On Thursday, February 4th 2021, EmEz sat down with the beautifully talented New York based Jamaican Dancehall Artist, Hood Celebrityy to discuss her new music and what she has planned for the new year.
EmEz kicked off the interview with questions surrounding the lyrics for her new single, Ungrateful which premiered last month. When asked about the inspiration behind the song, and who exactly it was directed to, Hood Celebrityy shared some exclusive information by stating,
“You will be the first to really know that I wrote the record for my brother, honestly. I am the breadwinner for my family, so I make sure he is straight; anything he needs, I make sure he is good…I treat my brother like he is my son, it sounds crazy, and kind of embarrassing, but its the truth….and the one time I told him, hold on, not even no, just hold on, we had a big fight! It was like, (saying the hook of the song with her Jamaican accent) “I try everything to make you happy, you ungrateful and never happy..” He is the reason why I wrote that record.”
Unfortunately, what she shared is not uncommon in West Indian culture. Usually in this type of culture, the breadwinner is expected to take care of the family and other siblings without discussion; sad but true. So, her lyrics I am sure will definitely hit home for many Jamaicans, Haitians and other West Indians that tuned into this interview. Her and her brother laugh about the incident now with him playfully stating that he helped her create a hit record, which is actually hilarious. However it also goes to show how amazing it is for art to imitate life at times. Like EmEz said, “at least some thing good came out of it” to which Hood Celebrityy concurred. She also made an important point in saying that this was a lesson for her to stop taking things personally, and knowing that you will not be able to please everyone. She goes on to say,
“If you really living your life trying to please everybody, you’re never gonna be a happy person, and I spent most of my life trying to please everybody and putting people before myself, and that went wrong; you can’t blame somebody else because you put them before you.”
If that ain't a word, I don’t know what is!! Preach, sis!
EmEz proceeded with discussing the name “Hood Celebrityy,” since allegedly another guy, had the same name. To clarify, Hood Celebrityy stated,
“We definitely was going through some things with the name. I never heard of that kid, never a day in my life heard of him, and he hit me up one time, like way back and it was for us to do a record and I guess it was after my name blew up. He did what he was supposed to do and it is what it is, but there’s one Hood Celebrityy..” and clearly that is her and she is that. That’s it, thats all.
As far as her personal life is concerned, Hood Celebrityy wants to ensure that she helps in bringing back the old school dancehall reggae vibes back onto the scene. She is doing this by being a part of the “Bookshelf Riddem” mixtape series, where she did a freestyle that went viral on IG and YouTube, entitled “Problem,” over the classic 1998 Bookshelf Riddim beat by Tony Kelly. She says she really wanted to bring back that classic vibe of dancehall music when we had “theBeanie Man, the Bounty Killah, the Buju, the Sean Paul, the Elephant Man, the Ninja Man, and the list really goes on.” She claimed that she was just testing her audience and fans to see what they like, and when she did that freestyle, they received it so well that she went viral. Celebrityy went on to say she has a few more and one that features Bounty & Wayne Wonder, that is currently playing on the radio entitled, “Stich Dem.” Sis is working, we see you and we are here for it!
EmEz complimented her on her growth and success as he recalls interviewing her about 3 years ago, a compliment that she was very grateful to receive from him. She mentioned to EmEz,
“You are someone that has been very supportive from jump, our first interview was 3 years ago, and you always give me that boost saying I am doing my thing and to keep going, so it feels good.”
As EmEz said, “you have to give people flowers when they're here,” especially if they are like Celebrityy where she is “doing her thing, positive with your message, from the dancing, to the dancehall, to the lyrics…” Not one lie mentioned in his statement.
New music? Well of course! Hood Celebrityy is about to drop more freestyles, and her new single (which she shared with EmEz offline), but is very focused on pushing the current single, “Ungrateful.” For a long time, she has been focused on her music and perfecting her sound, but now that she has done that and will continue to do so, she has decided to explore newfound talents. Therefore, outside of her music, Celebrityy is breaking into the modeling and acting scene in order to merge onto different things. When asked if there are other women dancehall artists she would like to work with, Hood Celebrityy states,
“ I am really focused on doing my thing, and am interested in working with anyone who is doing their thing, and that is dope, but right now I am focused on showing people my hard work, but I’m always open to work with others as long as their stuff is dope.”
EmEz finalized the conversation by mentioning that he noticed that Hood Celebrityy went to Haiti for a philanthropic venture where she donated money for 20 schools, and since he is Haitian, he naturally wanted to know how that experience was for her. She states,
“Haiti reminds me so much of Jamaica, and it actually made me respect Haitians more. I don’t know about them, like I don’t really know much. I am around a lot of Haitians….but I never been to the country. My manager, my label, my makeup artist, are all Haitian; I work with tons of them, but me just going to Haiti, really made me respect the people, like you guys are really hustlers…when I got back to New York, I couldn’t complain about nothing.”
She went on to say that she has been truly humbled since getting back home. She realized how blessed she is to have a driver, and the luxuries she possess. She checks herself each time she finds herself complaining about something so simple as her driver being late. She stated that when she goes back to Haiti, she wants to give back, even if it means that she does a free show out there. That is how much the people of Haiti has moved her.
Thank you for recognizing the hustling and resilient spirit of my Haitian people, Hood Celebrityy! 🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹
As for her home country of Jamaica, Hood Celebrityy visited her hometown of Saint Catherine, Jamaica, about 6 months ago to see family, while fulfilling some booking commitments.
To wrap up the convo, EmEz asked if there was anything else that we need to know or look out for, and she simply shared that, “the whole pandemic has really opened me up, and if you want to learn more about me, follow me on IG @HoodCelebrityy, and for funny or personality videos, follow me on TikTok under the same handle, @HoodCelebrityy.” What she said.
Wishing you all the very best with your creative and music career, Hood Celebrityy!
To catch the full interview below on EmEz’s Youtube Channel “The Sit Down with EmEz.”
(Photos Courtesy of britishlinkz.com &HoodCelebrityy Instagram Page)