Flakiss

Sacramento, California-raised Yahira Araceli Garcia, better known as Flakiss, stands alone as the first female artist in the West Coast urban regional movement. A tireless advocate for women's rights, Garcia's childhood left much to be desired: her father serially abused her mother until he finally left the family when Garcia was just 10. Life after his departure didn't get much easier, due to financial and other problems; the youngest of seven, she lost one of her older brothers to gang violence as a teenager. She began writing as a way to deal with her circumstances, which led eventually to the recording of her first album Liberate ("free yourself") with producer Byron Brizuela. A powerful statement against machismo, the album caught attention for its stridently pro-female stance. Asi Soy followed in 2005.