Most people know Shayna McHayle by her stage name, Junglepussy, and her powerful, biting raps therein. But as the born-and-raised Brooklynite preps her third album, JP3, out May 11, she’s also adding lines to her resumé. This year, she will make her feature film debut opposite Regina Hall in Support the Girls—a film following the travails of five working class women who work at a Hooters-style establishment—and as she told Jezebel when we visited her apartment, she hopes it won’t be the last time she acts.
McHayle’s determination is palpable, in her music and in person. Her presence is funny and magnetic, and it’s immediately apparent she’s sharp as a tack. So when we toured her wardrobe, full of her signature and beloved fluffy pink shit, we got more than a look at her favorite garments—we also got a good look at who she truly is: a polyglot creative with her own, bright-eyed style and disinterest in falling in with the crowd. “I know that all these things could be gone tomorrow,” she said, “and I’m really grateful for all the things I have… I have these things simply as an expression of what I feel on the inside.” Or, as she raps on JP3‘s “State of the Union,” “Everytime I wear clothes, I’m stoppin traffic/Everybody here knows I am the baddest.” Indeed we do!