Throwback: Rah Digga Feat. Busta Rhymes: Imperial

Rah Digga’s “Imperial” is from her 2000 solo debut album, Dirty Harriet, and one of her collaborations with Busta Rhymes. Powered by Shok of Ruff Ryder’s production, Digga and Rhymes showed their skills over video game signals and tumbling drums. Digga’s raspy flow eliminated any sexist questions about her holding the microphone when she said, “Black chick, with intellect, who want to match wits? Write my own rhymes so can’t no n**** tell me jack s***.” She declared her space as a bona fide rhymer of the New Jersey canon that includes Lauryn Hill and Queen Latifah. Dirty Harriet gave Digga immediate respect in the rap world, and “Imperial” revealed undeniable musical chemistry with Rhymes, who recruited her for his Flipmode Squad after she was introduced to him by Q-Tip.  Rah Digga released her sophomore album, Classic, in 2010. She currently co-hosts the podcast Yanadameen with Lord Jamar.