Biography

Tampa, FL-based group Yo Majesty -- Shunda K and Jwl B. -- turns upside down the male chauvinist standard in hip-hop music with a hardcore female bravado. Adopting an almost punk approach to a hybrid of Southern crunk and '80s-styled electro, the openly, and defiantly, gay duo gained notoriety in the mid-2000s heyday of MySpace, Yo! Majesty rose quickly to digital fame in America (they played both Coachella and South by Southwest) and abroad (they signed to U.K. label Domino Records, now home to Arctic Monkeys, Hot Chip and Animal Collective). The frenetic electro-pulse and raw carnality of their 2008 debut Futuristically Speaking...Never Be Afraid felt fresh and inspired at the time (and in many ways still does today). The New York Times profiled Yo! Majesty alongside Santigold and Kid Sister; NME hailed them as one of America's best new acts; Spin wrote them up multiple times. Most profiles mentioned a few well-trod talking points: They were lesbians, they rapped explicitly about sex and more broadly about God, and their live shows were wild affairs that occasionally saw Jwl stripping off her top. "Yo! Majesty wears the crown as the only lesbian rap group that spits the word of god, and even non-believers are listening." - BUST