We got a chance to chat with the fierce female rapper pineappleCITI before she took off to this year’s SXSW in Austin. With a full schedule and roster of appearances to make, we were thrilled she was able to make the time to speak to us about her career as a rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur. She was really excited to be able to represent herself to our community of readers and to be allowed to be authentically herself in her own words.
How did you get the name pineappleCITI?
I’m from north New Jersey which is known as Brick City and I’ve been doing music since I was six years old. My Dad was a DJ, my grandfather was a DJ, my stepdad was a DJ, and I used to walk around with this rap book at six years old so my Dad, because my name is Brittany, started calling me BritCITI; the CITI stuck around. I went through a couple name changes but one day I had my hair in a bun and so my friend was like, “Yo, when you put your hair in a bun it looks like a pineapple.” So the pineapple kinda stuck and it became pineappleCITI, coincidentally, pineapples went into just everything that I am. Pineapples are welcoming, they are sweet, hard on the outside, sweet on the inside, and they are wavy so I felt it was a good representation of my music. Pineapples are dope and they taste good too, you can’t go wrong with a pineapple.
How would you describe your style and your message in your music?
My message is to believe in yourself. I base all of my life off the Law of Attraction and thoughts become things. I’m a firm believer in letting people know it’s cool to believe in yourself and it’s cool to inspire others. We don’t have to walk around flaunting money and making people feel sorry for themselves and their circumstance, we gotta empower people to be up for their full potential in it and do whatever their purpose is. I’m all for the dreamers. The other day someone said my dressing style is like hood couture. I don’t know who is religious out there but there are certain passages or preachers that you can identify more with, or if you were in school, the cool teachers are the one you learn more from. My whole thing is putting a positive message in a way that’s, like, cool.
Do you consider yourself more of a songwriter, rapper, or entertainer?
Hmm, I guess I would consider myself and entrepreneur. I love creating music for myself and I love creating music for other people. I’m not wanting to limit myself to just one thing so I feel like my place in the industry, I guess you could say, is in front of the camera. I just love all sides of art in general, all of those things make me happy. I’m not the greatest fashion person in the world but I love fashion so I guess I would consider myself and entrepreneur
Who is your target audience that you primarily cater your music toward?
Wow, this is a really dope question because I don’t really make my music for anyone in particular. I guess that’s the cool thing about the wave im trying to create because anyone can sing my songs and feel a personal connection. I think it’s dope not necessarily catering toward anyone in particular and it is so incredibly cool that I am representing so many cultures. I’m representing the LGBT community, POC, women; at the same time, I’m not going into a song thinking how can I pander to this specific audience. The dope thing about what I’m trying to create is that its authentic and it fits whoever it fits.
What is the best live performance that you truly have enjoyed and why?
I did a pop up show with The Roof that was very quaint and underground but it was just such a great experience because I love connecting with my audience on a personal level. I love being able to look someone in the eye when I’m singing a song because it feels like their passionate about what I’m saying just as much as I’m passionate about what I’m saying. It was in NYC and I really felt love. I like the little things like seeing a big poster of myself on the wall and someone really believing me enough to give me my own personal stage, just for me. It was recorded and put on a really big platform and all of my friends and family were there, a really dope moment.
Watch the video for “I Need A Coupe” by pineappleCITI here:
Love the song“I Need A Coupe” and the video, is that more of the type of sound we can expect to hear from your latest album?
My albumneonBLUE came out on the 22nd of February, so I’m super excited about that. The cool thing about my album that you’ll hear is waves of things like that song but you’ll also hear things you would have never expected. What’s interesting about my style of music is that even tho you can tell that its my style of music, there are so many other styles intertwined so one pineappleCITI song isn’t gonna sound like another one but if you heard all of my songs you would know they’re pineappleCITI. My album is life in album form. Sometimes you wanna go out with your friends, sometimes your fighting with your girlfriend, sometimes you need a manifestation song like “I Need A Coupe”, you need a vibe to get you through the day I feel like my album has all of that in so many different ways.
7. Any surprises you have in store for 2019?
I’m just gonna take over the world. It’s pineapple season and I’m trying to get everybody familiar with the pineapple. By the end of 2019, we could try to consider pineappleCITI a household name. What I’m aiming for is someone who looks like me to see me on a billboard and think “Wow, I could do something like that too.” So just be ready to be inspired and motivated and to hear some good music.
Thank you pineappleCITI so much for taking the time to share with The LGBT Sentinel. I hope everyone takes an opportunity to hear her new album neonBLUE and don’t forget to watch the video for “I Need A Coupe”.
Written by Amelia Davis
