Princess Loko was an American rapper best known for her fast, "double-time" syncopated rap flow, and early

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

candor. Notably rapping in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

group Ten Wanted Men alongside

Tommy Wright III Tommy Wright III is an American rapper and hip hop producer. He began rapping in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1990s and is considered to be an early pioneer for fast-paced rap and trap production in South Memphis. Musical career Growing up in ...

and

La Chat Chastity Daniels (born March 21, 1978), known professionally as La Chat, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. She is best known for her association with the Hypnotize Minds record label. She was one of the two female members of Memphis- ...

during the early-to-late 1990s, she is widely considered to be a pioneer of rap music in South Memphis.

Musical career

Summers began rapping in her teenage years as a method to communicate her thoughts on the over-policing, constant surveillance, and rampant crime in her hometown of

Whitehaven, Memphis Whitehaven, informally known as "Blackhaven", is a predominantly African-American community in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It was first organized in the late 19th century as a neighborhood for upper-class families. Its current population i ...

, a predominantly Black community in the 1990s (due to

white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

) best known for its proximity to

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Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

. She would also frequently discuss avoidance of the gaze of men who attempted to use intimate relationships to exert power over her and other women. Summers soon met rapper and producer Wright, who would become a close friend. They would frequently record songs together as teenagers in secret, skipping school and sneaking equipment in and out of her house. Wright would eventually sign her to his label Street Smart Records, and she would join his rap group Ten Wanted Men. The contributions of Summers and fellow female rapper La Chat to Wright's group were described as "razor-sharp stilettoes in an arsenal otherwise filled with heavy, male artillery." “I felt they were just as good as the guys,” Wright said. “That’s big to me – I never really thought about it being special. I just looked at it as ‘They’re dope.’” Summers would later part ways with Wright and the label in 2003, signing with Hy Lyfe Inc. after mounting financial difficulties resulted in the closure of the Street Smart label offices. In 2014, designer Isabel Simpson-Kirsch created a clothing line in collaboration with online retailer VFILES paying homage to the faces of 1990s Memphis rap, with Summers' lyrics from Wright collaboration "Comin' For 94" featured prominently on handprinted skirts, pants, and various denim pieces.

Death

In 2020, Summers passed away from complications of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

Resurgence

In 2022, producer

Kelman Duran Kelman Duran is a Dominican songwriter, producer, composer, disc jockey and multi-disciplinary artist, best known for his production and songwriting contributions to opening track "I'm That Girl" and "Heated" from Beyoncé's 2022 album ''Renaiss ...

, who had received permission from Summers' family, estate, and close friend Wright to use her catalog of songs in his productions, sampled Wright's song with Summers (1994s "Still Pimpin") to create

dembow Dembow is a Dominican musical genre that can be traced to a riddim that originated in Jamaican dancehall. When Shabba Ranks released "Dem Bow" in 1990, it did not take long for the dembow genre to form. Riddims were built from the song and th ...

and

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop m ...

-infused opening track "I'm That Girl" from

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

's seventh album ''

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

''.

Discography

Ten Wanted Men

Albums

*''Wanted Dead or Alive'' (1995) *''10 Toes Down'' (1997)

Solo

Mixtapes

* ''Game Recognize Game'' (2001)

Albums

* ''It’s All On Me'' (2006) * ''Long Ovadue'' (2012)

Notes

:A. Though mentioned in passing by several publications, this project has not been widely released.

References

1979 births 2020 deaths Rappers from Memphis, Tennessee 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people {{US-hiphop-bio-stub