Andrea Summers, also known as Princess Loko, was an American rapper best known for her fast, "double-time" syncopated rap flow, and early

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

candor. Notably rapping in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

group Ten Wanted Men alongside Tommy Wright III and

La Chat Chastity Darnestine Daniels (born March 21, 1978), known professionally as La Chat, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. She is best known for her association with the Hypnotize Minds record label and the Memphis-based hip hop group Th ...

during the early-to-late 1990s, she is widely considered to be a pioneer of rap music in South Memphis.

Musical career

Summers began rapping in her teenage years as a method to communicate her thoughts on the over-policing, constant surveillance, and rampant crime in her hometown of

Whitehaven, Memphis Whitehaven, informally known as "Blackhaven", is a predominantly African-American community in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It was first organized in the late 19th century as a neighborhood for upper-class white families. Its current popul ...

, a predominantly Black community in the 1990s (due to

white flight The white flight, also known as white exodus, is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the Racism ...

) best known for its proximity to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, once owned by American singer Elvis Presley. Presley is buried there, as are his parents Vernon and Gladys, paternal grandmother Minnie Mae, grandson Benjamin, and daugh ...

. She would also frequently discuss avoidance of the gaze of men who attempted to use intimate relationships to exert power over her and other women. Summers soon met rapper and producer Wright, who would become a close friend. They would frequently record songs together as teenagers in secret, skipping school and sneaking equipment in and out of her house. Wright would eventually sign her to his label Street Smart Records, and she would join his rap group Ten Wanted Men. The contributions of Summers and fellow female rapper La Chat to Wright's group were described as "razor-sharp stilettoes in an arsenal otherwise filled with heavy, male artillery." “I felt they were just as good as the guys,” Wright said. “That’s big to me – I never really thought about it being special. I just looked at it as ‘They’re dope.’” Summers would later part ways with Wright and the label in 2003, signing with Hy Lyfe Inc. after mounting financial difficulties resulted in the closure of the Street Smart label offices. In 2014, designer Isabel Simpson-Kirsch created a clothing line in collaboration with online retailer VFILES paying homage to the faces of 1990s Memphis rap, with Summers' lyrics from Wright collaboration "Comin' For 94" featured prominently on handprinted skirts, pants, and various denim pieces.

Death

In 2020, Summers died from complications of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

Resurgence

In 2022, producer Kelman Duran, who had received permission from Summers' family, estate, and close friend Wright to use her catalog of songs in his productions, sampled Wright's song with Summers (1994s "Still Pimpin") to create

dembow The dembow beat or dembow riddim is a musical rhythm best known for its use as the core percussion element in reggaeton music, having taken its name from the 1990 dancehall song " Dem Bow" by Shabba Ranks. The rhythm, first developed by Jamaican ...

and

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

-infused opening track "I'm That Girl" from

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

's seventh album ''

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

''.

Discography

Ten Wanted Men

Albums

*''Wanted Dead or Alive'' (1995) *''10 Toes Down'' (1997)

Solo

Mixtapes

* ''Game Recognize Game'' (2001)

Albums

* ''It’s All On Me'' (2006) * ''Long Ovadue'' (2012)

Notes

:A. Though mentioned in passing by several publications, this project has not been widely released.

References

1979 births 2020 deaths Rappers from Memphis, Tennessee 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians {{US-hiphop-bio-stub