You know them the moment you see them. Big hair, stiletto heels, mafioso sunglasses, supple bosom, audacious swagger, absurd self-assuredness and undeniable sexiness.
They are the fashion savants, music and electro-tech ghetto funk duo of Chaka Rae and Sassi Blaque better known by their moniker - B!tchly Bizness. And with the release of their debut EP, “Limousine Slippers,” they are out to redefine the very concept of the word “bitch.”
THE B!TCHLY BACKSTORY
The B!tchly Bizness story began a few short years ago in Detroit where Rae and Blaque were separately making their rounds in the city spinning records and DJing club nights and house parties while looking to find their place in the city’s burgeoning arts and music scene.
The two proved to be kindred spirits even before meeting due to their similar music tastes and the fact that they bore a striking resemblance to each other, prompting many to think that they were sisters.
A chance encounter through a mutual acquaintance led to them meeting and DJing a loft party together where the two became fast friends and discovered that they had similar backgrounds in both music and fashion.
“We had mutual friends and strangers who thought we were sisters even though we had never met,” said Blaque. “When we did meet, I discovered that Chaka was a DJ as well and I began to ask her to spin with me. One gig led to another and when our similar interests in fashion came up, everything seemed to fall into place.”
The duo also helped to develop and take stewardship of DWNTN ’81, a diverse conglomeration of emerging, avant-garde and like-minded artists from the music, fashion and literary worlds.
By 2009, they (Rae and Blaque) had adopted the B!tchly Bizness modus operandi and were doing DJ gigs and developing a buzz for not only their eclectic music tastes but also their audacious fashion sense.
Also around this time, the duo began garnering a reputation for styling photo shoots, videos and fashion shoots for various music acts, models and fashion magazines/outlets. Their work became known for its trademark left-of-center appeal and sexy, urban surrealist take on high fashion.
In fact, it was a photo shoot that was the catalyst for what would soon birth the Limousine Slippers EP.
“The concept for the album began at a promotional fashion photo shoot we did with photographer Piper Carter,” said Chaka Rae. “It (the shoot) inspired our good friend and producer Ohkang (Diop), who said we looked like ‘high paid assassins who enjoyed our work.’ He presented us with a track to lend our voices to, and the rest is history.”
LIMOUSINE SLIPPERS EP - A CAPSULE REVIEW
The Limousine Slippers EP is about style, attitude and extravagance and is an album of invention and ambition.
The EP opens with “Come and Get It,” a broken beat, futuristic and assured sounding track that is really an ode to the power of feminine sexuality. It sets the tone for the whole long player - the underlying message being that whatever you want, you need to go on and take it.
“FYB (F-ck Yo’ Birthday),” is an explicit and atmospheric track which had roots as an inside joke within the duo’s DWNTN 81 collective, yet takes on a mantra of self-affirmation on this release - “it’s all about me,” adds Chaka Rae.
The title track and lead-off single “Limousine Slippers,” is an epic convergence of ghetto tech BPMs and sensual ruminations. By this time, the duo’s identity becomes clearly distinguishable as they turn the concept of ‘crazy, sexy, cool’ completely upside down.
Sassi Blaque is the sexy one as evidenced by her nuanced, smooth and laid-back sensual vamps as she sexily coos, “Limousine Slippers, cashmere sweaters, gabardine wool, long hair leather, Limousine Slippers, nothing you can tell us, taking all the boys, making girls jealous.”
Chaka Rae is the crazy, wild child, the group’s court jester who brings provocative, yet light-hearted moments to each track as indicated by her words on the self-titled track, “bartender…..bartender……bring me a drink, right f—king now…..dance, bitch, dance.”
“Get High (Dance Hard),” is a hypnotic, smoothed-out jungle trance track that sounds like something that could be easily identified with the Euro-dance movement, but injected with ample helpings of soul.
“Really Now,” is a nice change-of-pace track that evokes a hyper-intensive ballroom hustle vibe or as Chaka Rae calls it, “stylin’ and profilin’ music.”
The “Interlude – Outro,” is a slowed-down, chilled-out track that brings the album full circle. The last two tracks are remixes of “Limousine Slippers” and “FYB” and close out the EP with the same frenetic energy that was used to open it.
All throughout The Limousine Slippers EP, the listener will find a happy co-mingling of techno, funk, pop and B!tch electro that utilizes phat beat scapes, high BPM time signatures and squelchy bitch electro to good effect. It feels like a midnight music cabaret where the duo serve as ringmasters to a gypsy mash-up of sights, sounds and overall rhythmic indulgence.
The production is deftly helmed by the duo of Blackreign & Okhang who craft imaginative sonic landscapes that add a different dimension to each track. If Grace Jones, Millie Jackson, J*Davey, the Neptunes and Santigold had a love child – it would have been twins and B!tchly Bizness would be what it would sound like.
THE ONCE AND FUTURE B!TCH
The group has released a video for the “Limousine Slippers” track, which brings together a colorful mix of characters from the under, other and nether-worlds – where high fashionistas, gangsters, assassins, and goat-like deities happily assemble for drinks, pool playing and overall boisterous revelry.
In addition to the album, B!tchly Bizness also have a lifestyle blog on tumblr and a YouTube channel where they produce candid, outrageously hilarious reality TV-style webisodes called “Call the B!tches.”
While the duo is busy supporting the album and developing their brand, they hope to change the troubled history, nature and connotation of the word – ‘bitch.’
“I see a shift in the way women deal with the world, whether it is with career, relationships, politics or whatever,” said Blaque. “There’s no more waiting around for a man to lead you or take care of you. We have to use our gifts and talents to make it happen out here.”
The term ‘bitch,’ has often been thrown at women whose behavior threatens people or makes them feel uncomfortable or when a woman asserts masculine qualities.
The duo challenge their listeners to reassess the roles of women, by first re-animating the very spelling of the word – which they list as B!tch – an explanation point inserted for the letter “I,” which connotes “an in-your-face fearlessness.”
“The universe is shifting and it’s time to clean the BS,” according to Rae.
B!tchly Bizness wants to push acceptance of the fact that many of the characteristics for which women are called bitches are not bad, but instead empowering and liberating.
“(A true B!tch is) a woman who knows what she wants and makes it happen,” adds Blaque. “One who isn’t afraid to take on any challenge, physically, emotionally or intellectually. I think people hear the word bitch and automatically take it to a negative place. We are classy and intelligent women and we own it! We want to take on the challenge of empowering women through music, art and fashion.”
To download the Limousine Slippers EP, visit http://guiltyp.bandcamp.com/album/guilty-pleasures-ep.
To book B!tchly Bizness for live performances/shows and fashion shoots, email dwntn81musicgroup@gmail.com. Check out their blog at http://bitchlybizness.tumblr.com as well as their YouTube channel at under DWNTN81DET.
Chris Campbell is a journalist who writes on progressive soul music and its impact on popular culture. His latest book is "The Essential Neo Soul 2.0," the definitive guide to the development of neo soul/progressive soul/post-soul music. Visit www.essentialneosoul.com for further information or email him at news411chris@gmail.com.
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