Leslie Hall looks like a life-sized strawberry Laffy Taffy.  Maybe it’s just wishful thinking: If it weren’t so dirty, D4L’s kid-in-a-candy-shop rhyme “Laffy Taffy” would be a natural riff for the rapper “born to give the gift of jams.”

Ames, Iowa, her hometown, isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think of rap.  But hold that thought until you watch Leslie’s video for “How We Go Out,” which stars “local peeps” and was filmed in Ames’ own Salvation Army.  Haters, click on over to her MySpace and witness her one and a half million page views.  Don’t blame her; blame her Midwestern corn-fed booty (try to listen to that track just once).

It’s no stretch to dub her, as some fans have, the “original Lady Gaga”; but that’s not giving her enough credit, actually.  While Gaga takes herself very seriously, Leslie takes her signature spandex onesies, specifically designed “with high frequency dance and lady bouncing in mind,” seriously.

Crawl through her labyrinth-like website and you’ll find a treasure trove of paintings and hilarious photographs from her extensive art school background. Now factor in her appearances on the Nickelodeon’s children’s show “Yo Gabba Gabba!” In other words? She’s no one-trick My Little Pony.

Rebecca Haithcoat: So what have you been up to in the past year? No new albums, and you haven’t been on your Myspace since last summer!

Leslie Hall: Yes, you called that correct. I’ve been taking it easy for a while. Watching some good shows on DVD and rediscovering my lady goblet.  So now that I feel top-peak lazy and out of shape it’s time to get rolling again.  I’m working on a new album and I’m co-writing myself a web show.

RH: I’ve pretty much broken my computer watching the video for “How We Go Out.” Did Fergie call to ask you if she could riff on your “lady flips” line?

LH: OH MY GOODNESS! Fergie and are getting a little overlap there.  I know her troubles of …”how many ways can you say ‘I’m a girl who likes to dance…dancing is fun with friends’?”  However I do think she’s got a staff to help her.  Sometimes my cat will stare at me and a brilliant line will come.  Like “Moist food is best, I lick my paws cause your floor is dirty.

RH: Who have you been listening to lately? Anybody new you think we’d like, too?

LH: I love that song “This time baby I’m gonna be bullet proof.” [La Roux’s “Bulletproof.”] Other than that, I just got a XM subscription on my iPhone so it’s been all Howard Stern and Dr. Laura.

RH: What’s a typical day for you?

LH: AHH YES. The life I lead is really really awesome.  Not in a “I’m saving the world” way. But I get to really focus on art and what trips my trigger.  As in sew/computer/tv/food/computer/snack = all in my pajamas.  It’s like Internet school up in here.

RH: What were you doing at age seven?

LH:  Obsessed with basketball cards and Paula Abdul.  My belly was filled with Cheetos and strawberry virgin daiquiris.  Life was good.

RH: The lyrics you flip from mainstream rappers are just so great- “ladiesss, would ya braid my hair,”  ”holla if ya hear me”- you had to have listened to rap growing up.

LH:  Not really. Paula Abdul rapped a little; maybe that’s who taught me beat-talkin’.

RH: What is the story behind the Beanie Baby Diva poster on Heftyhideaway.com?

LH: That photo was taken after one trip to the Goodwill here in Ames, Iowa.  I really just bought myself a Beanie Baby Collection.  Instantly.  So it’s just another photo of my need to hoard and collect.  And yes that domain name is real. I bought it YEARS AND YEARS AGO.  John Waters Approved.

RH: In an interview you did with The New Gay, you said, “When I’m going out to get supplies, I’m gonna wear jeans. When I go out to dance I’m gonna wear my homemade outfits that are really too tight, too revealing and too spectacular. There is a switch that I have to flip, day mode to night mode, but we all do it. Does Posh Spice always wear that R2D2 silver suit?”

Is this akin to Beyonce/Sasha Fierce?  Do you have a name for your alter ego?

LH: No. I wasn’t smart enough.  But if I could I’d probably go with something like…Lady Wizard…no, never mind.

RH: Whereas I thought there was an element of empowerment in Lil’ Kim’s very sexual image, now it seems like “femcees” are complete objects; for example, Nicki Minaj acts/rhymes like Rosie the Robot from “The Jetsons.”  You avoid cursing and sex talk in your lyrics.

LH: OH YES, that is a very conscious choice.  I just see way more opportunities as a lady than a sexy talker.  Iowa State Fair being one of them. It’s been a dream to play there.  I’m not in yet but I know it helps my odds.  Also too much nip talk does get tacky. I figure why exclude the kids.

RH: You started a new business venture last year, officiating gay weddings.  Options include an illegal fireworks display, laser tag, and airbrushed “his&his/hers&hers” t-shirts.

LH:  My first wedding was last April.  They were sports about it being my first…and in the middle I did a few quotes from Shania Twain.  LOVE AND TOUCHING I NOW AM THE GATE KEEPER!

RH: Have you still been doing them?

LH: I only ended up doing three weddings. Two lesbian and one straight.  I really thought that’s where it was at.  I’d be the Iowa Elvis of Weddings.  But turns out people like churches and gardens more.  All I have to say is BOrinG.

RH: When can we expect more music?

LH: I’d say I’ve completed four songs so far. One being a mega hit.  So I have about six to go.

RH: A tour in the works, by any chance? Will you be going to SXSW?

LH: I’ve never been asked to do SXSW so I doubt that.  But my own tour- PLAN ON IT.  Once my new cd is done, I will blow the Junior Gem Trumpet of the Dance.  And we shall embarrass once more.

RH: What makes your live show so fun?  I keep reading comments that say it’s the best concert people have ever seen.

LH: I can’t tell you for sure cause then everybody will do it.  But let me just say I might not be able to afford a flight of stairs to dance down…but if I bring a stepladder and people are wasted – it’s pretty darn close to the real thing.

RH: What’s your favorite thing that happened in the past six months?

LH: My Co-op got a new vegan baker.  Hoarders season finale was platinum. And I started making cat beds that I sell at White Rabbit in Iowa City so I’m now getting text photos of people’s cats in their beds.  As the ugly shirts say “Life is Good.”  Let me rephrase that: “Life is the Boo-yah.”

RH: Obviously your 20s have been about makin’ it in this rap game.  What do you hope your “Dirty Thirties” hold?

LH: I AM NOT 30 YET.  ASK ME IN 4 YEARS. But let’s see, mating? Touching? Babies?  Gardening?  Snowmobiling?  Tie Dying? Also crafting like crazy.  But that’s a given.  So much to choose.  I just have a feeling 30s are gonna rule.  My weathered face is ready and my face lotion is powerful. Let’s GO!!

Find Leslie Hall on Facebook: www.facebook.com/people/Leslie-Hall/572509706. You can get her back on the road by booking her through lh@lesliehall.com. She says that’s also a good place for “buying stuff, personal emails, and general chit chat.”

This is an update to an interview originally published on Rebecca Haithcoat’s personal blog. Click here to view original post.