Biography
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Born In
Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States
Imagine a Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes/Del Tha Funky Homosapien vocal delivery, and lyrics reminiscent of Janet, De La Soul, and Eminem, all slapped on a technicolour New Wave cosplay rave in Tokyo.
ThaGataNegrra is an alternative hip-hop artist who specializes in a funky start-stop delivery; her rhyme arsenal runs the gamut from danceable ear candy to mind-searing aggression. Her distinct flow, catgirl persona, and kawaii aesthetic not only earned GATA the designation of “NJ’s real-life Catwoman” by Indie Flava Magazine, but helped her make her own pawprint on the underground hip-hop scene and the con circuit.
A native of Newark, NJ, GATA showed early signs of being a renaissance woman; she was frequently found drawing, dancing, acting, crafting, or writing. Her singer/songwriter father, and mother’s passion for exposing GATA to as many cultural experiences as she could inspired GATA to express herself through several mediums.
As a result, GATA stood out from her peers and was perpetually bullied, which drove her to find solace by immersing herself in music. GATA was a fan of anything from metal to funk, but hip-hop would end up being her genre of choice. Armed with influences ranging from Golden Era hip-hop and punk to dance and new wave, the Arts High School alumnus pounced through a few groups before landing on her feet and deciding to strike out on her own.
GATA kept busy with local shows and lent herself to other artists’ recording projects mainly for the sake of sharing what she could do, often struggling to find someone who would take her talent and her varied influences seriously. She wrote of angry, frustrated life experiences, venting them in an aggressive fashion that fascinated and appalled those in her circle as well as prospective collaborators, who were of the opinion that girls weren’t supposed to talk “that” way. Despite this, the Diosa AniManga/PunkRhyma™ continued to write from her gut, roaring her truth onto two full length projects for 3 Miles Entertainment.
GATA is a proud geek and otaku, and her performances highlight this by featuring cosplay and her own take on decora kei style. Her “full-bottle, in-your-face” “kawaii-hop” sound was included in the second and third seasons of the groundbreaking hit Hulu show "East Los High". She is author of the upcoming graphic novel “GATA City”, founder of The Alliance for Alternative and Eclectic Hip-Hop, and co-founder of the New Jersey Geek Alliance.
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