Known to many by her artist name Molly Tu Hott, Arlisha Trotter has one of those beaming and authentic personalities that’s never met a stranger nor been missed in a crowd. She’s a hip-hop artist, can hold her own in a cypher and is now exploring R&B—but she’s also a mother, a self-published author and an aspiring short film director.
“You have to make sure that the people you’re dealing with know how versatile you are, so you can get different gigs, so you can get put in a different category,” says Trotter. “Everybody’s human. We got a million things going in our day. Don’t take your career personally when you’re interacting with other people. It might have been last week that y’all was just shaking hands, but this week they breezed past you. But you don’t change what you do.”
With this hardworking yet empathetic mindset, Trotter has mastered keeping her sights set on her business while leaving the door open to collaboration and opportunity. As a hardcore rapper with a knack for impactful lyricism, Trotter is stepping outside of her comfort zone and releasing her first R&B album, 2Hott P.S. to Love Vol. 1, this month. The lead single “Play” was released in April with an accompanying music video, and in it the “Tu Hott” side of her moniker becomes very clear. Although tapping into that side of her artistry comes across as natural, Trotter says allowing herself to be vulnerable and writing out her feelings on paper is the hardest thing she’s ever done in her music career.
Growing up idolizing 2Pac and Biggie, Trotter recalls something Biggie said that left a lasting impact on her: A female rapping hardcore is cool, but people want to hear something sexy. She’s always drawn on her childhood, lifestyle and hustle as inspiration for her raps, but she also has a sensual side she’s never fully engaged until now. Surrounded predominantly by men in the hip-hop scene, leaning into sex appeal was something that could cost her being taken seriously and respected. The delicate balance between proving she can do something new as an artist and not have the delivery be taken the wrong way has weighed heavy on Trotter.
“I am sexy. I’m so hardcore on my lyrics because I don’t want people to look at me as just sexy. With R&B, not only am I moving and looking sexy, I’m actually saying it… and that’s my battle,” explains Trotter. “I want to let people know I can do it; it goes back to, you never know who you might reach. As long as you have a background of being respected, you step in there and you do it, and then you bounce out of it with respect.”
Behind Trotter’s writing is the story of her life and where she comes from. The only girl out of six children, Trotter was born and raised in wintry Michigan. Growing up leaving her family never felt like an option, but after graduating from Grand Valley State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work, Trotter moved with her ex-husband and children to Santa Monica, CA. After returning to Michigan due to her father’s health issues, Trotter moved again to South Bend, IN, before finally settling in Athens in 2016.
Trotter arrived in Athens with a plan and a goal to start a music label, Family Fortune Entertainment, and signed a handful of artists. Always freestyling and rapping for fun, Molly Tu Hott the recording artist had yet to be born, and instead Trotter focused on artist management. However, during this time she wrote and self-published her first book, A Hood Love Affair, about growing up in poverty surrounded by criminal activity and what falling in and out love with the streets meant in her life. This led to Trotter stepping into the recording booth for the very first time to record the audiobook version of her memoir.
This experience, plus her signed artists’ commitment not matching up to her goals, was the turning point for Trotter to dissolve Family Fortune Entertainment and begin to take her own music career more seriously. Trotter now raps as part of the collective MBE, Must Bring Energy, that is focused on sharing resources and skill sets between artists. Being able to collaborate with and learn from other artists is high on Trotter’s list of priorities, especially with fellow, like-minded female artists.
Trotter’s renewed vision and dedicated intention has led to an explosion of growth this year, from releasing multiple singles and the hip-hop EP Hood Love Affair Soundtrack to performing at Hot Corner Festival and the Athens Hip Hop Awards. In the month of June, Trotter won Best Female Hip Hop Artist at an Atlanta awards show at The Atrium, won a performance competition in Gainesville for the track “Beat Up The Trap” featuring Mula Meech, and was nominated for Best Female Hip Hop Artist at the 2023 Athens Hip Hop Awards.
Since coming to Athens, Trotter says that she’s seen the effects of the downtown scene welcoming hip hop and being more supportive—“You feel the love a little bit, now you feel wanted.” She points to a proclamation by Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz declaring May 18 to be Athens Hip Hop Appreciation Day as a sign of progress. Now what she sees as the next hurdle for Athens hip hop is for artists to reach out and introduce themselves and what they’re capable of without giving up or getting disheartened.
“People get so wrapped up in the limelight. Well, when the sun shines, if you look around, it’s everywhere. So there’s no way that you’re going to be put in the shade if you don’t want to be put in the shade. It’s enough sunlight for everybody to shine,” says Trotter.
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