Growing up, Ashley Dice was more into classic rock and Motown than rap or hip-hop.
Dice started getting more into hip-hop when she was in high school. Even then, she never thought about performing hip-hop music herself.
“I’ve always loved it, but I just never thought it was going to be a path for myself necessarily,” she said. “It wasn’t until later, I started making friends who made music and a rapper friend of mine was like, ‘Hey, you sing; you should do a hook for this song.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. OK, I’ll do that.”
It ended up being two hooks, she said, and she instantly gained a fan base from it. “I just realized I could do it,” she said. “I think it was more just gaining that confidence, too, of knowing that I could do it and then it just took off from there.”
Now, Dice performs under the stage name Lady Dice and has built an enthusiastic fanbase. But she’s done it all while remaining completely independent.
“I have a distribution deal for my first album, but other than that I’m independent,” she said. “I released my last couple singles on my own.”
Although the DIY route can take more work since it requires a musical artist to wear many hats, at the end of the day, it can also lead to greater financial rewards.
“You used to need that cash advance in order to get the recording, to get the videos done, to get all these things,” she said. “And now we can learn to do it on our own.”
Dice said her live show is a “rollercoaster of emotions.”
“I’m going to take you everywhere,” she said. “There are going to be times when you’re going to cry. There’s going to be times when you’re going to want to shake your butt. … I take you everywhere, because that’s what I am. I won’t put myself in a box. If I feel a certain emotion, I write about it. … I feel there’s something for everyone at my shows.”
Having been into theater growing up, Dice said she brings a lot of theatrics to her performances as well.
“I try to bring more than just a show; I try to bring a production and an environment and a feeling. I want to change something in someone by the time they leave.”
Lady Dice at the Slippery Pig
Lady Dice performs 7:30 p.m., Oct. 22, at the Slippery Pig, 18801 Front St. NE, Poulsbo. The show features DJ Defkawn and special guest. All ages. Tickets are $20. Buy them here.
All proceeds from the show will go toward Feed the Streets, an effort by DocLuvTheKids to feed the homeless.
Learn more about Lady Dice on her website.
