Mix a little West Coast rap and a dash of punk, add a pinch of Valley and dose of Aztec and you’ve got the makings of a 19-year-old California rapper,Raven Felix.
Hurdling through her 14-track project, Valifornia, you’ll spot heavyweights such as Snoop Dogg, Smoke DZA and Chevy Woods on respective songs. Quite an entrance to the game, considering she forayed into Hip-Hop as a teenage girl and already amassed cosigns from such rap notables.
But what’s got the people talking? A flair for tongue tactics. Raven may appear to be your average Jane Doe, but she’s got a nice little knack for quick couplets that glide over heavy snares and pounding drums. Plus, she’s got an ill story of trials and tribulations that could benefit fans if it were fully fleshed out on wax.
Simply put, when it comes to Raven, the old adage rings true: never judge a book by its cover.
Raven’s debut mixtape hit shelves back in August and she’s since made her way around the West Coast scene. Keep your eyes peeled for more as you get familiar.
Who: Raven Felix is a burgeoning spitter hailing from San Fernando Valley, California. She released her debut mixtape, Valifornia, back in mid-August.
Credentials: Since her debut, Raven’s made her way around the West Coast scene and amassed major cosigns from Snoop Dogg, Too $hort and the like. She recently performed alongside YG, Nipsey Hussle and Audio Push at the adidas/Respect The West show in Los Angeles.
Fun Fact: Raven dropped out of high school at 16, and she is probably the only person that will ever list Bradley Nowell from Sublime in her top five (dead or alive).
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Photo: Adrian Ojerio
Hip-Hop Wired: How would you describe your rap style?
Raven: It’s my own little thing, really. I like to take inspiration from everybody. In “Bad Little Bish” I obviously play around with it and take Busta Rhymes’ flow from “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See.” I just like to have fun with it.
HHW: Which rappers have inspired you the most and what about their lives have impacted you?
Raven: I think growing up in the West coast, it’s easy to be influenced by Hip-Hop music. Snoop and 2Pac are some of my favorite artists. But the first person I really got into, because I wasn’t really raised on rap music, was Nicki Minaj. When I first heard her, was really my first time hearing a female do what she was doing. And that really turned me on. I loved her power, her confidence. She’s someone I want to be like someday.
HHW: You’re huge rock fan. Has the genre influenced you in anyway?
Raven: Sometimes. I think Hip-Hop and punk music sometimes can be very similar in the way that they’re oriented toward their fan bases and what not. But I haven’t really added the rock aspect just yet. Sometimes my lyrics touch on it, but it’ll definitely play a bigger role down the line.
HHW: You dropped out of high school at 16, correct? What pushed you to do that?
Raven: When I was 16, my mom lost her job and she was simultaneously going through a divorce with my stepfather. It was just a really rocky time and my mom also had serious back problems, so she could never work for too long. So I took on the role of working, because I knew that she needed it. I got a job and I dropped out of school because I didn’t have time. And I just worked, I just felt like it was my responsibility to take care of the people around me.
HHW: Do you regret it?
Raven: Not at all. Honestly, I think our school systems are kinda sh*tty anyways [laughs]. At times I think yea, I love school and wonder what it would be like if I’d gone to college, but at the same time I never paid attention in class. I ditched constantly. And college was never really an option for me. I was just not going to put myself in that much debt, my family never had that kind of money to put me through. Plus, I probably never would have gotten into music, had I gone to school, so there’s that.
HHW: Describe what a Valley girl is, because the first thing that comes to mind is the movie Clueless, and that may not be you.
Raven: [Laughs]. A Valley girl to me is honestly someone who puts on for the Valley. They’re not what you think she is. She’s not rich. I went to Hollywood High and was mistaken for someone rich because of the school I attended.
HHW: So what’s so great about the Valley, because you rep it hard in your music?
Raven: I think there’s an unrepresented territory that comes with the Valley, it’s not put on for really. The Valley is great to me because it’s 10 minutes from everything. We’re right in the middle. We have such great house parties, which was my favorite thing growing up. The kids growing here are so closely knit, because we all knew each other. It’s very much a family environment. And don’t quote me, but the Valley is like 95 percent Hispanic and we’re all somehow related and know each other. The 818 is so big and not really represented, but it’s becoming important now.
HHW: You mentioned you’re Mexican? Talk a little bit about that, what was it like growing up in your household?
Raven: I’m half and half –– half white, half Mexican. My dad is white and my mom is Mexican. So I didn’t grow up with my dad’s side of the family too much, I grew up mostly with my mom’s because he just wasn’t around. Growing up with my mom’s side was like growing up in a typical Mexican household. Lots of food, the different variations of it, the overwhelming sense of unity and just being very proud of where you come from.
For me it was hard because I am half and half. Growing up I was made fun of for not being Hispanic enough, but also for not being white enough since I’m so light. I may not be the darkest girl or not speak Spanish too well, but I am super proud of where I come from and try to represent that in what I do.
HHW: How did you react when you first heard Snoop hop on one of your tracks?
Raven: No one told me anything! [Laughs]. They were just like ‘oh, peep this, we mixed it.’ So I’m there listening to it and his voice is the first one that comes on, so I’m sitting there waiting to hear my own voice, but it’s his that comes on. And when Snoop says my name and then says Valifornia, I was immediately brought to tears.
That’s something that you can only dream of, as a rapper from the West coast. I remember bringing it to my family and they were all in tears as well. It was a moment that solified for my family that I was really doing this, that this was just a pipe dream that I was really trying hard to make happen.
HHW: You dropped Valifornia in August. What’s next?
Raven: I want to drop a little something before the year ends. But it’s always so unpredictable. I want to keep making music and keep putting it out. I try to drop as many records as possible. Going forth now we’re just going to keep releasing music every couple weeks. The next mixtape or EP will be out very soon. Wait on it.
HHW: If you weren’t rapping, what would you be doing?
Raven: A drug abuse counselor [Laughs]. My family has a lot of addicts and alcoholics. When I was younger it was always something that I wanted to do. I was also really into psychology. So I’d definitely be doing something along those lines if I wasn’t rapping.
