Hip-Hop has come along way from Kool Herc cutting up breaks for an exclusive group of party-goers at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. in The Bronx. It’s no longer taboo for Jeanette the yoga instructor to be rocking out to “Soul Survivor” on her early morning jog; or for Gracie the art teacher at your daughter’s elementary school to be zoning out in the teachers’ lounge to “Shook Ones Pt. 2.”

Fighting Hip-Hop’s progression or the scope of talent pushing it forward is an exercise in futility. Instead of whining about who shouldn’t be participating in this game and pointing out everything wrong with an artist and his or her image, it would be more conducive to welcome those who are genuine in their attempts.

When I read that Kellee Maize — a blonde, white girl from Pennsylvania — decided to follow Hip-Hop as a career path, despite the obvious reasons society says she shouldn’t, she had my ear and mind open. With a vocal sample of Luda’s verse from the “Damn” remix, her song “Start One” quickly drew my attention. Her vocal styling is unique on the chorus; harmonizing over the synthesized audio-candy provided Ricky Skullcrusha. She has a nasally tone with a soulful subtlety. But what separates her from the majority becomes apparent one minute into the song when she begins a double-time flow, attacking the track with a ferocity that isn’t present with many femcees in the game right now. Lyrically she’s a blatant hippie; speaking on peace and love like it was 1966 all over again, with a song structure that is engaging throughout.

I’m not sure what her impact on the game is going to be when all is said and done, but I’m willing to bet she has a decent following if she keeps up with the quality that can be found in this song. She’s got a free download of her latest album, Aligned Archetype, along with some background on it’s creation at her website, KelleeMaize.com.

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Download — Kellee Maize – “Start None”

H/T: Pretty Much Amazing