Everything seemed so different and promising for Kreayshawn a year ago. The Oakland, Calif. native had an incredible amount of buzz and press once the world saw the visuals for her undeniably catchy single, "Gucci Gucci." It even led to a reported seven-figure deal for the Minnie Mouse ears-wearing rapper, who appeared primed to capitalize on all of the attention.
But as the months passed and 2012 rolled around, the world heard very little from Kreay outside of some short-lived feuds with other artists, failed directorial duties, and one of her foul-mouthed friends. It would take almost a year for Kreay to release her second single and, finally, she dropped her full-length debut, Something 'Bout Kreay.
As you might have heard, the album sold extremely poorly in its first week, moving a mere 3,900 units. Upon learning this, we looked into all of the factors that could have caused this for some insight as to why Kreay's career received such a huge blow.
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"Disses" Nicki Minaj, Backpedals Days Later
Date: May 31, 2011
What Happened: In our Who Is Kreayshawn? feature, which arrived shortly after "Gucci Gucci" went viral, the pint-sized Oakland rapper got to taking shots at fellow female MC Nicki Minaj. Kreay made it clear that she didn't mean any disrespect, but she went on to say Minaj's "message is to be a Barbie—to be plastic, to be fake, to all have blonde hair."
As you can imagine, the Barbs came out in full force with plenty of vitriol. And a little more than a week later, Kreay clarified her comments in an interview with Billboard:
"I'm not hating on anybody. I'm not coming for anybody's neck. I say one thing about Nicki Minaj that's not a diss at all and you have Nicki Minaj fans barking at me," Kreayshawn says. "I love Nicki's thing, she's independent and a powerful woman."
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Underwhelming Live Performances
Date: August 18, 2011
What Happened: Live shows can be a (slight) kiss of death for certain artists who haven't had the time to refine their performance chops. And that's just what appeared to happen when Kreayshawn took the stage at New York City's Highline Ballroom.
Complex contributor Jeff Rosenthal wrote in his Village Voice review of the concert that it was "better than no concert I've ever been to, and I've been to a lot." He also noted that "[b]eing at the Highline Ballroom last night gave me Vietnam flashbacks to her show one month ago at The Box, an endless nightmare that lasted fourteen minutes."
Rosenthal's issues with the show?
"She rapped as if on training wheels: "We'll put you in the trunk, the white girl trunk," over an invisible snap beat—a shitty trapeze artist without a net. Her shoulders were sunken, her chin hid her neck, blasé glazed over her eyes. Kreayshawn rapped like Silkk the Shocker, talking over her doubles at a different speed than they'd been recorded."