At a time when many female rappers’ releases flop badly while others are being sued by their ghost-writers, there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel. Not only for females in Hip Hop, but also for the overall lack of credibility and authenticity. Enter Ma Barker, a multi-dimensional storyteller who tells episodes of only one story – her own.

Multi-platinum recording artist Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson said it best at the beginning of the first verse of his song “Hustlers Ambition” – “America’s got a thing for this gangster shit, they love me…” Well, America’s about to have a thing for a young lady who’s on the verge of taking the game “back to when Hip Hop was real, when rappers were really gangsters and hustlers. Before all these studio gangsters and Pro Tools Drug lords came about.”

Ma Barker, the Wife of a Don, was born Satina Pearce in East New York, Brooklyn. At an early age, she moved to the “Southside” section of Jamaica, Queens, where she attended Andrew Jackson High School. She started her career under the name Shaqueen by battling and defeating local MCs. It didn’t take long before she started recording her entirely self-written songs in the mid 90’s and finally caught the ear of Cold Chillin’ record label president Fly Ty. Even though Fly Ty was highly interested in signing her to a record deal, she decided to pursue other options. Shaqueen/Ma Barker connected with a young entrepreneur by the name of Mighty who at the time was starting a record label called Mighty Entertainment.

Her first single “Just Because/Shaqueen Rules” was soon getting major airplay from leading radio personalities such as HOT 97’s DJ Enuff and Angie Martinez. The single peaked at number 15 on the U.S. Billboard Charts, where it remained for 20 weeks. Not only did Shaqueen/Ma Barker receive an “artist of the year” write up from Kanye West’s current manager Datu, she was also featured on R&B legend Gerald Levert’s platinum-selling album “Love and Consequences”. At that time, she furthermore recorded songs with fellow female artist Queen Pen and Hip Hop icon LL Cool J. After severing ties with Mighty Entertainment, as fate would have it, she once again crossed paths with Kool G Rap whom she met through their mutual friend and now Jive Records/Sony BMG recording artist Papoose.

After hearing her music, G Rap quickly took Shaqueen/Ma Barker under his wing and began working with her. It was during that time that Ma Barker credits G Rap for saving her life as she was heavily involved in the “street game” in which she had numerous run-ins with Federal Agents for her involvement with then boyfriend Garfield Brown, who became one of America’s Most Wanted.

With a new life and new name, Ma Barker has recorded numerous songs with Kool G Rap as well as an album in 2002 called “Click of Respect” which features her “5 Family Click”. She is currently working on her debut solo album for which she has secured guest appearances from Kool G Rap, 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Papoose, and Dr. Dre’s new artist at Aftermath/Interscope, Joell Ortiz. With these features, her own skills and top-notch producers such as Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Buckwild, Scram Jones, G-Unit’s phreQuincy, Shuko a/k/a the German Wunderkind and Lex Barkey behind the boards, Ma Barker is bound to bring the crown back to town. Her street album “Wife Of A Don: Unforgiven Sins” is scheduled for an October 30, 2006, release.