Young Princess of Cali

One listen to the tongue-twisting rhymes of “Zingy”, the first single off Ak'Sent's debut album, International, and you may notice this is not your ordinary newcomer. For one thing, this fresh-faced MC is a she. And another reason: she's 18 years old. But as anyone who gets to know Ak'Sent (Krystle Johnson) soon discovers, there's much more to this unassumingly petite girl than meets the eye.

Capitol Records recognized Ak'Sent's star power immediately. Sure, the LA native had an impressive resume for her age — dance training with Debbie Allen and Lula Washington, stints in several R&B-based girl groups — but it was her fierce flow which truly wowed the room. Because of her sheer determination to do things on her own, something the half-African-American, half-Latina Ak'Sent had grown accustomed to having lost her father to gang life and her mother to welfare, she was given room to grow and experiment in the studio, both vocally and musically. "I told myself, I'm not going to sound like everybody else," she says. "I'm not just another female rapper. I want to set a tone." But even more important to Ak'Sent is that she set a good example "without being too negative," she adds. "I think there are other ways to get your point across. Besides, I wasn't raised like that. I think my grandma would be proud."

“Zingy” Streaming Audio:
(Windows Media Low)
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/capi001/aksent/zingy/zingy_a56.asx
(Windows Media High)
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/capi001/aksent/zingy/zingy_a100.asx
(Real Media Low)
http://boss.streamos.com/real/capi001/aksent/zingy/zingy_a56.ram
(Real Media High)
http://boss.streamos.com/real/capi001/aksent/zingy/zingy_a100.ram

“Zingy” Streaming Video:
(Windows Media Low)
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/capi001/aksent/zingy/zingy_v100.asx
(Windows Media High)
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/capi001/aksent/zingy/zingy_v300.asx
(Real Media Low)
http://boss.streamos.com/real/capi001/aksent/zingy/zingy_v100.ram
(Real Media High)
http://boss.streamos.com/real/capi001/aksent/zingy/zingy_v300.ram
(Quicktime Low)
http://boss.streamos.com/download/capi001/aksent/zingy/zingy_v100.mov
(Quicktime High)
http://boss.streamos.com/download/capi001/aksent/zingy/zingy_v300.mov

Ak’Sent On Air Freestyle:
(Real Media)
http://boss.streamos.com/real/capi001/aksent/studio/radiostation_v300.ram
(Quicktime Media)
http://boss.streamos.com/qtime/capi001/aksent/studio/radiostation_v300.mov

Ak’Sent Official Website:
http://www.aksent.com/