Molly Brazy Wants to Follow in Nicki Minaj’s Footsteps

Detroit rapper Molly Brazy has made a name for herself via violent realism about her city, layered with trigger-happy threats mixed with her own youthful charm. While the 19-year-old artist's style has paid dividends and upped her profile both locally and nationally, Molly is starting to think that it's time to "evolve" her sound a bit by paying more attention to the themes she explores in her music, such as her most recent project, 2017's Big Brazy.

The reasoning behind Molly's new mentality is two-fold. On one hand, she's taking cues from someone she's always looked up to: the resurgent Nicki Minaj.

"I love her," Molly tells XXL. "You need to pay attention to the OG's; she a OG. She's in the position where I wanna be. When she was younger, she was talking crazy. So she had to grow up outta that. I'm growing."

Ms. Brazy also feels a personal responsibility to set an example for other young women who enjoy her music. "I'm a girl at the end of the day and I wanna show other little girls the way," she says. "I grew up hard; I just wanna show them there's better ways to do shit."

"Before [Big Brazy], it was 'All you talk about is killing people, oh my god,'" Molly continues. "With Big Brazy, I just wanted to hit every corner. I can still talk that crazy shit, but just in a different style."

The young artist succeeded, as the album contains her typical street tales and gun talk, it also shows a bit of vulnerability. The change in tone is most apparent on the closing track "All I Know," a sweet ode to a relationship that can withstand all obstacles. Molly wants her music to be a little more pleasant, especially in contrast her rough past. "I was broke," Molly says, referencing her younger days. "Being broke, it really hurts you to see somebody eating. I used to just wanna fight for no reason."

Now that she's tasting a bit of success, Molly has plans to continue moving forward by taking her brand beyond the music—she's already got an idea for hair extensions called Brazy Bundles.

"[I'm] about to be selling everything," she says. "I been on fleek, so why not show y'all` where to get the actual good hair? A new clothing line, new gear, real Molly Brazy brand gear, a makeup line, all that."

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