Michele Sherman (born March 23, 1987), better known by her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Siya, is an American rapper. In 2012, she signed with

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

's R&B Money label imprint. She starred in the Oxygen reality TV series ''

Sisterhood of Hip Hop ''Sisterhood of Hip Hop'' is an American reality television series on Oxygen starring five female rappers who "navigate their way through the male-dominated music industry." The show is executive produced by rapper T.I. and premiered on August 12 ...

''. Siya has collaborated with artists such as

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

Sage the Gemini Dominic Wynn Woods (born June 20, 1992), better known by his stage name Sage the Gemini (), is an American rapper and record producer from Fairfield, California. He is perhaps best known for his 2013 singles "Gas Pedal" (featuring Iamsu!), which ...

and Kirko Bangz. Siya has performed alongside artists such as

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

at the world famous B.B. Kings, as well as opened up for

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

and

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

during a concert at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York. Currently starring in the BET Plus show Angel.

Early life

Siya was born in Barstow, California to an African American father and a Puerto Rican mother, and has three sisters. Due to her mother's drug abuse and her incarcerated father, Siya was sent to live with her grandmother who raised her in the Eleanor Roosevelt

housing projects Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Bedford–Stuyvesant (), colloquially known as Bed–Stuy, is a neighborhood in the northern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Bedford–Stuyvesant is bordered by Flushing Avenue to the north (bordering Williamsburg), Classon Av ...

. Siya began rapping at the age of seven and entered into the music industry at the age of 12. Siya's childhood influence was the rap group called Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. She states : "What I loved about them was how melodic their music was and that they tried different shit."

Musical career

Music became an outlet for Siya to comprehend and deal with the things she was exposed to and was feeling. After moving to Atlanta to pursue her music career in her mid 20s she built a rep and fan base for herself and caught the attention of well known artists and major labels. Siya faced a lot of obstacles throughout her early time in the industry due to her being one of the first openly gay female rappers. While some people in the industry were afraid of how an openly gay female rapper would fit into the genre, Siya remained determined and refused to compromise who she was and stayed true to her own voice and style. R&B legend

soon found her and directly messaged Siya on Twitter and from there she was signed to

's label R&B Money LLC. Siya released her singles : "I'm Gone", "Smoke Drink", and

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

''Elevator Dreams'' in 2011. Siya released her singles "One Hunnid" and "Real MVP" in 2014. She released a

titled ''Better Late Than Never,'' and ''What Never Happened'' in 2015. She went on to release her debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''SIYAvsSIYA,'' on December 9, 2016. The album included collaborations with artists such as

Ashley Rose Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

Jake&Papa Brutha was an American R&B and soul group consisted of five brothers: Anthony Harrell, Cheyenne Harrell, Grady Harrell III, Jacob Harrell and Jared Overton. The group was formed in 2002 and Brian McKnight first introduced them on the 2003 '' So ...

, Lyric Wright and

Kreesha Turner Kreesha Turner (born June 10, 1985) is a Canadian recording artist and songwriter, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Raised in both Canada and Jamaica, she began her musical career after a successful audition with Virgin Records. She signed a re ...

with the debut single being "New York." On February 6, 2017, Siya released a song titled "Front Door", in promotion for her six song

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP), ''Commitment.'' The EP was released on February 10, 2017, under

's label imprint, R&B Money LLC. The EP features the single "Don't You (Say Yes)" featuring Tank. In 2017 she released "Houston Girls" ft

Kirko Bangz Kirk Jerel Randle (born August 20, 1989), better known by his stage name Kirko Bangz, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He is best known for his single, "Drank in My Cup" which was released in 2011 and peaked at number 28 on the US '' ...

& "Hot Girl" with her EP ''383- For Roosevelt''. In 2018 she released "No Race" and "Circle Watching" as a preview for her next EP ''Mad Energy'' expected to drop fall 2018.

Discography

Albums

*''SIYAvsSIYA'' (2016) *383 - for Roosevelt (2017) *Mad Energy (2018)

Mixtapes

*''Elevator Music'' (2011) *''Better Late Than Never'' (2015) *''What Never Happened'' (2015) *''Commitment'' (2017)

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Living people 1987 births American women rappers African-American women rappers East Coast hip hop musicians American lesbian musicians LGBT African Americans LGBT rappers LGBT people from New York (state) Musicians from Brooklyn Puerto Rican women rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women musicians LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women Hispanic and Latino American rappers 21st-century women rappers