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Cupcakke Article
Elizabeth Eden Harris, who is a Gemini sun, Aries moon (born May 31, 1997) and is, known professionally as Cupcakke (often stylized as cupcakKe), is an American rapper and singer from Chicago, Illinois.

Harris made her breakthrough as a rapper by releasing material through the internet in late 2012. In 2015, two of her songs, "Deepthroat" and "Vagina", went viral on video sharing websites such as YouTube and WorldStarHipHop. The songs were later included on her debut mixtape Cum Cake, which was released in February 2016 and placed at #23 in Rolling Stone' s "Best Rap Albums of 2016" list and received attention from Pitchfork''. Her hyper-sexualized and often comical lyrical content has gained her songs notoriety across the internet, and she has since developed a strong online fanbase whom she nicknamed "slurpers". Through creating the stage name Cupcakke and alter-ego Marilyn Monhoe, as she's known as on social media website Twitter, Elizabeth Harris has curated a strong platform to discuss political and social issues.

Cupcakke uses her platform to discuss social and political issues and creates art in order to highlight issues affecting black individuals and other minorities.

Harris has established herself as an ally to the LGBT+ Community by featuring songs in her album.[2] Through interactions with her fans and her continued use of her platform as a way to represent the queer community and their different intersecting identities, by utilizing music videos and song lyrics, the chicago rapper is quickly becoming a queer icon. Harris also uses her platform to exercise her sexual freedom and empowers herself and others through her sexuality and music with provocative and sexual lyrics.

Her second mixtape, S.T.D (Shelters to Deltas), was released in 2016 and was included in Rolling Stone's June 2016 list of the "Best Rap Albums of 2016 So Far". She has also received attention from music publications Complex and The Fader.

Following the release of her mixtapes, Harris debuted her album Audacious in 2016. Her second studio album Queen Elizabitch was released in 2017. In 2018, it was followed by her third studio album Ephorize.

2012–2014: Early output
Harris released her first music video, "Gold Digger" onto her official YouTube channel in August 2012, which went viral on the internet. She was only 15 at the time of its release—the original video has since been deleted. Over the next few years, she continued to release original music, as well as freestyles using beats from other artists, through her YouTube channel, where she has amassed over 300,000 subscribers.

2015–2016: Cum Cake, S.T.D (Shelters to Deltas), and Audacious
In October 2015, the official music video for her song "Vagina" was released on YouTube via YMCFilmz. According to Cupcakke, she wrote the song because she was inspired by Khia's song "My Neck, My Back". One month later, Harris released "Deepthroat" on her own channel. Within weeks, the two videos went viral on YouTube, Worldstar, and Facebook due to their overt sexual nature and raunchiness. The songs later became singles for Harris' debut mixtape, Cum Cake, which was released in February 2016. Its release was also supported by further singles such as "Juicy Coochie", "Tit for Tat", and "Pedophile". A writer for Pitchfork called the mixtape a "well rounded introduction to a skilled writer" and said it used songs "about love, loss, and hardship with its more explicit tracks to create a full profile of the up-and-coming Chicago rapper". "Pedophile" was also specifically noted for its powerful lyrics and blunt commentary on sexual assault.

In June 2016, Harris released her second mixtape, S.T.D (Shelters to Deltas) It was preceded by the single "Best Dick Sucker". Other tracks, such as "Doggy Style" and "Motherlands", were also later released as singles. The mixtape was listed among Rolling Stone's "Best Rap Albums of 2016 So Far".

In October 2016, Harris released her debut studio album, Audacious. The album was preceded by the single "Picking Cotton", which was described by MTV News as "a protest song about racist cops". Other tracks on the album such as "Spider-Man Dick" and "LGBT" were accompanied by music videos.

2017–present: Queen Elizabitch and Ephorize
In February 2017, Harris released "Cumshot", which served as the lead single to her second studio album. On March 7, English singer-songwriter Charli XCX premiered her song "Lipgloss", which featured CupcakKe. The song was later included on XCX's mixtape, Number 1 Angel, which was released on March 10.

On March 24, 2017, Harris officially announced her second studio album, titled Queen Elizabitch, which was released on March 31, 2017. The Fader described it as "the type of nasty rap that made her a viral sensation, alongside all-out pop bangers like "33rd" and the confessional a cappella freestyle "Reality, Pt. 4." Stereogum also noted that the album "sees CupcakKe engaging with the current political climate and radio trends in a way that could help her cross over to a more mainstream audience".

On April 7, 2017, Queen Elizabitch was removed from online streaming services and digital music stores due to an illegal backing track that Harris had purchased from what she described as a "shady producer". She soon announced on Twitter that Queen Elizabitch would be re-released on April 16, 2017.

On September 1, 2017, Cupcakke revealed a new single, "Exit", and its release date on her Instagram account. It became available for digital download on September 15, 2017. On November 6, 2017, Cupcakke announced on her Twitter the release of her new single, "Cartoons". It was released November 10, 2017.

On December 20, 2017, Cupcakke announced through Twitter that her third studio album, Ephorize, would be released on January 5, 2018. Exclaim! called it "her most polished work to date" and noted that "she still slides in plenty of deliciously dirty one-liners throughout the new record." HotNewHipHop commented that "Ephorize might be one of the most introspective bodies of work she's dropped off to date." Pitchfork awarded the album with the publication's "Best New Music" accolade, calling it Cupcakke's "best album yet, with terrific production and a barrage of raps that reveal Elizabeth Harris to be far more than her hilarious and absurdly raunchy one-liners."

On January 15, 2018, Harris posted the music video for her song "Duck Duck Goose", from Ephorize, on YouTube which garnered much attention from music publication sites such as Vice and Genius. The Fader wrote about it, stating that the "visual features the Chicago rapper showing off an extensive collection of dildos as well as a souvenir Statue of Liberty." On February 20, the music video for "Fullest", another track from Ephorize, was released which drew more attention with Out calling it "a house party for the Instagram generation... Millennial pink palette: check. Inflatable pool animal: check. Neon backlighting to ensure everyone finds their best angle: check." The video was also recognized by international publications such as Konbini and Ismorbo.

Following her latest album, Ephorize, Cupcakke has released her first single since her last album. The song was released on April 27, 2018 and is titled Quiz.[3]

Cupcakke's Artistic Voice
In October 2016, Harris released her debut studio album, Audacious.[4] This album was preceded by the single Picking Cotton, which was described by MTV News as "a protest song about racist cops".[5] Other tracks on the album such as "Spider-Man Dick" and "LGBT" were accompanied by music videos and showcased Harris’ musical range in discussing a wide array of social issues. Harris' uses her Cupcakke persona and her album, Audacious.[4] to discuss various social issues surrounding the Black and LGBT+ community. Harris labels herself as a feminist and uses her persona to put her views out there and make a difference. Music is the outlet that Elizabeth Harris uses to discuss social and political issues and the persona she's created, Cupcakke, is an outlet that helps her gain confidence and allows her voice to be heard. Harris utilizes her platform to discuss pertinent social issues inflicting our society, issues such as police brutality which is showcased and discussed in her 2016 single Picking Cotton, sexuality as seen through her mixtapes Cum Cake, and S.T.D (Shelters to Deltas) with songs such as Vagina, Deepthroat, and her debut album, Audacious.[4]

Racial Issues
Through lyrics such as "Pull me over and it's over, shots firing (*buh-buh*) Bleeding bad Tryna look at his badge (Wassup?) Blood bath 'cause he decided to spaz Aiming at my brain to put me under a grave" and "Why shoot when there's a taser and a pole? (Why, man?) Blue and black lives matter, who knows? (Who knows, who knows?)" from the 2016 single Picking Cotton.[2] is one clear example of how  Cupcakke discusses racial issues affecting America specifically regarding police brutality and gun violence. The lyrics "Why shoot when there's a taser and a pole?" brings up the question of why they need to resort to lethal force when they can use non-debilitating force instead. While the lyrics “Blue and Black lives matter, who knows?” highlights the debate surrounding two political movements created out of instances of gun violence. These lyrics simultaneously bring up police brutality and the two social movements surrounding the issue, Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter and the positioning of black bodies and police brutality throughout America.

Embracing Sexuality
Elizabeth Harris also uses her platform as a way to voice her own self-love and generate an overall message of body positivity and sexual empowerment to her fans, as seen in her brand. As discussed in an TeenVogue[1] article, Cupcakke uses her brand to combat the many double standards surrounding men and women. One of the double standards that Cupcakke combats is that only men can rap or talk about sex. Through eyebrow raising lyrics Harris proudly recounts her sexuality and the enjoyment of sex as a women, which ties into not only body positive but also black sexuality and female empowerment. On the song Duck Duck Goose Cupcakke showcases her sexuality in lyrics such as “My cakes got fatter by using cum as the batter,” and “Coochie guaranteed to put you to sleep so damn soon/Riding on that dick I’m reading Goodnight Moon.” Through these emboldened lyrics she’s able to empower not only herself and her sexuality, but other people as well much like Lil’ Kim did with her own rap persona.

While in other songs she discusses the societal issue of women and the external pressures of being seen as conventionally “beautiful”. In the track titled “Self Interview” Cupcakke raps “Back then we had lipgloss and some overalls, that’s the usual/Nowadays I gotta show skin and wear sew-ins to feel beautiful” to discuss the expectations put on woman and the external pressures placed on them to fit a specific mold of “beauty”. While also discussing the transition period for women from childhood to adulthood and its place in societies standards of beauty.

Cupcakke & the LGBT Community
The Chicago born rapper discusses different political and social issues within her albums. In Audacious.[4] Harris created a song titled "LGBT" as a queer anthem, which is bisexual inclusive, in a show of support for the community.[6] In December 2016, Harris released the song titled "LGBT" making a statement to the LGBT+ community telling them to embrace themselves and to live their truth and showcasing herself as an visible ally for the queer community.[7] Through providing a space for LGBT individuals through her music videos allows these folks to represent themselves and showcase their self-expression

.Harris' trend of showing support to the queer community did not stop after Audacious was released,but is also showcased in her album Ephorize. Harris' album titled Ephorize was released In March 2018 which included track five titled "Crayons"[8] which was accompanied with an official music video that serves as another queer anthem about being unapologetically themselves. [7] The video depicts several members of the LGBT+ community, two who are being harassed while holding hands and then get quickly defended by other gay individuals.[9]

Cupcakke tackles societal issues throughout her musical career. In particular the song titled "LGBT" showcases Harris' support and allyship with the queer community. The lyrics in this song visibly show her feelings towards the LGBT Community and expresses if you're messing with them you're messing with her as well.[10] There have been plenty of examples of Cupcakke being an ally to the LGBT Community. The most prominent example is when the Chicago rapper offered to pay for a fan's hotel after they voiced they were kicked out of their home for coming out as gay on the social media application, twitter. This event curated alot of buzz on the Internet, however the fan eventually decided to stay with a friend and thanked Cupcakke for their support.[11] By unapologetically being sex positive and supportive of different sexualities, Cupcakke is able to reclaim her own sexuality, but empower others to do the same.