Interview With Yo Majesty's Shunda K

Jwl B (left) and Shunda K of Yo Majesty

It's no wonder that Tampa-based hip-hop sensation Yo Majesty is known as a bit of a party band. Song titles such as "Get Down on the Floor," "Grindin' and Shakin'" and "Party Hardy" — not to mention band member Jwl B's penchant for going shirtless at live shows — certainly further that idea. As do lyrics such as "Bootylicious, very yummy, in my dictionary, honey" (from "Booty Clap").

But that doesn't mean people don't take Yo Majesty's music seriously. The group won early acclaim with their 2006 debut EP, featuring tracks such as "Kryptonite P----" and "Club Action," even if unenlightened DJs commented that the group was "too gay." The band also garnered a cult following.

Yo Majesty's new record, Futuristically Speaking … Never Be Afraid, will be released in the U.K. later this month and worldwide in September. The band just performed at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival on Aug. 8, and in the fall these frequent globetrotters head to Brazil.

Shunda K, who turned 28 at the beginning of August, is perhaps the more serious of the band's members. She's hoping to resume graduate study (in business with an emphasis on e-commerce) as soon as her busy schedule of performing, recording and producing/managing other acts lets up. And at the beginning of next year, she's moving one state over to Georgia, where she said she's "looking forward to taking over the ATL, 'cause that's the hip-hop capital."

In the meantime, she spoke with AfterEllen.com about her band, her music, her fiancée and God.

Photo credit: Karl Walter/Getty Images

AfterEllen.com: Maybe you can clear up some confusion for me: I've seen you listed as a duo and as a trio.
Shunda K: We were a trio, but Shon B is no longer with the band. It's just me and Jwl since last August. It's been about a year, but they just be getting the stories mixed up all the time and slipping our lives around. They write about us with one name but with somebody else's story. It's crazy.

AE: Is there anything you want to set the record straight on?
SK: Yeah. The song that I did with Peaches is not called "Raspberry Cocaine." Raspberry Cocaine is another artist that I'm working with on a project. But I did a song with Peaches called "Buck You Like a Billionaire," so I want to clear that up. That's pretty much it for right now. There's some other stuff, but it's not even worth going all the way back.

AE: It seems like you guys play at a lot of music festivals.
SK: Yeah, we do play a lot of them. I like it. It's the opportunity to appeal to the masses. And the more people we can appeal to at one time, the better.

AE: Do you find new audiences that way?
SK: Yeah, we do. Being able to just go all over the world — this is a global vision. It's not just meant for Tampa or the United States; this is for the whole wide world, this message.