Arts
Taurus Lenoir remembers journaling as a 10-year-old. As an adult rapper, she rarely writes anything down before she hears a beat. Lenoir said the music inspires her words. "My sister encouraged freestyling off instrumentals, not even writing a song, just freestyling on that beat, going off the top of your head. So we would just do that for fun," Lenoir recalled. "She knew what she wanted to do. Me, I was just flowing with the wind. I don't think she was like 'Pursue this rap career,' but I think she was just like 'You got talent right here.'" Lenoir goes by the stage name Suruat --it's her first name spelled backwards--and she works in a form of rap music called trap. That often combines minimalist beats with graphic lyrics. She's performing her music as part of a comedy lineup Sept. 2 at the Orange Peel and over Labor Day weekend as part of the Goombay Festival in downtown Asheville. Lenoir grew up in Asheville's Hillcrest Apartments, where she says she was picked on by other kids. She