Billboard calls Southside Chicago’s Dreezy one of the “5 Rising Rappers Who Are Busting Up Hip-Hop's Boys' Club.” The 22-year-old artist’s breakthrough came about in 2014 when her remix of Nicki Minaj’s ‘Chiraq’ catapulted her to national prominence with a “fiery delivery, ferocious lyricism and magnetic microphone presence,” according to a label news release. The artist born Seandrea Sledge is now firmly established in the rap game and continues to have success with her full-length debut album, No Hard Feelings. The 19-track project via Interscope Records leads with the radio-friendly ‘Body’ featuring with Jeremih. The track was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard R&B Songs chart, and got to No. 20 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The song finds the bar-spitter evolving into a genre-fusing MC. “I never really considered myself a singer until the ‘Body’ record dropped,” Dreezy tells Billboard. “Now that I’ve done a full R&B song, I can officially say I’m a full artist.” Dreezy reveals her evolution as an artist is the result a move to L.A. from Chicago. She says being out of her comfort zone created an isolation that allowed her to learn how to value herself. “I realized that I wanted all this company around me and it wasn’t necessarily good company,” she continues to Billboard.

“Some people were giving me fake love, showing support but really hating on me like my relationship. I was with a guy but he was hating because I was getting so much attention. All that stuff just drains you and weighs you down, and I just had to cut people off. It wasn’t no grudges behind it. It was just a lesson learned and I kept it pushing.”

Other standout tracks from No Hard Feelings—which went to No. 11 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart and No. 15 among the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums—include ‘Break The News,’ which Dreezy says best illustrates her growth as an artist. She explains she had to take her time in trying to “sing the notes right and just try to get everything to sound good.” Other highlights are Gucci Mane on the cut and music video ‘We Gon Ride,’ while T-Pain adds some verses on ‘Close To You.’ New single, ‘Wasted,’ is currently No. 4 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, No. 17 on the Mediabase Urban airplay chart, and No. 31 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.

Dreezy has a hand in writing or co-writing every song on the album, explaining a lot of the lyrics she writes start as poems. Another part of her songwriting process involves simply trying to “catch a vibe” from an idea she has. “I’ll come up with a little concept before I go in so I know the direction, then I mumble out melodies and flows then write,” she says. Dreezy hopes the album’s success encourages labels to get behind more female rappers such as Rah Digga, Shawnna, Remy Ma, Tish Hyman, Sasha Go Hard, and Katie Got Bandz. “There’s room for everybody. That’s how it’s supposed to be,” she continues in the label press announcement. “My goal is to be legendary … Music is my purpose and I want to set the bar—especially for females—and break all the records that come with it.”

Listen to rapper Dreezy perform "Body" featuring Jeremih.

As A Matter of Fact…

* The rap artist known professionally as Dreezy was born Seandrea Sledge on March 28, 1994, in Southside Chicago. As a child she wrote poetry and short stories. Sledge grew up listening to Ciara, Bow Wow and B2K. As a rapper she channels influences such as Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Drake.

* Sledge began rapping at age 14, and the straight-A student later dropped out of Northern Illinois University to pursue music full time. She made her first guest artist appearance in 2012 on the Sasha Go Hard track, ‘I Ain't No Hitta.’ The next year she released the collaborative mixtape Business N Pleasure with Mikey Dollaz.

* In 2014, Dreezy issued her debut solo mixtape, Schizo, prior to dropping a remix of the Nicki Minaj/Lil Herb track, ‘Chiraq.’ Dreezy's version of ‘Chiraq’ quickly caught on and earned an invitation to join Common on the track ‘Hustle Harder’ from his 2014 album, Nobody's Smiling.

* Dreezy signed with Interscope in late 2014 and issued the EPs Call It What You Want and From Now On in 2015. The latter was a Top 10 entry on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.

* Dreezy’s full-length debut album, No Hard Feelings, peaked at No. 11 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart and No. 15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Lead single ‘Body’ featuring Jeremih reached No. 8 on Billboard’s R&B Songs chart, and was a Top 20 hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.