Female rappers are dominating the charts, including St. Louis’ very own Diamond Smith — better known by her stage name Big Boss Vette. She is the writer and rapper behind hits like “Snatched” and “Pretty Girls Walk,” the latter of which was certified gold by the RIAA this spring. She’s also released recent hits in collaboration with other artists, including “I Can’t Stop” from the “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” soundtrack, which was produced by another prominent St. Louisan, Metro Boomin.
Big Boss Vette’s career started in 2014. She was 16 years old when her cover of DeJ Loaf’s “Try Me” went viral.
“All I had was a dream, a phone — that was only on through Wi Fi — and a PlayStation 2 where I would play beats in my background,” she said. “And the more I did it, the bigger my platform grew.”
But Big Boss Vette’s music career was not always a steady ride to the top. She quit rapping after the death of her cousin, which she said sent her down a dark path. Then, in 2016, she was a victim of gun violence as a fight broke out at a gas station on North Broadway. She said that moment served as her wake-up call.
“Just the thought of me losing the life that God gave me, I'm just like, ‘Nah, this is not where I want to be, this is not how I want to live,'” she said. “That is what taught me right there [that] I [was] wasting talent that was given to me.”
Since she released her first single “Outside” in 2020, Big Boss Vette has made a name for herself with catchy lyrics and a bombastic personality. However, she says her onstage persona is different from who she is day-to-day.
“Diamond is more of a weird, regular person. Like, when Diamond gets bored, she likes to lay on the ground and pretend that she's a crumb,” she said. “Diamond can take her wig off and watch documentaries all day; Big Boss Vette can’t. Diamond likes to create TikToks with her dog, just being a crazy person — and Big Boss Vette has to work.”
Big Boss Vette said she will continue to release new music, more social media content — including the continuation of her “And Another Thing” series — and is set to appear in several upcoming movies. She also wants to do more work behind the scenes.
“I want to hop into my writing bag … to start writing for [other] artists,” she said.
Big Boss Vette was in St. Louis on Friday as a keynote speaker in Music at the Intersection’s conference, which is meant to provide professional development for creatives in the St. Louis region. There, she shared practical advice — including a warning to never sign a contract without your own lawyer present — as well as encouragement to not give up on your dreams.
“No matter how bad you feel, stick with your plan and not your mood,” she said. “Get up and get it done.”
Learn more about Big Boss Vette’s life in St. Louis, her fast-growing career and the lessons she’s learned along the way by listening to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Ulaa Kuziez, Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
