Four Reasons to Get Behind Rye Rye in '09

First came Edgar Allan Poe. Then, after a long interval indeed, came the double-whammy of The Wire and Michael Phelps. And now, in a sign of its possible ascendance from the depths of the cultural abyss, the fair city of Baltimore has given us the girlish rapper Rye Rye, who in her short life has already become muse to Blaqstarr and protégée to M.I.A., and whose sassy rhymes are reason enough to get excited about 2009.

Here are four reasons to get on the bandwagon now:

1) The awesome video for "Shake it to the Ground" comes complete with wheelies, poolside dancing and a dude in a crossing-guard vest. 

2) Rye Rye stole the show from Diplo —not an easy thing to do—on the DJ’s 2007 iTunes EP with a star turn on the addictive banger “Wassup Wassup.” Indeed, the song was so hot that it inspired someone to make this riveting YouTube video pairing “Wassup Wassup” with a scene from the Patrick Swayze film Dirty Dancing.

3) She’s signed to M.I.A.’s label, NEET, which would seem to be the best imaginable platform for a young, fashion-conscious female rapper/dancer/hipster. The record’s due out in March, y’all. 

4) She may be a budding star, but she’s still enough of an around-the-way-girl to post her prom pictures on MySpace.