East coast and west coast rap collided Thursday as California rapper Lil Debbie brought her Oakland flair to Tapp's Arts Center.
Born Jordan Capozzi, Lil Debbie first made waves on the internet as a member of the now defunct "White Girl Mob," which also featured fellow west coast rappers Kreayshawn and V-Nasty. However, after a falling out with the girls, Debbie decided to pursue a solo career in 2012.
Since then, Debbie has been steadily working and has released nine albums as an independent artist since 2013.
Before Debbie hit the stage, the first half of the show was comprised of sets from only female rappers. Some of the opening acts, such as Chels Blaize and LaLisa, are based in South Carolina, while others were supporting Debbie on tour.
Whitney Peyton, a Philadelphia-born artist, first began her career as a spoken word artist before transitioning to music. She describes her sound as "if Missy Elliott, Eminem and the lead singer of Paramore had a love child."
While this isn't her first time on a nationwide tour, this is Peyton's first time touring with another female artist, an experience she described as "liberating". While she admits that the thought of touring with Lil Debbie was intimidating, she says that they get along really well and that Debbie has great sense of humor.
"You would think she's this massive party animal, but she's really pretty chill," Peyton said.
During the night, Debbie performed old favorites like "Ratchets" and "$lot Machine" and introduced a few tracks from her most recent album, "In My Own Lane."
In between her set, the rapper shared stories of her experiences traveling the world as an independent artist, experimenting with her sound and that time she believes Miley Cyrus copped her look for her infamous "Bangerz" era.
Emceed by Columbia rapper FatRat Da Czar, Lil Debbie’s performance is one of several hip-hop performances that will take place at the Fountain Room of Tapp's.
"All Gold Everything" rapper Trinidad James will be performing at the Fountain Room on Sept. 21 and Sept. 22.