Princess Superstar's libido protrudes from her songs like a well-hung erection in spandex. Songs like "Sex (I Like)" and "Wet Wet Wet" show she's got a mind dirtier than the inside of Peaches' vinyl crotch-huggers. She claims outright that she's "kinkier than pubic hair." But if one-liners were the limits of her abilities, Superstar would be stuck manning the 976 lines, and instead she's manning mics worldwide. Her hiphop is a mix of slapstick comebacks, steely pride and a DIY work ethic that just won't quit.
Princess Superstar Is (on her own Corrupt Conglomerate label), her latest and best album, reveals her to be the mastermind behind classic lines like "trapped in a 401-K hole" and "this pussy got 4 stars in Zagat." She brings her act to the Knitting Factory this Saturday.
You started out playing in a rock band. How did the hiphop career come into play?
When I conceived of Princess Superstar, I was rhyming a lot. I was really primitive and my sampling was really bad, but the original spirit of hiphop is about being innovative and I'm very inspired by that. You can also express a lot through rhymes?you can use words in a unique way, and if you let your mind go, you can make crazy jumps that you couldn't make if you were singing.
Now that your career's starting to take off, I take it you're not working at the Financial Women's Association anymore?
No. They really encourage women in business, though, and when I started my record label in '97 they were so supportive. They helped me get a loan to start my company and everything. But I quit a couple months ago. That was an amazing day, because then I was just a working musician.
You run your own label, write your own rhymes and coproduce your own records. Is controlling your own work born out of necessity, or are you a control freak?
[Laughs] Well, the thing is, nobody knows how you want it done. I'm a perfectionist and I work really hard and I want things done right. That's why I started my label, and it's really paid off. I mean it's a shitload of work, but I hope that someday I can be an inspiration to other women who want to start their own label or who want to get into the industry in general. Music is such a powerful thing, but the way you live your life is, too, and it's important that you do it right. It would have been really easy to sign with a big label and turn into some cheesy thing, but I thank God every day that I never did that.
Does that mean you won't consider signing to a major label in the future?
I'm never gonna rule anything out. I'm successful now, but I don't have a lot of money and I'd like to be able to pay the people around me, and myself. But if I did get on a major label now, I have a couple records under my belt so I'm more informed. They couldn't turn me into something crazy 'cause I already have it down. But I really don't like major labels, so it'd have to be a really special situation for me to consider one.
Princess Superstar Is has a couple unusually serious songs like "Untouchable Part 2" and "Too Much Weight." Is it hard to switch gears from being a wiseass to tackling more complex issues?
No, sometimes it's hard to craft the songs that are ridiculous. I don't mind being emotional in my music because I grew up on music that was emotional. You don't want to be hammered over the head with emotional issues either, though, so it's really a mix. I think I've built up the Princess Superstar persona on the other records so I allowed more vulnerability to come on this one. But I mean, man, at the end of the day, it's still a party record. I don't want to be like, "I'm so vulnerable." [Laughs] I want to make people feel good.
The other aspect of your image that I like is the idea that you can be a really strong woman and still be a girly girl with the heels and designer labels.
Yeah, and be sexy too. I'm glad to be part of that tradition for sure. Part of being a woman is embracing your sexuality and embracing your power. I don't see why those two would have to be mutually exclusive.
You've been able to create some great stories in your songs. The "Bad Babysitter" track on the new album is hilarious. That kind of character-building doesn't happen as much in rock 'n' roll.
No, it really doesn't. Not unless you're talking about Led Zeppelin and the great hobbits and the misty mountains [laughs].
Have you ever thought of expanding and creating, like Prince Paul did, some sort of hiphopera where you can really flesh out these characters?
Yeah, my last album before this one, Last of the Great 20th Century Composers?that was supposed to be a hiphopera, but I never finished [that idea]. I've already started working on my new record, but maybe in two more records I'll do my concept piece.
Have you thought about expanding your work in any other ways?
Well, um, I'm expanding sideways from being on tour [laughs]. No, just kidding. I've been deejaying a lot at parties, and that's fucking the best. And one of my dreams is to write for The Onion. I want to act, too, but I'm not talking about any kind of Courtney Love plastic-surgery overhaul here. Music is the most important thing, so I don't want to get too all over the place. [The acting role] would have to be something really interesting, where I could do the soundtrack, too?like Dancer in the Dark.
But a little less heavy and depressing?
Yeah [laughs], the comedy musical version.
Princess Superstar performs Sat., Jan. 26, at the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. (betw. Church St. & B'way), 219-3006.