15 March 27 - april 2, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Bar Queen Honie Gold was crush- ing it on Rhythm + Flow, but life had other plans. BY KARALINE WILEY I t’s always a proud moment when local talent shines on a big platform, but what’s even better is bearing witness to the origin story — the journey, the struggles and the moments that make the city proud. For East Dallas rapper Honie Gold, Netf- lix’s Rhythm + Flow wasn’t just about com- petition. It was a test of resilience, passion and the ability to stay true to herself while navigating the pressures of the industry. From filling notebooks with rhymes as a kid to standing in front of hip-hop giants, her career so far is filled with talent, grit and unde- niable energy. Honie Gold’s story starts in East Dallas, where she grew up moving around with her mom and siblings. Her love for music started young, as she listened and wrote. “I really started to take a liking to rap when I turned 8,” she says. “That’s when I started writing my own music, pushing my own pen.” At 13, however, Honie came across her first bit of true inspiration. “I really, really, really took a liking to Left Eye,” she says of the late TLC member. “I felt like we had some of the same character- istics, but I liked how she could rap and she could sing, and she was … spiritual, she was sweet, but she was crazy at the same time.” Then, at 18, everything changed when Gold developed stage fright and became scared to perform. She finally was able to at- tend clubs legally and she faced her first open mic. Performing turned her passion for music into something real, and her fears stayed outside the bar. “And from there, it is history. I love being onstage,” she says. Gold first auditioned for Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow in 2019, during the show’s pilot sea- son. The show sees seasoned judges such as Cardi B, Chance the Rapper and T.I. search for the next big name in hip-hop. Gold didn’t make the cut, but looking back, she knows it was for the best. “I was not ready,” she says. “I probably went on stage like once or twice, maybe, from the time that I auditioned. So I’m glad I wasn’t put into that predicament.” Years later, when Season 2 reopened cast- ing, the opportunity came back to her, as a scout found her on Instagram. “I was going through a lot,” Gold says. “I just remember just being like ... I don’t know if I want to audition. I got too much shit go- ing on, you know. My manager thought it was fake because they were keeping every- thing so discreet, but I knew what it was.” Even when she agreed to audition, get- ting through each round wasn’t easy for the aspiring rapper. “They called me back for a video audi- tion, and then shortly after, probably, like, a week or so later, they called me and was like, ‘Can you come to Houston?’” she says. “My car had literally just broken down, like three or four days before. I was like, ‘Damn, OK, well, I think this is it.’” Her mom wasn’t about to let that stop her, and pushed her to audition. “She was like, ‘Girl, just go for it. It doesn’t matter what you got going on. Like, life’s gonna always, throw you curveballs and stuff like that. So just try your best,’” Gold says. So, she moved forward, making it through an unaired Houston audition and eventually landing in Atlanta, where she de- livered an exuberant performance in front of Ludacris, Latto, DJ Khaled and Busta Rhymes. Netflix left her fate hanging be- tween Episodes 2 and 3, but at the start of the third episode, the judges made their fi- nal decision. Though Luda and Busta praised her range, Latto and Khaled weren’t fully con- vinced. Before making their final call, Latto questioned whether Honie’s music fully represented Dallas. “You say you from Dallas, Texas? I didn’t hear that in your music. And I love Texas,” Latto said. Honie defended her city’s musical diversity. “Dallas is very cultured … it’s so diverse. I don’t really feel like we have one specific sound … we all don’t really sound the same,” she responded. “I do feel what you’re saying, though, and I respect that.” Latto nodded in approval and replied: “I’m not from Dallas. Put me down. As you should. I love it.” With that, the judges gave her a yes, and Gold walked off determined, delivering a promise to the judges: “I’m gonna change your mind.” The Cyphers G old remained the only Dallas rapper in the competition following the au- ditions. Before she even had time to celebrate, she got the call that changed every- thing. “My family was sending me pictures and videos, keeping me updated on my grand- mother,” she says. “She was passing, and I wasn’t there. I was devastated. My energy slowly faded as time just kept continuing, because they didn’t show it in the show.” She told production she wanted to leave. “I was devastated. I was so freaking sad,” she says. “I was like, oh my gosh. Like, no, I need to go home if this is going to be, you know, the last moments I get to talk to her. … So they made it to where, you know, they set me up to leave.” But before she made her final decision, she called her aunt. “She was like, ‘If you’re gonna go out, get sent home. Don’t just leave … keep going.’” Gold says. “And honestly, that’s why y’all prob- ably didn’t see a lot of my storyline, because the whole thing had to make sense for TV.” With that in mind, she stayed, even though her heart was elsewhere. “I loved my cypher group, we were like family,” she says. “Whenever I went back and I asked my group, like, ‘Hey, can I stay?’ They were like, ‘We didn’t want you to leave.’” Even with their support, the weight of what she was dealing with was inescapable. “Production was like, ‘Do this for your grandmother, she’ll be proud of you, and you got $200,000 on the line,” Gold says. During her cypher performance in front of Latto, Ludacris, DJ Khaled and Remy Ma, Gold initially forgot her lyrics, jeopardizing her spot in the competition. Once again, Netflix left Gold’s fate on another cliff- hanger at the end of Episode 3, as the judges deliberated on who would move forward. “Honie, when you started, you was dope. But that hesitation, whatever your jitters were, or whatever was going on almost cost you not being here,” Remy Ma said. Ludacris followed up with: “But I think hands down, what we all thought when you did come back ...” “It was pretty dope,” Remy Ma said. “And we decided to keep you.” When Episode 4 aired, the verdict was in: Honie Gold and DreTL were the only two from their cypher group to advance. She was moving on to Round Three: Rap Battles. Rap Battles T he night before her rap battle against opponent Tia P, Honie reached a breaking point. “I was in my hotel room just crying, cry- ing, crying,” she says. “My aunt told me the doctors gave [my grandmother] 10 to 12 days. I was like, ‘Ain’t no way. I’d rather go home.’” She even reached out to production again, expressing that she was ready to leave. “They were like, ‘Honie, this is your sec- ond time saying you want to leave. Just do the battle,’” she says. With harsh winter conditions grounding all flights, Gold figured she would do the best with what she had at the time. By the next morning, she was emotion- ally and physically drained. She woke up two hours late, completely missing her scheduled call time. She rushed to get ready and hurried to the battles. But it was right before stepping out when everything clicked for her. “I’m watching Tia P do a prayer; it’s like she did the whole little like cross signing,” she says. “You know, instantly in that mo- ment, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going home.’” It wasn’t that she doubted her ability — it was the realization that Tia P wanted it more in that moment. “To know that somebody wants it that bad,” she says. “[And] I wanted to go home more than anything … it’s just like how my heart was set up.” Given the circumstances, she still wanted to go out and give it her best. She ended up going first, and once on stage, she delivered her bars with grace, but it wasn’t enough to sell the judges on choosing her over Tia P. Eminem left Honie with feedback on her projection, but by then, none of it mattered. “I want to go home,” she remembers say- ing. “I feel like money comes and goes, but family is forever.” And that’s exactly what she did. Days later, her grandmother died. Looking back on her time on Rhythm + Flow, Honie Gold’s biggest takeaway was that she had stayed true to herself and grounded in her artistry — no matter what. “I honestly think that being in the music industry, you can question yourself a lot,” she says. “People are going to critique you, and you kind of just gotta be like, ‘OK, but I like it.’ Don’t let them shake you up and have you question who you are as an artist.” Through the highs and lows, her favorite moment remained the same, the high of live performance. “Just being on stage and performing — that was great,” she says. “I’m gonna take that with me and run with it for the rest of my life.” She was also proud to represent Dallas on the show. “I was so grateful for the experience,” she says. “Loved every moment of it. I was very sturdy on representing for Dallas and doing the best that I could for Dallas.” As for what’s next, she’s taking her time and hopes to release a mixtape soon. “[I’m going to] really sit down, perfect my craft,” she says. “When I come back, it’s go- ing to be nuts. I’m excited, though. Very ex- cited.” Until then, she’s leaving it all up to fate. ▼ Music Honie Gold Latto said Honie Gold didn’t sound like Dallas, but we know better.
