Jenee Dixon, who crowned herself, Ryck Jane, answers the long absence of women emcees on the West Coast.
A classically trained jazz trumpeter, she forged her solo career as an emcee and singer after establishing an impressive record of musicianship.
In fact, if you watch Beyonce’s Netflix documentary, “Homecoming,” which shows Yonce’s preparation and performance at the 2018 Coachella fest, Jane is one of the talented horn players on the brass who twerks and blows like she gave Lizzo all of her footnotes.
Using her trumpet, voice and lyrical skills as a band member in Los Angeles-based group, Wylde Bunche, who is like the west coast version of The Roots, Jane also played with John Legend, T-Boz (TLC), Lalah Hathaway, Musiq Soulchild, and Sly & the Family Stone.
Far from an overnight sensation, Jane’s grandfather was a member of 1950s group, The Four Knights, plus she has been working in the music industry since she was a teen. So, she knows the ins-and-outs of this unforgiving business very well. Yet and still, it is her love for being innovate and dope that keeps her on point.
Providing a gritty, feminine and sensual edge, Jane offers crisp bars and clever wordplay in heels while she spits with facebeat and her trumpet was her weapon. Definitely, it’s apropos that her first forthcoming album is titled, “Jane Got A Gun.”
In a quick-quick, Q & A with Jane, Ark Republic asked the South Los Angeles multi-talent about her second life in the entertainment industry.
Ark Republic: How would you describe yourself creatively?
Ryck Jane: Creatively I am an entertainer. I’m not just a trumpet player and a rapper. In addition, I am a producer, singer, songwriter, dancer and a musician. There are so many layers to me that I can’t be put into one box.
Ark Republic: There has been an emergence of women emcees. Women were always in hip hop, but what makes for this coming to foreground?
Ryck Jane: Although I’ve always been a hip-hop artist, it is so refreshing to see so many women being acknowledged in the hip-hop community. For many years, there has only been 1 (maybe 2) female emcees at the top of the game. But now, there’s a lot more females rapping with all different types of styles and flows. It is a beautiful thing! It took a long time for this to happen, but I am glad to finally see the change.
Ark Republic: What inspired the name?
Ryck Jane: Not too sure if this is appropriate for your audience, but when coming up with my name, I was thinking of things I liked. And since I am an advocate of medical marijuana, the song “Mary Jane” by Rick James popped in my head. And my next thought was Ryck Jane! In addition, since I am a tomboy, the name is a reflection of both my feminine and masculine personality. Finally, I spell Ryck with a “Y”, because my band the Wylde Bunch changed all of our stage names from “i” to “y”. So this name comprises multiple things in my life.
Ark Republic: How do you incorporate the horn?
Ryck Jane: I have been playing the trumpet since my sophomore year at Washington Preparatory High School. While in high school, I was apart of a Hip-hop/Alternative band called the Wylde Bunch (mentioned above) where I played the trumpet and rap[ped] on songs we performed. After high school, I continued to play and tour with the band [while] playing the trumpet and rapping. So, this journey has been in process for a while.
In 2014, I decided to become a solo artist and at that time, it made sense to keep the trumpet as apart of my performance since it is the main thing that makes me different from all [of] the other rappers in the industry. Although, every song I record doesn’t necessarily have trumpet on it, I still try to find some songs that can have it included in it. For example, my song “You Already Know” and “Raise The Bar.”
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