I asked a few women in hip
hop to answer to the question below:
What do female MC's have to offer Hip Hop? In your opinion, what do they bring to the table?
Tachelle "Shamash" Wilkes, founder of www.femmixx.com
"Hip hop is so out of balance now - men are
being pushed by the mainstream and pumped by the media while the sisters stay on
the sidelines waiting to get in. It seems like a set up - becoming a microcasm
of the destruction of Black and Latino families. What I mean by this is that a
large percentage of the rap music that is "hot" breaks us down as a people and
totally degrades and negates the what women have to offer. How did we go from
being kings and queens to "Niggas," and "Bitches?" How did we go from brothers
singing to sistas about how they loved us and wanted to raise a family to
telling us to "back that thing up," and calling us everything but a child of
God. Something is totally out of balance here.
Simultaneously as women in
hip hop we have to step our game up and get our music out in this digital age to
put not just hip hop, but music and ultimately our communities back on course,
and I have to give props to those brothers who are loving sistas and who have
our backs - props to those brothas who refuse to degrade us in their music and
continue to uplift us on a daily."
Femmixx.com
The Home Of Female Music Producers, DJs
& Emcees, check Tachelle's film "Lady Beatmakers" here.
Goldie Deane, D.C. based Hip Hop Theater Artist/Educator w/Words, Beats & Life:
"Perspective. Women think different than men, there is something complex in our thoughts and our flow. Whether its the diverse melodies of their voice or extremities of their delivery, they have everything to offer if not more. Female emcees have an experience and deserves to be shared. Its harder for them to get on so their usually hungrier than your average radio sensation rapper."
Dr. Kyra Gaunt,
Ethnomusicologist/Singer
"What we bring is the
counterpoint, the filling of the void where men's voices don't tread, that which
they cannot say or see, what they wish they could, the antidote to violent
reactions and manhood tested, and female demands for excellence from not just
men but the community of life. Women bring the artistry men cannot see for all
their bravado and we bring a table to share around."
Check out Dr. Gaunt online here and on BBC Radio here.
Queen GodIs, Poet/Emcee from Brooklyn:
"What do I bring to the table as an emcee who is female? In many cases, I bring the dag on table! - not only quality music and content, but detail, thoughtfulness, creativity and a long-term vision upon which to lay these goods so that others can have a wholesome feast.
Hip Hop is a potluck of sorts. Everyone brings something...no matter how rich or trifling, talented or bland. Some people always bring drinks. Others always bring desserts. Then there are those who not only bring the main course, but the necessary cups, utensils, napkins, foil and even the table upon which we eat.
I find that most women tend to bring things to the 'party' that many others just forget. Besides, It is a luxury to forget things when there is an auntie, mama or sista-friend who - by nature - remembers to pack the stuff that others neglect or simply just hate to carry.
The truth is, talent, skill and appeal are neither wholly male nor female. Most amazing artists have properties of both masculine and feminine principles that I think enhance their craft. The strongest, most well-rounded male artists on the scene (in my opinion) seem to have a connection with their feminine instinct that makes what they are serving both desirable, long-lasting and complete..."
Check out Queen Godis and her debut album POWER U! here and here.
Live performance by Queen GodIs
