Lady L.U.S.T. may be new to a lot of people that follow the general out hip hop movement, but she has been doing her thing for quite some time, releasing numerous mix tapes and culminating in her 2009, release, “The Ms. Ceily Complex” which was nominated for Best Out Hip Hop CD of 2009 in our readers poll and actually came in 2nd place. In this interview she tells us what it means to be an out hip hop artist for her, where she’s come from and where she’s going.

So tell us about your name - what does it stand for and how did you decide on it?

LUST comes from my last name which is LUSTER, in school people started calling me Lust or Ms. Lust.  The name stuck when I became an artist but I wanted it to mean something more than what you think of typically when you hear LUST so I came up with the acronym, Last Undisputed Spit Truth.

Introduce yourself to the world of out hip hop that might not know of you.

I'm an MC, I started my career as an audio engineer and a producer, but I was always an MC.

I created a movement of females out of the Bay Area and Vegas called Chocolate Mommi and that’s how my buzz began.  We were artists, promoted events; pushed mix tapes and had a clothing line.  Now, I stand alone as an artist, and I feel like I'm really introducing myself to the world for the first time even though I've done a lot.

Have you always been in Vegas? We heard something about Oakland in your bio. What brought you to Las Vegas?

Right, I was born and raised in Oakland, CA.  I moved to Vegas 7 years ago.  My business partner at that time convinced me that Vegas was where we needed to be to grow our company and I was with it, for the most part I've been here ever since.

 How many CDs have you put out? Including any EPs, mixtapes, etc. Fill us in on your discography.

In 2003 I put out a project called When Love Turns LUST, it was actually to showcase my skills as a MC/producer/engineer.  2004-Chocolate Mommi Mafia Mixtape Vol 1, 2005-Chocolate Mommi Mafia Mixtape Vol 2, 2007- Lady L.U.S.T.,The Po Black Woman Act(mixtape), 2008- Lady L.U.S.T.-The Annie Sue Chronicles(mixtape)...and my newest album is "The Ms. Ceily Complex"

When did you start rapping or get involved with music?

I always love this question; I actually started rapping in church when I was about 10 years old.  I've been playing instruments such as keyboards and drums since I was a kid as well; I learned all of that in church.

You don't hide your sexuality. Why did you choose to be out rather than a closeted MC?

Basically I grew up and became proud of who God created me to be.  Initially I had no idea how important it was for me to be open with my sexuality until I did a song called "Girlfriend", it was about my relationship with my girl at that time.  The song spread and I started getting messages on MySpace and people coming up to me saying "thank you" and letting me know how much it meant to them for me to speak openly about my sexuality.  It really opened my eyes and let me know I had a responsibility to speak to and for the community through my music as well.

Have you ever heard of other out rappers/hip hop performers? If so, who and when.

Yes, I've known Kin 4 Life for a while; they were on some of my first Chocolate Mommi Mixtapes.  More so now recently especially with twitter introduced me to artists like Mz. Jonz and Tomboy Fresh Movement and some others I think their all dope.

Do you have an opinion on female MCs who adamantly deny their sexuality or wish to separate themselves from it?

Naw, I don't judge them on denying their sexuality any more than I would want someone to judge me for being open about mines.  I understand the internal battle that it takes to even come out to your own family, let alone the world.  You literally have to be prepared to go to war for yourself and a whole community of people, this path is not for everyone.

How long did it take you to put together the songs that make up the "Miss Ceilly Complex"?

The entire process was about 8-9 months.  I recorded half of the album in the Bay Area, the other half in Vegas.

If someone could only listen to one song of yours, which would you recommend?

"God is a Woman" off The Ms. Ceily Complex. Listen to it over and over, pick it apart, it explains my purpose here.

Where have you performed? Are there any tours planned?

Everywhere across the westcoast from Portland, Sac, the Bay, LA, Vegas, AZ. Looking forward to hitting the south and east coast very soon.

If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, gay or straight, who would it be?

Andre 3000, MeShell Ndegeocello, Sheila E

What's next for Lady L.U.S.T.?

I'm currently hosting my own talk show on XRadio.biz every Sat night 8pm.

More shows, another album this year, clothing line launch, finish film school, make my art visual and sky's the limit.

Any shout outs?

GOD, my LIFE ENT family (Rideout, Rog, D Nice), my producers Poetiq & E Sharp, my DJ's Duwop Rose & Panty Hose and everyone that has helped me build thus far and of course outhiphop.com!