Sukihana Is Becoming a Role Model, and She's Okay With That
Music

Sukihana Is Becoming a Role Model, and She's Okay With That

All of 2020 has felt like a bad dream, and the holiday season is especially grim. So this week we're leaning in to the terror and celebrating with Five Days of Rico Nasty, the rapper whose debut album, Nightmare Vacation, doesn't seek to comfort listeners so much as validate their anger and anxieties. We'll be talking to the rapper and her collaborators about the best and worst parts of an awful year... that just happened to have some pretty great music.

For Sukihana, 2020 was more of a vacation than a nightmare. The 29-year-old rapper explains over the phone, while attempting to buy a PlayStation 5 from Best Buy, how her breakout year has been: going from being a cast member on Love and Hip Hop: Miami and a social media sensation to appearing in Cardi B's and Megan Thee Stallion's "WAP" video and releasing her breakout project, Wolf Pussy. "It's been a sensational journey," she says. "My career and my music have gone sky high compared to where I came from. I finally got to see everything that I worked for. I went from trying to become an artist and be seen more in the mainstream light, to becoming that — a real artist, a real entertainer."

To know Sukihana is to love her. For the entirety of this hellish year, she's been a bright spot with her hilarious commentary across Instagram and Twitter and equally as unabashed music that details her sex-positive worldview like few others. Prior to the release of Wolf Pussy, which makes it abundantly clear how much she loves shopping sprees and sexual freedom through expressive raps and sugary beats, Sukihana's life changed when she created her OnlyFans account earlier in the year while promoting her burgeoning music career. The account, on which she showcases her sexual escapades with her husband in full explicitness, has been just another extension of what makes her a hit with fans looking for someone not afraid to be themselves and do what they want.

Sukihana recognizes that she was one of the earliest artists to get onto OnlyFans and become successful with it (she claims that it made her a millionaire this year), but her biggest use for it comes from what she says it does for her supporters. "I helped a lot of women get that hustler ambition," she says. "And a lot of my fans started businesses because of me. So I'm really proud of that. I'm happy that I'm doing something for my people."

Here's Sukihana on 2020, OnlyFans and the plight of becoming a role model, below.

What's 2020 been like for you?

Immaculate for me. It's been a sensational journey. I became a millionaire in 2020, so I feel like it was a blessing and a curse. My career and my music have gone sky high compared to where I came from. I finally got to see everything that I worked for. I went from trying to become an artist and be seen more in the mainstream light, to becoming that — a real artist, a real entertainer.

What does it feel like to have had it happen in the midst of the pandemic?

Well, coming from where I come from, I didn't grow up rich. My lifestyle now is something that I never imagined. I was in this because this was my talent. And it felt good doing something that I love to do. But me turning my talent into something, it became lucrative. And I just can't believe that I live this lifestyle. But I really appreciate it. And I thank God, because my children are privileged kids. I never thought that I could go from my little apartment that I had in the hood to having my own house with tall ceilings.

Stuff like that means something to me. So I'm really proud of myself. And it just... At the point where I'm at right now, me being a mom, I got three kids, it's a lot of women who relate to me. And I just want to let them know that it's possible to become a black successful entrepreneur. Just black success is able to happen right here. And a lot of people can't see it because they don't have that vision. But if I had the power to just open people's minds and change their minds and just let them know, "You could be successful too, as a mom or as a dad. Or somebody who's poor in the hood, you could become something, you just got to learn to use your resources."

Your breakout project Wolf Pussy came out in September a few weeks after your breakout appearance in the "WAP" video. Talk about perfect timing for a release. Was that on purpose?

I was actually working on my project for about a year. And we already had the date set. And it's just like, I feel like the WAP was... It came out like right before. It was just perfect timing. Everything was really a coincidence, but it really helped me out a lot.

What has the release of Wolf Pussy done for your career and how do you think it prepares you for the next chapter?

The project showed a different side of me. I've always been a playful, fun personality. I always hit (fans) with a one-liner that everybody always sings. But for this mixtape, I gave them real music. I gave them real inspiration. I gave them real advice. The whole project, the body of the project basically shows that, "Get on your hustle, work hard, you can get this money, you can change your life." That's a message that I really wanted to show. And I gave my personality. It just shows me as a real artist in that I'm nothing to be played with out here.

What have you been up to musically in the time since?

I've been really grinding. I've been working on more music, working with big artists. I'm working on music videos. What I'm about to show people is the next level up from my first project to the next project. So, I've just been grinding from this pandemic, making it work. Because the pandemic kind of hurt a lot of people. But I'm not letting you hurt me. I'm not taking no for an answer. I'm not letting nobody forced me to believe that I have to hurt through this pandemic. There's no way I'm going to hurt. Because I come from a long line of royalty. Black people make things happen. And that's what I want to show people. And I'm not going to let nobody stop my magic. I'm not going to let the news stop it. I'm not going to let nothing stop it.

You made your OnlyFans account during the pandemic and you've talked about in interviews how it has changed your life. How do you think that your platform has grown since you have started using it?

I have a very, very large fan base on OnlyFans. It's all of my fans. It really did help my career. It helped a lot of people's career. Because once I started it, the only thing is lot of other artists started theirs too. And I'm not the only one. I want to put it out. I'm not the only one who made it big, but I definitely played a part in normalizing being liberated sexually. I definitely played that part in this game. As far as culture, I definitely played a part in this culture right now. And a lot of women are highly paid because of me, and not just because of OnlyFans, but I talked to a lot of women starting businesses. And even black businesses, I helped them out a lot.

So the OnlyFans just basically showed that I'm a hustler. And not just that, but I helped a lot of women get that hustler ambition. And a lot of my fans started businesses because of me. So I'm really proud of that. I'm happy that I'm doing something for my people. A lot of people might judge me and say I'm not the best role model. But it's not about the messenger is about the message. And I definitely put out a lot of good messages.

Why do you think it's your responsibility to be a role model?

To be truthful, me coming into this game, I never wanted to take on that responsibility to be somebody's role model. I just wanted to be unapologetically Suki. I wanted to change my life and put a roof over my children's head. That's why I worked this hard. I'm a hustler from when I wake up in the morning, I get straight to it. My kids are what matters to me. But now I'm not going to lie, I'm becoming more mature. And I do see that the messages that I put out... Me, as a black woman, I have to take that responsibility for my people. I'm going to say if it's not my responsibility no more.

I'm not perfect, but I do care about my people. I do care about nation building. I do care about black economics. I'm not going to sweep that under the rug because that's what other artists do. I really care about my people. I don't want to put too much responsibility on myself and say everybody follow me. But I just would like people to read between the lines and listen to the message. I care about my people. And if that's my purpose to be a role model eventually that's what I'm going to become. But I can't help that all these people look up to me. But I don't want to hurt my culture. You know what I'm saying? I don't want to hurt my people.

How did you establish your relationship with Rico Nasty? How did that lead to the "Smack A Bitch" Remix?

Me and Rico, we just got chemistry. I've been showing her love for a long time and she's also been showing me love. And I happened to see an interview where she said that I was one of her favorite artists. And I was like, "What Rico?" Because Rico's one of my favorite artists as well. So, I really appreciate her telling me she wanted me to be a part of her project. That meant so much to me. She has a really good heart. So me and Rico actually built a relationship through social media.

What do you think 2021 has in store for you?

It's going to be a better year for me because I'm the queen of manifestation and everything that I got, I manifested. So 2021 is going to be a great year for me, my brand, everybody who is a part of my circle, my children and my fans.

What's the first thing that you plan on doing when the pandemic is over?

I actually want to go to Africa. That's what I want to do. Soon as the pandemic it's over, I'm going to Africa. I really want to learn about my culture, and get very connected to my roots because I'm very spiritual. So I want to go on a spiritual journey to Africa.