Rye Rye (b. Ryeisha Berrain aka ryerye), is a rapper from Baltimore, MD, USA. She met Blaqstarr, a friend of her sister’s, and worked with him on her early material. She met M.I.A. in a studio after M.I.A. overheard one of Rye Rye’s songs. She then worked with Diplo to make Wassup Wassup and other songs including: “Gangsta Girl”, “Hardcore Girls” (with The Count & Sinden), and “Reasons”. She is also working with Zakee. “Hardcore Girls” appears on the Hardcore Girls EP by The Count and Sinden via Domino Records. She has described her sound as “unique, hard-hitting, anything thrown I can handle it.”
Rye Rye began performing at the age of 16. She toured with M.I.A. during the fall and winter of 2007 and early 2008 and briefly with Afrikan Boy. She is featured on a remix of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” with Afrikan Boy, which appears on the Paper Planes - Homeland Security Remixes EP by M.I.A. and is available on her MySpace. Her song “Shake It To The Ground” was made available for download on iTunes.[1] She has also made a music video for the song.
Rye Rye is the first artist signed to M.I.A.’s new music label N.E.E.T., and her album is set to be released in 2009. They both appear on M.I.A.’s remix of Busy Signal’s “Tic Toc,” an unfinished version of which M.I.A. showcased on Gilles Peterson’s Radio 1 show.
