Ryeisha Berrain’s drop on DJ/producer Blaqstarr’s track “Shake it To The Ground” turned the Baltimore high schooler, better known as Rye Rye, into a club sensation. In no time, bloggers were blowing her up and shortly thereafter, M.I.A. came-a-callin’ with a spot on her tour. “Blaqstarr called me, he just told me to come down to his studio ’cause somebody wanted to meet me. I get down there and it’s Maya! We got along so good,” the rapper remembers, “feels we’ve known each other forever.” Despite her young age and the fact that she’s still in school, none of Rye Rye’s girls went all Mean Girls on her. Shockingly, they’re supportive and freak out about her big-deal status. “They love it,” she swears.
When the 17-year-old isn’t touring and doing fancy photo shoots, she’s dancing. “I love dancin’,” she exclaims animatedly, “I’ve been doing it since I was eight. I got a whole crew of girls I dance with. We are all different ages, like, my lil’ sis dances with us. She’s three. We just dance all Baltimore, ya know?” If you’re unfamiliar with what dancing ‘all Baltimore’ looks like, let’s just say that when girl dances, you know Chris Brown is thinking about ditching Rihanna for Rye Rye. When asked if she’s got a boo, she rolls her eyes, shakes her head, and says, “I work too hard.” She does smile a little however, as she mentions she wouldn’t mind a date with Bow Wow.
Her favorite store at the mall is H&M, but she shouts out Jeremy Scott, too. Her favorite color is pink and she likes chocolate milkshakes and the fries from Northeast Market in B’more, which she enjoys as often as she can. What she’s not allowed to have, however, is a little more random, “I really want a pet polar bear, but ma says no.” Pet polar bear or not, Rye Rye has plenty of crazy stuff coming up. “I got a tour with Maya in the spring. My album’s dropping summertime. Oh, and I’m touring Europe with Sinden, ya know, the DJ?” Her mom leans in and adds, “And graduation.” To which Rye Rye nods and smiles, “Yeah, and graduation.”—Sarah Morrison
Published in Missbehave Magazine, July 2008
