Gina Morganello is a rapper. Don’t get it twisted by the image on the TV screen, this girl has an uncanny knack at putting words together. Born in Allentown, Pennslyvania, G-Child was given her name by friends around the neighborhood.
Vanilla Ice’s biggest fan and one of his closest friends would only be a name within her local limits if Ego Trip and VH-1 hadn’t came up with smash hit the (White) Rapper Show. Since then, the Pennsylvania Terror has become not only a name in her hometown, but is looking to take her craft and display it worldwide.
After being let go on the latest episode of the show, Ms. Morganello is now a free agent. HHDX sits down with her as she talks about her hip-hop influences, dishes the deal about what’s next for her, and has some interesting things to say about MC Serch.
HHDX: When he first were introduced to you through the auditions, you professed to being Vanilla Ice’s greatest fan… which is like a cardinal sin in hip-hop. Serch had an interesting face to make, too, when you said that, but what was it about Ice that drew you into hip-hop?
GC: Ice was always my favorite, growing up, but it was just like… I grew up on Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys, too. You can hear the similarities between them and me when you hear me rap. I stay true to my old-school hip-hop roots. I’ve never gotten out of that stuff. I still bump Da Brat, Kriss Kross and I still listening to Vanilla Ice. I have always been a fan of him. But back in 2000, he did a show in my hometown. [Laughs] I rode my bike down there in the pouring rain just to see him perform. I ended up meeting his manager and he went on and introduced me to Ice. He bought me dinner, which was cool, and I told him that I supported him still throughout his career. I have all of his albums. You have people who think that To The Extreme is his first album. They’re still caught up in that. He told me that he appreciated the comments and from that point on, he kept coming back to Allentown. I have opened up for him about five times now, I have made a name for myself through him and I thank him for that opportunity.
HHDX: Throughout the show, until your elimination, you stayed true to your roots about who you are. Since then, how people been treating you back home in Allentown, PA?
GC: It’s absolutely insane. I can’t go anywhere in Allentown alone [laughs]. I was going to get some pizza one day with a friend of mines and people were honking horns trying to get my attention. [Laughs] People are screaming out, “G-Child” and “The White Rapper Show” and it’s such a rush. I was just talking to my friend about how I wanted to be known as “G-Child” and the show provided me an opportunity to do just that. I am really glad that people would know me from the show. It helped me with the exposure, but I also don’t want to be looked as someone who is just from the (White) Rapper Show. But other than that… I love it. I really can’t complain about the response I’ve been getting. Yesterday, I was in McDonald’s… signing ketchup packets [laughs]. Right now, it’s like a local celebrity thing… but this show has aired worldwide, so I know more than just Pennsylvania has just seen this. I really appreciate the opportunity, because this is what I’ve wanted since I was a little girl.
HHDX: On a past interview, you spazzed out on Dip Set and 50 Cent, professing your love for true hip-hop. Aside from your love of Rob Van Winkle, who else did you grow up admiring?
GC: I like some of the cats from the new school, now… like Nas. I love his new record because I can totally relate to what he is trying to tell us. We filmed the show over the summer, so when his album dropped, he was basically rapping about what I have been thinking about for a while. I like DMX. I think that he’s talented. Ja Rule is not too bad. I like their rugged voices and they have individual styles. They stray from the norm. Basically, any rapper that’s out there that’s different… I’m into; especially when they have something good and different to say on the mic.
HHDX: Dasit had mentioned in an interview with us that the show isn’t really about trying to find the next White rapper. Do you agree with his sentiments?
GC: I have people who come up and tell me that the show is a joke and that it’s racial. Just like how Sullee said when we were doing the “U Betta Recognize” show… it doesn’t matter where you come from… music is music. There are black people who are musicians who play guitars and you don’t see anyone asking them about white culture. No one was concerned when the Beastie Boys came out. No one said that they had to know about the culture. The love was already there and perceived. We’ve done a reality show, but we have a love for this culture, too. I understand what is going on. They [VH-1/The (White) Rapper Show] all did this for entertainment purposes. It gets people to watch the show. My personal opinion is that I think it’s kind of hard to speak on. I wouldn’t trade the experience of doing the show for anything. I don’t think it played me at all. I know Serch had beef with Vanilla Ice, but they let me go very nicely. He [Serch] saw my talent and my heart, but he had to do what he had to do. If it was up to him, he would’ve picked us all to win that money and have a deal. Even though one of us ultimately could make it, he allowed us to be seen by the world. For that, I’m thankful.
HHDX: Your image was reflective of your environment – what really turned you on to hip-hop instead of following something like grunge rock?
GC: I listen to a lot of punk rock. In my stereo, right now, I don’t have a lot of hip-hop right now. But in the mid-90s, I listened to hip-hop. Punk rock is a part of who I am, as well, but hip-hop is in my heart.
HHDX: Both Misfit and Dasit are working on deals and trying to press out work. What is in the works for you?
GC: All kinds of stuff, man. Misfit and I plan on doing a track together. We may work on doing some shows, too. I am working with this company called Organic Entertainment and they’re really good. They have an artist, his name is Greg Jarvis. They have a deal with Serchlight. This dude’s song might be on the last episode of the show. We’re trying to get a hold of him [MC Serch], right now, to talk business, but he wasn’t in the office. But with the company that I’m dealing with… they’re trying to put together a college tour. I’m also working with Aaron Hall Sr.. He’s the father of the R&B singer, Aaron Hall and he’s going to be working with me. We’re going to re-work some of my songs and we’re going to start shopping it to labels. I have been working with Vanilla Ice’s manager and he’s going to help me out. It’s going to take some time with these heavy contracts that we had to sign when we started to do the show, but I’m thankful for all the opportunities that are coming out of this experience. So, we’ll see what’s up.
HHDX: Serch genuinely felt for you, but still let you go at the end of the day. You took it better than most of your compatriots. What would have been the one thing that you’d want the audience to understand about yourself and the White Rapper Show?
GC: [Laughs] I mean… I wasn’t attacked by a giant cockroach, you know. [Laughs] But Dasit will always be remembered as being this ungrateful guy. He’s only hot because of the opportunity that Serch provided. I knew that something good was going to come out of it [being on the show]. But, since I was eliminated, I had people look over the contract and I would’ve rather made it on my own. I have to make it and by doing so, that’s what’s going to make me strong. As far as what I’d want the audience to understand, hmm… I would probably say that I’d want them to understand that even if they saw the show as being wack or a gimmick, that the MC’s are not a joke. We are real MC’s! We’ve made album, we’ve been working with people, all that before we were chosen. We have been on the grind and have been in the entertainment industry before the show. I am appreciative of the show and without it we’d all be struggling to make it. One thing I’d sum up is that they had me drinking that sizzurp, but I was really sick with bronchitis. I don’t want people to think that I was a drug addict.
HHDX: What would you say was your most memorable moment from being on the show?
GC: It would be the people that I met along the way. From the cast to the crew on the (White) Rapper Show, I have made friends out of many. The friendships that I have made have been a blessing. That is something that I’m going to take to my grave. Even with the legends that I have been able to met; I mean who else do you know can say that you rapped for Grandmaster Flash!
HHDX: I have asked Dasit and Misfit what their thoughts were about John Brown. What do you think of the “King of the Burbz”…?
GC: I got along with everybody in that house, you know?! But what I did see is that they did play John’s comments out a lot. Even though he did say that a lot, he didn’t say it as excessively as how it was aired on the show. That’s me having his back, because people do talk him down in real life and that’s basically what I tell anyone. I was happy how they edited my personality. I got along with everyone, but John is cool in my books.
Vanilla Ice’s biggest fan and one of his closest friends would only be a name within her local limits if Ego Trip and VH-1 hadn’t came up with smash hit the (White) Rapper Show. Since then, the Pennsylvania Terror has become not only a name in her hometown, but is looking to take her craft and display it worldwide.
After being let go on the latest episode of the show, Ms. Morganello is now a free agent. HHDX sits down with her as she talks about her hip-hop influences, dishes the deal about what’s next for her, and has some interesting things to say about MC Serch.
HHDX: When he first were introduced to you through the auditions, you professed to being Vanilla Ice’s greatest fan… which is like a cardinal sin in hip-hop. Serch had an interesting face to make, too, when you said that, but what was it about Ice that drew you into hip-hop?
GC: Ice was always my favorite, growing up, but it was just like… I grew up on Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys, too. You can hear the similarities between them and me when you hear me rap. I stay true to my old-school hip-hop roots. I’ve never gotten out of that stuff. I still bump Da Brat, Kriss Kross and I still listening to Vanilla Ice. I have always been a fan of him. But back in 2000, he did a show in my hometown. [Laughs] I rode my bike down there in the pouring rain just to see him perform. I ended up meeting his manager and he went on and introduced me to Ice. He bought me dinner, which was cool, and I told him that I supported him still throughout his career. I have all of his albums. You have people who think that To The Extreme is his first album. They’re still caught up in that. He told me that he appreciated the comments and from that point on, he kept coming back to Allentown. I have opened up for him about five times now, I have made a name for myself through him and I thank him for that opportunity.
HHDX: Throughout the show, until your elimination, you stayed true to your roots about who you are. Since then, how people been treating you back home in Allentown, PA?
GC: It’s absolutely insane. I can’t go anywhere in Allentown alone [laughs]. I was going to get some pizza one day with a friend of mines and people were honking horns trying to get my attention. [Laughs] People are screaming out, “G-Child” and “The White Rapper Show” and it’s such a rush. I was just talking to my friend about how I wanted to be known as “G-Child” and the show provided me an opportunity to do just that. I am really glad that people would know me from the show. It helped me with the exposure, but I also don’t want to be looked as someone who is just from the (White) Rapper Show. But other than that… I love it. I really can’t complain about the response I’ve been getting. Yesterday, I was in McDonald’s… signing ketchup packets [laughs]. Right now, it’s like a local celebrity thing… but this show has aired worldwide, so I know more than just Pennsylvania has just seen this. I really appreciate the opportunity, because this is what I’ve wanted since I was a little girl.
HHDX: On a past interview, you spazzed out on Dip Set and 50 Cent, professing your love for true hip-hop. Aside from your love of Rob Van Winkle, who else did you grow up admiring?
GC: I like some of the cats from the new school, now… like Nas. I love his new record because I can totally relate to what he is trying to tell us. We filmed the show over the summer, so when his album dropped, he was basically rapping about what I have been thinking about for a while. I like DMX. I think that he’s talented. Ja Rule is not too bad. I like their rugged voices and they have individual styles. They stray from the norm. Basically, any rapper that’s out there that’s different… I’m into; especially when they have something good and different to say on the mic.
HHDX: Dasit had mentioned in an interview with us that the show isn’t really about trying to find the next White rapper. Do you agree with his sentiments?
GC: I have people who come up and tell me that the show is a joke and that it’s racial. Just like how Sullee said when we were doing the “U Betta Recognize” show… it doesn’t matter where you come from… music is music. There are black people who are musicians who play guitars and you don’t see anyone asking them about white culture. No one was concerned when the Beastie Boys came out. No one said that they had to know about the culture. The love was already there and perceived. We’ve done a reality show, but we have a love for this culture, too. I understand what is going on. They [VH-1/The (White) Rapper Show] all did this for entertainment purposes. It gets people to watch the show. My personal opinion is that I think it’s kind of hard to speak on. I wouldn’t trade the experience of doing the show for anything. I don’t think it played me at all. I know Serch had beef with Vanilla Ice, but they let me go very nicely. He [Serch] saw my talent and my heart, but he had to do what he had to do. If it was up to him, he would’ve picked us all to win that money and have a deal. Even though one of us ultimately could make it, he allowed us to be seen by the world. For that, I’m thankful.
HHDX: Your image was reflective of your environment – what really turned you on to hip-hop instead of following something like grunge rock?
GC: I listen to a lot of punk rock. In my stereo, right now, I don’t have a lot of hip-hop right now. But in the mid-90s, I listened to hip-hop. Punk rock is a part of who I am, as well, but hip-hop is in my heart.
HHDX: Both Misfit and Dasit are working on deals and trying to press out work. What is in the works for you?
GC: All kinds of stuff, man. Misfit and I plan on doing a track together. We may work on doing some shows, too. I am working with this company called Organic Entertainment and they’re really good. They have an artist, his name is Greg Jarvis. They have a deal with Serchlight. This dude’s song might be on the last episode of the show. We’re trying to get a hold of him [MC Serch], right now, to talk business, but he wasn’t in the office. But with the company that I’m dealing with… they’re trying to put together a college tour. I’m also working with Aaron Hall Sr.. He’s the father of the R&B singer, Aaron Hall and he’s going to be working with me. We’re going to re-work some of my songs and we’re going to start shopping it to labels. I have been working with Vanilla Ice’s manager and he’s going to help me out. It’s going to take some time with these heavy contracts that we had to sign when we started to do the show, but I’m thankful for all the opportunities that are coming out of this experience. So, we’ll see what’s up.
HHDX: Serch genuinely felt for you, but still let you go at the end of the day. You took it better than most of your compatriots. What would have been the one thing that you’d want the audience to understand about yourself and the White Rapper Show?
GC: [Laughs] I mean… I wasn’t attacked by a giant cockroach, you know. [Laughs] But Dasit will always be remembered as being this ungrateful guy. He’s only hot because of the opportunity that Serch provided. I knew that something good was going to come out of it [being on the show]. But, since I was eliminated, I had people look over the contract and I would’ve rather made it on my own. I have to make it and by doing so, that’s what’s going to make me strong. As far as what I’d want the audience to understand, hmm… I would probably say that I’d want them to understand that even if they saw the show as being wack or a gimmick, that the MC’s are not a joke. We are real MC’s! We’ve made album, we’ve been working with people, all that before we were chosen. We have been on the grind and have been in the entertainment industry before the show. I am appreciative of the show and without it we’d all be struggling to make it. One thing I’d sum up is that they had me drinking that sizzurp, but I was really sick with bronchitis. I don’t want people to think that I was a drug addict.
HHDX: What would you say was your most memorable moment from being on the show?
GC: It would be the people that I met along the way. From the cast to the crew on the (White) Rapper Show, I have made friends out of many. The friendships that I have made have been a blessing. That is something that I’m going to take to my grave. Even with the legends that I have been able to met; I mean who else do you know can say that you rapped for Grandmaster Flash!
HHDX: I have asked Dasit and Misfit what their thoughts were about John Brown. What do you think of the “King of the Burbz”…?
GC: I got along with everybody in that house, you know?! But what I did see is that they did play John’s comments out a lot. Even though he did say that a lot, he didn’t say it as excessively as how it was aired on the show. That’s me having his back, because people do talk him down in real life and that’s basically what I tell anyone. I was happy how they edited my personality. I got along with everyone, but John is cool in my books.
