In the ‘Game’
Houston’s Young Lyric, 15, puts dynamism on display with fellow young rappers on TV show
yric Michell Ragston says she doesn’t like talking much. The 15-year-old Houston rapper, one of the stars of Lifetime’s reality show “The Rap Game,” is often urged to open up, to come out of her shell.
“They really try to paint her character on the show as shy because of her laid-back personality,” her mother, Olivia Ragston, said. “But, really, that’s just the way we are. That’s just Houston.”
Indeed, Young Lyric, as she’s known, is cool and soft-spoken in conversation. She slips her sunglasses on and off; there’s a slight country twang in her voice. Nothing fazes her.
But when she lets loose a 60-second freestyle rap, everything changes.
“I’m reloaded, focused and dedicated/The hardest in here regardless/ I’m guaranteed to make it/What you want me to do/If you Lyric competition I feel sorry for you …
Her long, curly hair swings back and forth. There’s intensity in her eyes. She moves in close, her energy occupying your personal space.
“It’s kinda like Beyoncé, how she has Sasha Fierce,” Lyric said. “When I get onstage or in the studio, it’s just different. As soon as I rap to people who aren’t from here, they’re like, ‘I can hear your Houston swag.’ ”
It’s that dynamic quality that secured Lyric a spot on “The Rap Game.” Producer Jermaine Dupri guides five young rappers, ages 1216, through a boot camp in Atlanta’s hip-hop scene. He ranks each performer at the end of the show and will offer one a record deal with his So So Def Recordings. Queen Latifah is an executive producer; guests have included Usher, Ludacris, Da Brat, T.I. and Silentó.
Dupri has a track record of success with young acts, including Bow Wow, Monica, Kris Kross and TLC.
“Getting to learn from him is a great opportunity. He taught me a lot,” Lyric said. “Before all this happened, we were really just mak-
“When I get onstage or in the studio, it’s just different. As soon as I rap to people who aren’t from here, they’re like, ‘I can hear your Houston swag.’ ”
Young Lyric
ing videos on my dad’s camera, putting them on YouTube and seeing where they took us.”
Those clips helped establish Lyric as an online tween prodigy and got attention from the popular WorldStarHipHop site. Her YouTube channel, which includes originals and customized covers, boasts almost 20 million views. She also has more than 133,000 Instagram followers. Those numbers helped convince “The Rap Game” producers that she was ready for the spotlight.
“We were working really hard at getting her noticed,” her dad, Mitchell Ragston III, said. “To see it all come together, it’s amazing.”
Ragston, a former rapper, owns Bad Akktor Records.
“It was something that I had a passion for,” he said. “To see her get some success, it’s great to us.”
Young Lyric’s album, “Princess,” dropped earlier this month, followed by a video for the single “On Fleek.” In it, she raps against a Houston mural, the downtown skyline and on the stairs of the Buddy Hopson Field House in Missouri City. She’s currently home-schooled, but she attended Ridge Point High School.
The song exemplifies her personality, a mix of H-town swag, youthful boasts and easy energy. Lyric says she’s inspired by Nicki Minaj and the
city’s own chopped and screwed music.
“Nicki Minaj is just the best at doing what I dream of doing,” she said. “Maybe I’ll be in her shoes one day.”
Lyric’s plan for now is “to build and keep the ball rolling,” she said. “Being young, people are not gonna take you as serious. So that’s why you have to go real hard and be real sick with it. I think I’m doing OK.”