Remy Ma Launches Clothing Line to Help Women Previously Incarcerated

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Aside from being one of the best female rappers in the game, Rema Ma is giving back to the community in a big way.

As first reported by AllHipHop.com, the “All the Way Up,” rapper announced on social media that she’s launched a clothing line called Vim Vixen to benefit previously incarcerated women.

“I’m so excited to finally launch my very own clothing line … when I got out of prison, I wanted to do something to support women just like me … women who have done their time and paid their debt to society,” said the star, whose real name is Reminisce Smith.

She went on to say that previously incarcerated women remain overlooked and mostly forgotten.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the clothing line will support the Remy Ma Foundation which helps women who have previously been in prison by providing opportunities and lifelong resources to help enhance their lives and the lives of their families, according to a mission statement.

“I am so very proud of this moment,” Remy Ma said.

“Launching both a clothing line and foundation are two things I have been very passionate about since my release from prison,” she said.

The New York-born rapper served a six-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2008 on charges stemming from a shooting outside a Manhattan deli where a man was wounded reportedly after a confrontation over money he allegedly owed Remy Ma.

In a 2017 interview with Complex.com, she said hit the studio just hours after being released from prison on August 1, 2014, meeting DJ Khaled to record the “They Don’t Love You No More” remix. One week later she knocked out a song with Jadakiss.

Then a record with Ty Dolla Sign.

Then, since it was summer 2014, she touched Bobby Shmurda’s “Hot Nigga” instrumental.

She was 34 years old, without state ID or driver’s license, without health insurance.

She had to find a school for her then 14-year-old son, who was living out of state at the time. But she had a plan, and she stuck to it: She’d reestablish her music-industry presence before getting her life in order.

“Looking back,” Remy told Complex, “I guess it was a good decision.”

There was more to come. In 2015, Remy joined the cast of VH1’s reality series, Love & Hip Hop: New York, establishing a footprint in another medium. She also scored a hit record with “All the Way Up,” a collaboration with Fat Joe and French Montana that went double-platinum and spawned a slew of unofficial remixes.

Her new clothing line features everything from tops and jackets, to dresses and activewear and everything in between. Fans can browse on vimvixen.com.