San Francisco Rapper So Vicious Carries on Her Mother’s Legacy

In early February, as Bayview-Hunters Point rapper So Vicious was busy recording a follow-up to her 2024 album Verbal Gymnastics, she left the studio, called her mom and decided to pay her a visit.

It would be the last time the two would see each other.

Her mother, Loretta S. Wilcher, who’d suffered from heart complications, unexpectedly passed in her sleep on Feb. 9. With her mother’s passing, So Vicious is postponing her next release and taking some time off before taking over her mother’s business and furthering her legacy.

So Vicious also plans to use her art to honor the legacy of women like her mother, starting with the upcoming Women of Legacy | A Day To Honor Herstory event in Oakland, where she’ll perform alongside Alien Mac Kitty, the Conscious Daughters and more.

Inheriting a work ethic

A proud representative for her city, So Vicious is a versatile lyrical artist who can recite gangsta bars, make party songs and drop introspective rhymes. She came on the scene a decade ago with the back-to-back releases Vicious Lessons and Couples Therapy.

Over the course of her career, she’s worked with hometown artists like RBL Posse’s Black C and Lil Kayla. Last year, So Vicious dropped a standout verse on Yung Lott’s innovative album F.l.o.o.d Project, which revises classic songs with uplifting messages from Frisco artists.

Constantly working, over the past few months So Vicious has performed in Santa Cruz with Kamaiyah, in Modesto with ALLBLACK and in San Francisco during NBA All-Star Weekend.

“I learned my work ethic from my mom,” says the rapper, who started working with her mother at the age of 12.

One of two children, So Vicious saw her mother work for the Department of Justice up until retirement, and later as a Chase Center security guard. Her mother was also an entrepreneur, a certified notary and the owner of Love Shoe Boutique.

“Seeing her get up every day, going to work and coming back with the fly clothes, it motivated me,” says So Vicious. “I wanted to be like that.”

‘I’ve got to make her proud’

A pillar of the community, “Ms. Wilcher” or “Momma Vicious” (as she was known by some) was born and raised in San Francisco. Living between Bayview-Hunters Point, Double Rock and Potrero Hill, Wilcher would often attend Board of Supervisors meetings to speak on behalf of the community.

Initially a piano player and poet, So Vicious says her mother would listen as she put her lyrics to beats. As the artist grew, so did her mother’s support.

During one of her recent shows, her mother, standing stageside, was pushed by a fan who was excited to see So Vicious perform. “It made her feel good that somebody was that excited to see her daughter,” she reflects.

As humans we learn from everybody, but women bring life into the world, says So Vicious. “We say this is a man’s world,” she tells me, considering what it means to carry on her mother’s legacy, “but literally, I think it’s a woman’s world.”

The event in Oakland later this month will be an example of what it looks like when women to come together in a world — specifically, an entertainment industry — which often pits women against one another. “I feel like it’s strength in numbers,” says So Vicious of the lineup for the upcoming show. “You could do more and accomplish so much more when everybody comes together.”

And she’s personally committed to holding down her end of the bargain, especially for her mother.

“God must be showing me something,” So Vicious says, adding that she was also in a car accident at the start of this year. “Where I’m at emotionally and just in my grieving process, I just plan to even go even harder now. You know what I’m saying? I’ve got to make her proud.”

So Vicious appears at ‘Women of Legacy | A Day to Honor Herstory’ on Sunday, March 30, from 3 p.m.–8 p.m. at Lux Oakland (1100 Franklin St., Oakland). Details here.