Two Brooklyn girls decided to chase their dreams and make waves in hip-hop. ShaaBiggaa and Hiii Siddity started their group, Girll Codee, in high school at Brooklyn School for Music and Theater and knew they had a sisterhood through their music.
The Girll Codee is more than a title. It’s a mentality of being authentically yourself no matter what people have to say and being the leader throughout your life. “We’re not being anybody else but Hiii Siddity and ShaaBiggaa, so we can’t tell [people] to do something else that we’re not doing,” ShaaBiggaa said.
You can get to know them through their debut EP released on July 28, 2022, ShaaBiggaa + Hiii Siddity, under 300 entertainment bringing the flavor that we know and love from New York culture. The tape also has a classic drill feature from HoodCelebrityy and has a narration from radio personality Sway Calloway giving his stamp of approval; the seven-track tape creates a cohesive story of who these two Brooklyn girls are and what they stand for.
The ladies describe their sound as something women and men can relate to and truly embody something rare in the industry that keeps them outside the box and showcase their different layers of talent. Girls United had the chance to sit down with the Brooklyn duo about their inspirations, the state of hip-hop, and what we, as listeners, can look forward to.
Girls United: What would you say your mission is regarding your message and what you stand for within your music?
Hiii Siddity: We bring something different to the music industry and the world, and we’re something that a lot of people haven’t seen in a long time. Even the other day, somebody told us that we [have] their daughter wearing baggy pants and boxers, so we don’t even realize how much we [represent] other people.
Your debut EP, ShaaBiggaa & Hiii Siddity, has a sound that is a mixture of the new and old-school sounds of New York. What inspired the direction you wanted this EP to go in?
ShaaBiggaa: What we grew up on and stood for is not mumbling. It’s speaking and being clear with what you have to say, making a statement, and standing on those statements.
Throughout the project, it tells a story of who you ladies are as women. Through your song “Inside,” how important is it for you to continue inspiring and uplifting young girls who look like you and come from where you come from?
Hiii Siddity: It’s very important because it’s bigger than you. No self-love is happening in this world right now. Social media has people hating themselves, and we make sure [our music] has content messages that people can come back to and be like, ‘oh, I want to go back and listen to more.’
ShaaBiggaa: We want everybody to love themselves, look in the mirror, and tell themselves, ‘I’m pretty, strong and intelligent. Don’t worry about what everybody else has to say.
Can you both speak on the importance of women coming together? Not just in music but in general as well.
ShaaBiggaa: We all know it’s a male-dominated world. Everybody should try to work together, but I feel like women should, especially because we’re looked at in a different aspect, so we need to stop trying to be better than each other and teach [each other].
Hiii Siddity: There needs to be more women empowerment in the industry because you’re made to go against each other. That’s why we show so much love to everybody.
What have you learned from each other throughout your journey in music?
ShaaBiggaa: I’ve been learning from this girl forever, one thing she taught me was self-love, and I love that. I also learned to want to [become] a learner. When we first walked in, we were just two artists, and now we know the business part.
Hiii Siddity: I’ve learned you really have to stay focused. You have to work hard, can’t get distracted, and can’t bring everybody to the top.
After being exposed to what the music business is outside of the art, what advice would you give to other artists who want to make music professionally but don’t understand how the music business works?
Hiii Siddity: It’s not what you thought it was, so stop watching movies and thinking that you’re going to make two songs, and then you’ll be Beyoncé or Jay Z. No, you got to lock in and focus and put 100% of yourself into this.
You ladies also have some stand-out features for this EP. Tell me how it was working with HoodCelebrityy and Sway.
ShaaBiggaa: Sway is New York, so that’s legendary, and for him to say the things he said about us and to [introduce] our and then close out our EP was just like, ‘wow, Sway said that about us.’ To work with Hood was cute. After she sent the hook, she just added something we were looking for with “Chaa Chaa Chaa.”
Throughout the EP, listeners can hear many influences in your music. How do you think your sound is evolving?
ShaaBiggaa: We wanted to show everybody how versatile we are because people haven’t heard music from us, and they have heard freestyles a lot of times. We wanted to give you this body of work because this is an introduction right here. So everybody has to be prepared, buckle up and don’t be scared.
Hiii Siddity: All I can say is that if they are going to watch our [evolution], it’s only going to get grander because we work our asses off. We want to be the best rap group, not female, but the best rap group since sliced bread.
About Kenyatta: Kenyatta Victoria is an entertainment and culture reporter passionate about music, pop culture, and marginalized stories. She has bylines in publications such as Chicago Reader, INSIDER, Girls United, TransLash Media, and the Chicago Tribune.