Thug Life Army

Challenging traditional South Asian and Muslim beliefs from childhood while confronting a competitive hip hop rap industry for over 10 years, Robbi Moolji is determined to make her mark in the music world from her home of Chicago. Not only has she overcome extreme cultural pressures, she has also challenged typical rap by bringing a unique electronic spin to the hip hop genre.

The petite East-Indian hip hop musician began writing hip hop and rap songs at eight years old with the intention to rebel against her classroom bullies and condescending teachers, unaccustomed to sharing a classroom with someone of her culture and religion. Robbi's single "School" reflects that moment in her life and explores the feelings of being an outcast from the popular group in school. Robbi explains "That song is for the misunderstood, the rebels, in this world”.

Transferring to a private Muslim high-school after defiant behavior at the school where she faced such persecution, Robbi's first performance was in a Mosque at the age of fifteen, where she recited an Islamic themed hip hop rap song.

Her lyrical content remained focused on Islam until her sophomore year in college, though she still became known as the only hijab (a traditional Islamic scarf) wearing musician on campus. "I''d always be late for class from everybody trying to get me to freestyle on campus - eventually I got the nickname white rabbit like from ''Alice In Wonderland'', since I was always in a rush to class wearing my white hijab," Robbi explains.

Yet her popularity hardly faded after Robbi decided to stop wearing a hijab, soon becoming respected amongst Asian hip hop music fans after winning the international YellowFist writing competition and being featured on the cover of Ivy League university magazine RockZine.

Soon after, it was actually Robbi's refusal of a multi-faceted yet sexually suggestive entertainment deal from a Hollywood film/music conglomerate when her uncompromising pride in her personality and heritage began to glow. "I never felt the need to exploit my body to promote my music, so it wasn''t a hard decision to make," Robbi explains.

Winning numerous hip hop rap battle competitions sponsored by educational organizations such as the Anti-Truth campaign, and ending each of her solo concerts by ''freestyling'' with the audience, has also gained Robbi tremendous respect from the underground hip-hop scene.

One of her most memorable performances was held at a local Chicago venue sharing the stage with hip-hop luminary KRS-One. "I had to tug on Kris's shirt to let him know I was standing next to him since he's 6ft tall, and he told the crowd to keep jumping so they could see me – after the show Kris told me I did a great job, which is the biggest blessing a hip-hop artist could receive," Robbi explains.

Robbi's songs have been featured on many of the world's top urban radio stations such as Chicago's WGCI 107.5 FM, and she has also performed on several syndicated talk shows such as The Flabby Hoffman Show and The Chicago Rock Show.

Robbi is currently working with a Grammy certified producer on her debut album, and even stars in the upcoming "That Asian Thing" documentary, set to be screened across American film festivals in 2007.

For more about Robbi visit her MySpace web site at http://myspace.com/Robbi