In just a few short years, local rapper Princess Love has become a significant player in Cleveland’s hip-hop scene. She’s been nominated for Ohio Entertainment Awards and Cleveland Music Awards and has been crowned Battleground Performance League champion at the monthly competition that takes place at Chef Carolyn’s Exotic Cuisine.
She says her live show has evolved since she played her very first gig a couple of years ago at No Class.
“I jumped into hip-hop in December of 2023 and have been dominating ever since,” she says via Zoom from her Westlake home while wearing a black “bad to the bone” T-shirt that’s part of her line of merchandise. “That first show was with [area promoter] Greggy Westside. The crowd loved it. It was the first day of my tour. I went straight into it. Ever since then, people have wanted more and more and more. I’ve played everywhere in Cleveland. I have stage presence, and they love that. It comes through in my performance. People will sing, ‘Princess! Princess!’ I love that. I think my stage presence has grown over time too. Now, I feel like I’m ready for the BET Stages.”
Princess Love has also played at local clubs such as the B-Side, the Grog Shop, Dunlap’s Corner Bar.
Originally, Princess Love, who grew up in the Columbus area, embraced dancing, cheer and tap-dancing. But she has always loved hip-hop and cites the “mainstream girls that came before” as inspirations.
“I like Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Summer Walker,” she says. “I also like Cardi B. and Megan and GloRilla. I love all of them. It’s a good time [for female rappers].”
Last year, she released her first single, “Chanel Shake ’Em,” a DIY affair that she recorded in her living room with “friends looking out for me.”
“My friends brought the whole recording set up to my home,” she says. “We did it, and fans loved it.”
She then went to Breakthrough Studios to cut her first album, The Princess Chronicles: Heir to the Throne, which she describes as “putting my royalty mark on everything.”
“I spent six hours and went in there and ripped the songs,” she says of the album. “Other people like to punch in. That is not my head space. It got to the people and got a lot of streams.”
Her latest single, “Secret Agent,” embraces rock ‘n’ roll and features raps over noisy beats, mimicking MGK’s emo-rap sound to a certain extent.
“It’s the new sound,” she says of the tune. “That’s what people are listening to right now. I love MGK. He does a lot for the community still.”
She has another album in the works that she plans to put out this summer and is currently in the midst of recording it locally at Breakthrough Sounds Recording Studio.