It's difficult to introduce Sweden-based MC, Mapei, without first coming clean about my bias (every journalist has one). Nirvana front-man Kurt Cobain used to say in interviews--when asked about his thoughts about the future of rock music--"women are the future of rock and roll."  I will not make such a bold proclamation concerning Mapei, but I will say that she displays a certain brilliance that only comes every 20 years or so. Taking notes from Hip-Hop greats such as Wu-Tang Clan and Roxanne Shante, Mapei came on to the scene in 2007, via the Internet, with her song "Video Vixens."  Signed to Downtown Records--home to artists such as Mos Def, Kid Sister, Spank Rock and Amanda Blank--Mapei continues to record her debut EP, set for release in early April of 2009.    

I had chance to connect with Mapei, and this is what was said:

StopBeingFamous:  Mapei is your middle name, correct? Do you know its origins and what it means?

Mapei:  It is from a tribe in Liberia called Bassa and it means "mixed woman," depending on how you say it... it could also mean old lady!

SBF:  Growing up, what kind of kid were you?

M:  Rebellious, ADHD, quiet, dreamy, depressed, silly, schizo.

SBF:  I understand you grew up in Rhode Island, but moved to Sweden when you were a teenager--what was that like for you? Were there language barriers?    

M:  Yes, it was a gift and a curse. The system in Sweden is cool; school and health care are free. People are friendly, but I had lots of fights with Nazis. I learned the Swedish language only after a couple of months, but I didn't speak it for like a year and a half. That was when the daydreaming of a better, unified world, with diamonds, riches and music began. It was tough though, I was born in "the hood"--I came from the projects. Moving to Sweden was weird. It made me the person I am today though: diplomatic, humble, not too greedy.

SBF:  How would you describe the racial climate in Sweden in comparison to the United States? Would you say there is difference?

M: Well, it depends. I don´t experience racism that often anymore. Even though there is plenty of urban culture in Sweden, different kinds of ideals are not represented in the media. The Swedish suburbs can be more violent than some neighborhoods elsewhere. I wish there were more activity, culturally, in the Swedish suburbs. Kids just seem lazy, dull and confused. It´s sad. Not all kids fit in in the typical school system. Some children need other methods of schooling.

SBF:  Critics have put you in the same category as M.I.A., Santigold and acts of their caliber--what would you say makes your music different from anything that we've heard before?                             

M:  That I´m me and that I´m writing from my perspective. M.I.A., Santigold, Spank Rock and most Hip-Hop artists, I assume, have an agenda to make the music climate better.  I´m hoping everyone can get together and strive for utopia, even if it seems impossible; it´s needed now. 

SBF:  I understand you went from being an independent artist to signing with Downtown Records. Was there a big push on your part to be signed?  

M:  Well, I was trying to do everything myself and I got burned out.  I was touring with a big rapper in Sweden, Timbuktu, not to mention doing my own shows. I was doing eight shows a week.  I wrote like a mini performance art act with a performer named Scotty the Blue Bunny.  Then, I got overwhelmed and it wasn't fun anymore.  I liked working, but not when it turned into stress. Since then, I've learned to say no.

SBF:  What is your biggest inspiration to create art?

M:  People. I don´t want to do anything else. It´s all I think about. I´m an escapist. The world is beautiful, but it's also very depressing and confusing. To find common ground and make sense of my life, I have to make art. I  create my own dreams with my art. I love introducing other performers to the scene as well.

SBF:  I understand you co-directed the video for your song, "Video Vixens" which came out in 2007.  What was the general idea behind the song and the video?  

M:  Well, I´m an ex-recovering TV crackhead.  It´s about me and a dude I use to date. We just sat and watched TV and smoked weed.  It´s also about people who patronized Miss Malin (the dancer, wearing zebra-striped pants in the video).  She's an intelligent, dope, college girl with a Dance Hall fetish.  She´s the coolest ever.  People want her to be in videos. She likes my playful aesthetic. It's respectful.

SBF:  At the end of the day, what is it that you feel most people don't know about you, but you wish they did?

M:  That I´m just a regular chick trying to express myself in whatever form that is healthy for me. That I do care about the future.

SBF:  Out of all of the emerging artists to step on the scene, you seem to be the one least concerned with creating or maintaining a glossy image.  Where would you like to see the image of Hip-Hop go?     

M:  Hip-Hop is everything.  Hip-Hop can be whatever it wants.  It just needs balance.  What people get is only one side of it, there are so many tribes. I started rapping because I didn't have it around me here.  I missed that whole mentality, so I found my truth by expressing myself with Hip-Hop rather than having a world war in my head.  Hip-Hop saved me and I wish more people could understand what an effect it has.  I wish kids would learn more about history. I was just a blind kid walking around trying to find myself and I did through Hip- Hop.  I can be me, which is my mission.  I´m a gangsta.  The word gangsta has a new definition.  I´m killing all my conventional ideas of what other people want me to be.  I´m learning from the past and looking into the future. 

SBF: Ultimately, what is your goal in this music business?  Is there any goal not related to music that you would like to accomplish? 

M: Well, my goal was to make a couple of videos, and I've done that.  I wanted to create a hit song, I´ve done that.  Now, I want to get it on the radio. We´ll see what happens after. Maybe I´ll study to be a teacher and continue playing in my room. 

SBF: If you could say one last thing to the world, what would it be? 

M: Peace.