There's a reason why Ms. Poca decided to call her debut project Close the door. If you ask her she might tell you she has had quite a few doors closed on her in her many attempts to be heard. I just wanted to put a positive spin on what is usually considered a bad thing.
Sitting on the stoop of her home in the Bronx, a borough which has played home to hip hop heavyweights such as Fat Joe, Big Pun, Slick Rick, Swizz Beats, and more notably KRSOne, she reflects on her past but eagerly expresses her anticipation for her future. Ms. Poca , yet only 20 in her mind has seen enough to write 10 albums and fallback but her respect for the game would never allow her to do that.
From being in a group and eventually growing apart, Losing her basketball scholarship forcing her to move south to attend Morgan State, and losing her father Poca has surprisingly remained optimistic about her future. From the Courts to the booth, Poca expresses; "Playing ball and rapping are really similar cause in both I was never really respected because I'm a female. It wasnt until I started winning pickup games and battles that the guys started to respect me.
For a While it seemed like it would be the basketball, not the mic that would be her ticket to success, but that was cut short when after only one year the college she attended decided to stop all funding to the womens basketball program. It was then that I decided to take my music more seriously."
Where one door had closed another one had opened. Poca had met a young starving rapper from Virginia who shared the same Rap visions. Impressed with his work ethic she decided to record with him and eventually put out a demo as a guy girl rap duo eventually creating a buzz as Mickey and Malerie. After some differences in opinion we decided to dead that situation But yet again while recording as Mickey and Malerie, Poca met an up and coming DJ and Engineer Known as DJ Nyce. Nyce really put me under his wing. He let me use his studio for nothing and gave me a shot when nobody was trying to work with me.
Nycetrax Studios quickly became Poca's home away from home for over a year while she recorded tracks for Close the Door. For the first time it seemed, at least for the moment she had seen some refuge from a failed relationship, deflated hoop dreams, and an opportunity gone sour. But she was not done going through what she modestly calls the Struggle with just weeks away from finally getting her own demo pressed and released she suffered a loss that would make most people hang up the mic for good. She suffered the loss of her father. The man who was not only her biggest supporter but also the one she credits with teaching her the hustle mentality she uses in her attempts to get on.
So here she is now. A little older a little wiser. Now working on her second project, which is still untitled, we return to my first question why call it Close the Door? After our conversation I had already knew the answer. This young girl from the BX does not only want to close the door on the critics that say females cant get signed unless they talking about sex or the negative experiences she has already faced in such a short time. What she really wants is for you to close the door behind you as she invites you into her world where only two things matter Poca and the Mic.