimpse of her potential. 

“That’s really what made me take it serious,” she says. “I was just playing around at first, but after ‘Roll Up’ I really started to take it serious.”

She followed it up with her four-song EP, Old school vs new school, earlier this year, which she calls one of her proudest projects. The project includes “Born With It” featuring Inspectah Deck, “Swarm Tactics” featuring Ghostface Killah, “Murda on wax” featuring Killah Priest and “Project hero” featuring Cappadonna. She’s got a fifth Wu Tang song still unreleased. 

“I got an email from the label I was partnering with and they were like, you want to be on a Wu Tang album? And I was like heck yeah,” PrettyP says. “This is my first album and it was really challenging because when I got the beats, it wasn’t anything I’m used to or was prepared for, but my producer told me the challenging songs are the best hits in the end because you work harder to do it.”

In addition to her partnership with the record label, PrettyP has also started her own to fulfill her goal of staying independent. 

“Since I was a kid, actually my family ran their own label so I was like the producer and rapper and performer all in one,” she says. “I knew how to do everything behind the scenes. Now we have a tour next month.”

PrettyP is touting an impressive lineup for her four dates in late September (Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix), including Boosie Badazz, Bobby Shmurda and 03 Greedo. 

“We’re still working on getting other artists on it, as well,” she says. “I chose Atlanta to start because that’s where most of my co-features live, and where most of my fanbase is. I’m really excited to perform outside of my hometown for one and in front of a large audience and I’m excited to join teams with these great artists.”

The tour will debut Sept. 17 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, and PrettyP promises “a night to remember” with perhaps “the most major artists that have ever been in the building together.” Tickets are on sale at www.eventbrite.com/e/prettyp-we-outsidee-tour-tickets-1003303045417.

Besides the live performances, PrettyP has more than 20 features with major artists set to drop in the coming months, including with performers like 21 Savage and Chris Brown. Her feature with Lil Baby, “The Motto,” is currently available exclusively on YouTube. 

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