Zelda Everson

Kandi Kain, (female rapper, author) born Zelda G. Everson, came onto the hip hop scene in the early 90s. Her sixteen bars of hardcore freestyles were showcased on mixtapes distributed throughout New Jersey by local disc jockeys, God-Father Dee and DJ Backspin. It was one of those freestyles that caught the attention of Apache, one of Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit artists. He was searching for a female emcee to tour with him to support his certified gold single for Tommy Boy Records, "Gangsta Bitch."

In spring 1993, Kandi Kain packed her duffle bag and joined Apache on the 19NaughtyIII Tour. This opportunity opened the door for several hip hop collaborations. After being introduced to DJ Cool V, deejay for rapper Biz Markie, she began to work on putting together a demo. With several albums worth of material she began shopping her female rap group, Systahood, to major and independent labels to no avail.

However, her performances as an unsigned artist garnered recognition in Hip-Hop's most prominent magazines. In 1998, an eventful year for her, The Source Magazine selected Systahood to be featured in the highly coveted Unsigned Hype column. Shortly there after, the group was highlighted in Larry "Blackspot" Hester's column, notes from the Underground/Subterranean Sounds, in the Vibe Magazines after an open-mic performance at the African Globe Theater in Newark , New Jersey . Kandi Kain also lent her ruff and silky jargon to a verse on Milk Bones' song "Set It Off" for Capitol Records and recorded a song with Grammy award winning rap group Naughty By Nature. "Connections", which was featured on the New Jersey Drive movie soundtrack helped her gain exposure to a broader "above-the-ground" audience.

As 1998 came to an end still no recording deals or offers. Kandi, along with, then business partner, Asiatic decided o form an independent record label, True Records to distribute a single with hopes of creating a buzz. Twista, the dj for Systahood, provided the production for the single "M.O. Money" (featuring Sakinah Britton aka Sah-B Warner Brothers recording artist down with the Lords of the Underground), b/w "Keep IT in The Family." The group also filmed a music video for "M.O. Money," directed by Jenny Pless, to support the moderately received single. The underground single caught a slight street buzz when Biz Markie invited Kandi Kain to a studio session to add a verse to the song “Biz & Candy” recorded for the Flip Squad All-Stars compilation album on MCA Records.

In 1999, Treach, Naughty By Nature's lead rapper, invited her to appear on their Arista Records debut Nature's Fury on a track titled "The Shivers." Since then, Kandi has focused her hip hop ambitions toward social causes such as creation hip hop based curriculum and facilitating workshops through her non-profit organization. She has also authored a hip hop themed word game book.

In 2004, she participated in an anti-gang violence project led by Ras Baraka, Hip Hop For The P.E.O.P.L.E. She recorded and contributed "Have Faith" to the musical project which was sponsored by Bill Cosby to support the Bloods and Crips truce in Newark , NJ .

Discography

1995 Connections (Naughty By Nature, Tommy Boy Records)

1995 Set It Off (Milkbone, Capitol Records)

1997 The Shivers (Naughty By Nature, Arista Records)

1998 M.O. Money (Systahood, True Records) B/W Keep it in the Family

1998 Biz & Candy (Flip Squad All-Star DJs, MCA Records)

2005 Have Faith (Hip-Hop for The People Compilation Album)