HelloBeautiful.com’s “Base Level” column features the hottest new artists we’re buzzing about. Before they make it to the summit of superstardom, we spot them at base level–the beginning of their hopeful journey to the top.

At first glance, singer Brave appears to be a model straight out of the folds of a magazine. She’s tall, gorgeous and has the body of a modern day video vixen. But don’t be fooled by her looks, the Bmore native is an avid lover of hip-hop (particularly the Tupac and Biggie era) and R&B as well.

“It’s important for my project now to have the perfect marriage between hip-hop and really great R&B,” she told us during our candid sit-down. “I want to give people an honest view into who Brave is. I’m a songwriter, so I’m talking about a relationship, being in love, anything women, and guys, go through. It’s a marriage of some dope hip hop with a really nice melody. I do have some pop songs on there. It’s like a plethora of me,” she says of her forthcoming EP “Fearless” that hits the Internet in June.

Brave was once apart of the girl group RichGirl, but is now embarking on her solo career. After some time off to hone her craft, the songstress and songwriter is back to leave her mark on the industry.

Get the basics on the rising artist, below:
Name: Brave
Age: A lady never tells… Hometown: Baltimore

Explain The Origin Of Your Name: I used to be a spoken word artist. I talked about things I had no business talking about at 15-years-old. I was the girl on the mic speaking about things, like ‘OK, did you live this?’ But, it was things that inspired me. I just remember the guy who was there was like, ‘You’re really brave for saying that. I’m gonna call you Brave.’ It just kind of organically stuck.

Musical Influences: I started out writing, so Tupac influenced me. Maya Angelou, I have all her books. My mother is Czech Slovakian and my father is black and Cherokee. It was very interesting growing up. With my dad, I was listening to the SOS band. We grew up Catholic, so there was a lot of music coming from the church so to speak. But, ultimately, now, I can say my musical influences are, I love Stevie Wonder, Patrice Rushen, a lot of old school artists. Tupac is pretty good.

When Did You Make The Decision To Pursue This Career? Very young. I knew probably around six or seven-years-old. I always knew I was going to be in front of an audience with a microphone. Whether it was signing, rapping or spoken word, I knew it was going to be some sort of part, I just didn’t know what because I didn’t know I could sing until years later.

At What Age Did You Discover Your Talent? I turned one of my raps into a song and I was on an open mic in Baltimore called “Five Seasons” and I remember like it was yesterday and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, you sound good.’ I really had no idea I could sing and then from that point, I just kept writing and getting better vocally. After I realized I could sing, I met Rich Harrison maybe a month later not knowing how underdeveloped I was. I just knew I could, when I sing, I knew it sounded good. In terms of pitch, tone, flat sharp, I didn’t no anything about that at the time.

What song is on the radio right now that you wish you wrote? I love Schoolboy Q. I like that song. I wouldn’t say what he said, but melodically, it’s such a simple, catchy melody. A lot of Drake too. I listen and I’m like, “Dang, why couldn’t I think of that?”