Artist promotes humanitarianism, female empowerment

Earlier this month, VH-1 aired its annual Hip Hop Honors awards ceremony, which honors some of the genre’s most influential artists. This year’s ceremony— the first after a six-year hiatus— honored some of the most innovative female rappers, including such trailblazers as Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliott— all of whom thrived as women in a genre widely dominated by men and continue to inspire other rappers today. The evening featured speeches, performances and even a taped speech by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Also honored at this ceremony was a Vallejo rapper named Tenina Stevens—better known as Suga T— who received the distinction of being the most prominent West Coast Female Rap Pioneer.

“It’s a blessing and an honor to be recognized for all of the hard work,” Stevens said in an interview with the Herald. “It has not been easy as a female in this game.”

Stevens’ career as a rapper spans nearly three decades. In the ‘80s, she formed a group called Sugar and Spice with her brother Earl Stevens, better known in the rap world as E-40. The two eventually recruited brother D-Shot and cousin B-Legit for a new rap group called The Click, which put out three albums on E-40’s record label Sick Wid It. All of The Click’s members went on to have successful solo careers, especially E-40 who has racked up several hit singles on Billboard’s rap and R&B charts. One of his earliest singles, “Sprinkle Me,” was a duet with his sister Suga T, who sings on the chorus and gets her own solo verse. The 1995 single peaked at No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart and remains a big hit in the Bay Area as well as one of Suga T’s proudest musical achievements.

“In terms of what it’s done for me and what it’s still doing in terms of keeping the door open and being a long-term hit, I think that’s the one that stands out the most at this point,” she said.

Suga T also had a very lucrative rap career, recording several solo albums and being featured on the soundtracks to such movies as “Dangerous Ground” and “Nurse Betty.” She credits a lot of success to her brother, E-40, who she says has been very supportive.

“He was very influential and he believed in me as an artist first,” she said.

Beyond being a rapper, Stevens is also a humanitarian, having authored a series of self-help books, served as a motivational speaker, established business products to help empower women and spoken out against domestic and gun violence, both subjects that Stevens has experienced.

In fact, Stevens says her career as both a rapper and a humanitarian was fueled by having grown up in difficult situations. She became a mother at the age of 16 while she was on welfare, and she saw creating music as an escape.

“It was an opportunity to try something else with my life and build on to have a better future,” she said.

Stevens graduated from John Finney High School in Vallejo— then called Peoples High School— where she sang Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All” at the ceremony with her children at her side. She later received her master’s degree in organizational management, where she has used her past experiences to help others in need.

“Being someone who was a welfare recipient at one point, I understand how there’s people who need help and direction,” she said. “Being on that other side made me passionate about wanting to help those with what I overcame. Once I found the solution on how to do it, I wanted to give that back to others.”

Another topic that Stevens is an advocate of is the empowerment of women in rap music. The genre has often been accused of promoting misogynistic attitudes toward women, and Stevens says that attitude is inherent in the industry as well. Male rappers dominate while female rappers get paid less and receive fewer invites to perform, she says.

“There’s certain ways that certain people have been treated, and they should be compensated not just financially but they should be treated as such to be given the opportunity to be the different voice,” she said. “We bring life into the world, and most of us raise children, nurture them and keep the families going, so that’s something that we can add to the messaging of music.”

Stevens’ latest humanitarian effort is a multimedia project called “The Suga Rush Movement,” which she describes as a culmination of everything she does. She recorded a series of albums in different genres— including rap, jazz, blues and gospel— to show her range as a performer with proceeds going toward autism and female empowerment projects. She also does workshops and speaking engagements to promote healthiness, female entrepreneurship and other topics. She also launched Suga Rush Radio and TV to speak about such topics in different media formats.

“The Suga Rush Project is putting it all together,” she said. “I’ve had to focus on either music or only on media and PR or only focus on motivation. At this point, I’m like ‘I’m putting it all together.’ I’m not complete without one or the other, so I’m utilizing them all at once and giving the ‘sugar rush’ to those that are connected and being there to those that follow me and those who may want to follow me.”

Suga T’s next album, “Still Pushin’,” will be out in late summer. Stevens hopes that hip-hop can move in a more positive direction.

“I think it should be inspiring, motivating, real and truthful,” she said. “It should allow the people presenting it to be themselves and not be forced into the direction in which others who come in the game later expect them to be like them. It should hold the authenticity of what the artist’s brand is and what they’re about, while still keeping it up to date.”

For more information on Suga T, visit suga-t.net. You can also follower her various social media feeds, including Twitter (@OfficialSugaT), Facebook (facebook.com/Suga-T), Instagram (@suga_t_official) and YouTube (SugaTOfficial).