Artist Ke$ha made history this week as the first living white female artist to nab the cover of VIBE magazine. A rare sight, the 25-year-old wild child rocked a sleek lace dress on the cover of the October/November issue.
Out-of-the box as it seems, Ke$ha is not the first white female artist to appear on the Hip-Hop magazine’s cover. She is just the first to do it solo. In August/September 2011 VIBE ran a cover with Amy Winehouse, in honor of her death. Years earlier, Gwen Stefani also shared the cover with N.E.R.D. front man and producer Pharrell Williams for the March 2005 issue. The cover line then read: “Hip-Hop Meets Rock: Gwen & Pharrell Redefine Music & Fashion.”
And Ke$ha has never been one to shy away from defining her own terms. In her interview, she opens up about a rocky arrival on the music scene and laughs at being referred to as a rapper.
“The first record, people tore me a new a–hole, and were f—ing steady on my balls, and tried to make me feel like I was such a piece of s—. I did some soul-searching, and realized nothing I’m doing is negative, it’s actually super positive. You can change people’s mood in a three-and-a-half minute song. So why not spread positive energy and be funny? Let [the haters] be miserable,” she said.
“The first time someone called me a rapper, I started laughing,” she said. “I was shocked, and thought it was hilarious. But then, Andre 3000 was telling me how he thinks I’m a good rapper. And Wiz, who’s a good friend of mine, thinks I’m a good rapper? Snoop? It’s crazy and funny to me.”
