Even if you haven’t heard of hip-hop duo God-des and She, chances are you’ve seen them in action. They performed their song “Lick It” at Shane’s bachelor party on the Season 3 finale of The L Word. God-des admits that the sexy song is not their usual fare: “Our music isn’t sexual at all, really, so at first we really were embarrassed, but now it’s just become so normal to us. It was very different from anything we’d ever done before!”
The New York-based duo have played at some of the biggest venues in America, including the House of Blues in Chicago and Los Angeles’ famous Whiskey a Go Go, but performing on The L Word has proven to be their biggest show yet. “It was a great experience for us,” says God-des. “It was just kind of surreal, since I had been watching that show for two and a half years. It felt like a dream!”
God-des and She have been performing together for five years, with God-des rhyming and She adding her soulful voice to the mix. The result is a literate, fresh musical style that God-des says is a result of several years of evolution.“I was rapping as God-des starting in 1996, and I used to have another singer,” God-des recalls. “We were doing our thing, and he would sing R&B hooks and we would write a lot of material together.” But eventually he had to leave, and God-des came upon She singing at a National Organization for Women benefit in Madison, Wis.
“I just thought her voice was amazing,” God-des says, “so I asked her if she wanted to start doing some songs with me, just as a side project for her because she had her own rock band. It just took off from there. We started getting asked to do a lot of shows and going all over the place, and she eventually split with her other band and focused on God-des and She full-time.”
The duo collaborate on the songwriting process, as She explains: “First we get a beat. We usually start with the music, and sometimes we come up with concepts, or I’ll get an idea. And then, God-des usually writes her words first, the meat of the story or the verses. Then I’ll take what she writes and make a concise chorus out of it, you know, the hook to reel everybody in.”
Both performers have always had their sights set on the music world. “I’ve always found that since I could speak, I’ve been singing,” says She. “I don’t really have a choice. I have to sing.”
God-des has been an out, queer performer since 1996, and she’s seen her share of change. “It seemed a lot more impossible [back then] … even though I totally believed it 10 years ago that I could make it,” God-des says. As for the climate now, she believes that “it’s a little more tangible in the sense that a lot more people are out now. There is a lot more gay media, there are more outlets, and I think it’s on the cutting edge; it’s time.”
Though God-des is acutely aware of the negative aspects of being out, she refuses to let that stop her. “Of course, its frustrating to feel hindered by that, but I don’t ever let that make me feel hindered,” God-des says. “I see it more as ‘I’m going to use this to let them feel me.’ … We just try to stay focused, write things that are important to us, write good music, and people respect that.”
The duo have an incredibly loyal fan base and a penchant for winning over even the unlikeliest demographics. “We really like it when we affect a little kid, or we see an older straight guy crying in the audience because he’s moved by our music,” God-des says. “We get so much love, and that fuels us to keep doing it all the time.”
God-des says they’ve also had some very touching experiences involving fans: “We’ve gotten letters from kids saying things like ‘I can’t be out to anybody, and in my school I’m so scared, but I feel like I’m OK and it’s normal when I put on your CD.’ … It’s deep. I think we represent a lot more than just music to people.”
Their appearance on The L Word has opened a lot of doors for the duo. “We have so many more opportunities, because we can basically just call up a lot of different places and say ‘Hey, we were on the season finale of The L Word ,’ and they’ll say ‘Oh, wow!'” exclaims God-des. “A lot more people are seeking us out as well. It’s been amazing, because so many more people know who we are now, even though we’ve been doing this for so many years.”
The newfound attention has allowed God-des and She to pursue music full-time, which they weren’t able to do before the L Word episode. They’re also in negotiations with Sony’s new label for LGBT artists, Music With a Twist, which impacts the release of their newest album. “It won’t be too long, because we have the material, it’s just a question of how we’re going to put it out,” God-des explains.
God-des and She are currently touring the country with a full schedule ahead of them, and both artists exude the personality and confidence that comes with obvious talent. God-des attributes her achievement to self-knowledge and honesty: “I think that the stronger you are and the more confident and secure you are with yourself, the less likely people are to try and negate that. If you come off sure of yourself, then people are more sure about you.”
