EssJay TheAfrocentricRatchet

EssJay TheAfrocentricRatchet is a Minneapolis rapper, singer, and bandleader who treats Black femme queer expression as a genre of its own. Born from the intersection of Afrocentric pride and unapologetic ratchetness, her work folds hard-punching lyricism, dance-floor bounce, and introspective storytelling into a single, unmistakable voice. Her sound moves freely between spaces: the gritty house-tinged momentum of “Skeletons” and the raw narrative weight of “Baby,” both drawn from her project A Masterpiece. She channels the same shape-shifting, room-commanding energy that has defined the most enduring women in hip-hop — without sounding like anyone but herself. Onstage, EssJay brings together joy, movement, and shadow work, building sets that feel as much like communal release as performance. She stands as a vital presence in the Twin Cities scene, where Afrocentricity and ratchetness are not contradictions but collaborators.