KenTheMan — to get it out of the way immediately — is a woman. It’s a question that comes up almost daily before people meet the Houston rapper.

“I feel like it’s an interesting starting point. I love to talk about it because it’s just about the ego,” she says.

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The artist born Kentavia Miller, now 27, says her stage moniker was an accident. She was uploading tracks toSoundCloudand had to come up with a name. There were countless Kens on the site, so she improvised.

“I just typed it in on SoundCloud,” she says. “Then, people started telling me when I rap that I have this dominance in the booth, this aggression that a man would normally have. I really do feel like my alter ego is a masculine force. I talk about girl stuff, but it’s in a way that a guy would express it.”

Even a quick listen to KenTheMan’s music asserts her claim. Her flow is forceful and confident. Her lyrics are unapologetically explicit, centered on sexual and female empowerment. She’s part of an evolving, expanding line of women embracing their sexuality in music that includes Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.

“I ask myself, ‘What would be wittier? What would be sexier? What’s the ideal’?” she says of her creative process.

Ken’s 2020 breakout single “He Be Like” upped her profile in a big way. It’s from her debut EP “4 da 304’s” and has soared past 10 million streams on Spotify. She wrote the song in 15 minutes during a six-month stint working for Door Dash and Uber Eats.

“I got that job so I could write in the car. I would get home from my waitressing job at 2, 3 in the morning and be tired. I was like, ‘I need something where I can write’,” she says. I literally wrote it while I was Door Dash-ing in a nice neighborood.”

She followed it with last year’s “What’s My Name” EP and a remix of her single “Rose Gold Stripper Pole” featuring 2 Chainz. Last month, Ken was chosen as one of nine emerging performers for the First on SoundCloud 2022 class. The year-long program works with artists to reach career milestones, from live performances to interactive events. She just released the SoundCloud exclusive song “Uh Oh” that samples Lumidee’s 2003 hit “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh).”

“KenTheMan launched her career here first and has been finding special ways to express her vibrant personality and engage with her community,” says Erika Montes, Soundcloud’s vice president of artist and label partnerships. “She’s a talented, multifaceted rapper with a distinct sound.”

The self-described “Northside baby” attended Westfield, Dekaney and Eisenhower high schools. She wrote poetry, sang in choir and was part of girl groups but struggled with shyness when performing in front of people.

“I have videos on YouTube of me freestyling, sipping some of my dad’s gin in a wine glass, trying to act drunk,” she says with a laugh.

But it wasn’t until Ken dated a guy who dabbled in rap that she realized it was what she wanted to do.

“We would freestyle in the car. One day when he was in the studio, I ended up writing a verse. And it sucked, of course. I didn’t know how to record or anything,” she says.

“Then, he broke my heart. So I made a real song (‘Chiraq Freestyle’), and I dissed him.”

That 2015 track made considerable noise locally. It’s still available on SoundCloud and draws obvious inspiration from Nicki Minaj, one of Ken’s biggest inspirations. In fact, it was a Minaj documentary that pushed Ken to continue rapping after she struggled for a year with writer’s block.

“She woke up something in me. I just started speaking and manifesting, ‘I really want to rap.’ I really am a big believer in the power of the tongue. I even shed a tear because I’d never been passionate about anything,” she says. “I was trying to find myself. I found myself in music.”

KenTheMan is dropping a full-length album this summer that plays to all sides of her growing fanbase. She also plans to incorporate more singing into her music, maybe through an alter ego. And more of the humor that often pops through her social media posts.

“I’m actually a joke nine times out of ten,” she says. So when you see me maybe a little serious in a video, it’s because the director says, ‘Serious face’ or something like that.”

And despite the nonstop hustle, Ken puts self-care at the top of her list. It’s a necessity. She’s a “day-to-day mother” to a nine-year-old son.She spends as much time as she can binge-watching in bed. Among her favorites are the “Fast & Furious,” “The Kissing Booth,” “The Conjuring” and “Insidious” film series. It’s prompted thoughts of yet another career move.

I love movies and TV. I want to act. But I think I’m too goofy. I laugh a lot,” she says. “I want to be an assassin, like Salt. But I feel like I’m too short to do it. I want to take a whole year of fighting classes and kickboxing and Muay Thai. I would commit myself to that role. Nunchucks, what you want?”

KenTheMan on ...

The most surprising thing in my music collection:I like Paramore, Misery Business.” I know all the words. I should do a freestyle over it. My newest if “We Are Young” (by fun.), even though it’s old.

The first music I purchased with my own money:I bought a hard copy of Beyoncé’s “B-day.”

My favorite snack when I’m watching TV in bed:I’ll eat anything. I’ll eat Benihana in the bed. I’m a bed-eater. I’ll be brushing the crumbs off, popping the covers. I don’t snack. When I eat, I eat.

A song that always makes me move:“We taking over for the '99 and the 2000” or “C’mon and do the rodeo” — something Juvenile. It don’t matter where you at. Let ‘em play Juvenile in church. Everybody gets up.

Must-haves on the road:I need water, juice, my manager, my phone, a fan, towel, baby wipes. The list goes on now, OK?

My last splurge:I’m about to go splurge today and go to Iceman Nick. I want some Cuban bracelets and a Cuban necklace. And I want to get my 304 chain.

Something that makes me happy:Laying in the bed watching TV. That is my happiness, even when I’m on vacation. I can’t wait to get home to get in my real bed. I’m so boring. People would never get that from my music.

—JG