Hip hop has been waiting for Nezi Momodu. It's always a 

treat to hear a dope MC whose a woman.





Her mixtape is available on Soundcloud:

Women Rappers. Where have they been you ask?

They say there aren't many female emcees, or "femcees" worthy of being noticed. I find that's hardly the case. Women have been rapping for quite some time now, it's just that they don't get noticed for some reason. In order to get noticed in the first place, it seems they have to get a new a$$ OR their subject matter gets in the way. Rap is very male dominated, especially more so with fans. A male fan doesn't want to hear about how she got "dicked down" (lack of a better phrase) by her man, nor does he want to hear about various things that only a woman can speak on, or metaphors geared toward that. I remember somebody saying something along the lines of "If a chick is ugly, she will be judged on talent alone". That says a lot right there. All in all, lady emcees  don't seem to get marketed well in general. Bahamadia was dope back in the day. Jean Grae struggled for a long time. Nitty Scott is dope so is Boog Brown,and Rhapsody but they don't have the marketing that Nikki Minaj had, and she had to get a fake butt and breasts to get noticed. This article sums it up best," Currently, the genre of women mainstream hip hop is monopolized by one or two female rappers now. In order for a woman emcee to break through the glass ceiling, she has to a) create or initiate beef with an already established artist, b) be white and co-signed by a major black rapper or producer (i.e. Kreyshawn and Iggy Azelea) or, c) as Erykah Badu once stated in an interview, “do some ho- sh-t.” Emcees like 3D Na’Tee, Nitty Scott MC, Farrah Burns, and Rapsody won’t be heard or seen in mainstream media because they’re not perpetuating the stereotypes of female rappers that have been around for almost twenty years."  That's pretty telling, if you ask me. Why is that? Whenever I ask this question, they always say that the artist "didn't bring anything to the game," as if (insert any sex fueled woman rap artist) has added "something different" to the game. When I say, they aren't selling their asses to get noticed, then here comes the, "What are they doing musically that's different"?  Really?  Rap styles come in waves. There are a million rappers who sound the same. What are they doing  musically that's "different"?  For example, gangsta rap has been done over millions of times with the same story, but different flows and beats. Club music has been done over and over. What's different about these is the person rapping them and that's it. Jean Grae has been doing her own thing and she is seriously dope, but hasn't gotten the shine she deserved over the years, and as a result, she's done with rapping and is on to different things. Why couldn't she get that support? Her story in the rap industry, (among many other women who came before) is pretty upsetting.  That being said, here are a few artists that have been doing it for a minute now, but haven't received much shine:

Tiff The Gift


StaHHr

Honey the Hippie

Neiva Eure

Nitty Scott, MC (already mentioned, but I had to add this song)

Thoughts?

How can females like rap music?

Over the years, I've been asked this question a million times.  As an avid rap fan for many years, I have struggled with it as well. I have gone through several phases where I would ban various artists from my ears because they constantly referred to females as all types of "bitches" and/or "hoes".  It didn't matter if they did it all day or maybe just once in a while.  I used to show complete distain for women who dance to songs that showed flagrant disregard for females, and even once thought the artist as possibly being gay due to the vitriol they spewed fourth when it came to their relations with women, because I felt these artists were responsible for why young guys felt it was acceptable to ask a random chick walking down the street whether or not they would let the guy "do her neck" (true story), and have the audacity to act hurt when the girl became offended by what was said.  Meanwhile, flashing cash in ridiculous ways and artists rapping to their fans saying in so many words that we won't ever have shit, won't be shit, and can't do shit, so stop hating and buy their cd while calling us broke mofos all at the same time started to get on  my nerves after a while.  It got to the point where I would question the motive of said artists, and ask, "Why would people want to buy their stuff so they could get crapped on in their ear? That's like some sadomasochistic type stuff right there."  So I'm going to address these topics first and foremost since they seem to stand out the most for me, and a lot of other people I'm sure.

Now before readers jump all over me for lambasting rap music and attacking artists for what they do or what I perceive they did, please note that I said, " I used to".  Here is why I came to that conclusion and what I did in order to continue to enjoy the art and do so unapologetically:

Regarding women dancing to degrading music:
Sure, some artists do that, but as a female, I must examine the situation closely. First I must understand that in a lot of cases, the artist is a guy. (The female artists who degrade are not off the hook yet. I'll get to them a bit later,lol).  Guys in general talk that talk amongst each other. They have done so for years. The only difference is that it has been publicized in various art forms. Women of all races have been disrespected for centuries, its just that no one has talked about it and it was the norm.  I have come to the conclusion that the artists are telling their "locker room stories" to other guys.  Sure, back in the day,if they were talking in a park, they might have quieted down when they saw a female walk by, but in reality they have no idea whether the person on the other end of the speakers is a female.   Men tell tales of sexual conquest (and so do women), and sometimes things get trumped up. Yes their audience is a whole lot bigger now, and yes some things shouldn't get aired out like that, but who are we to silence them?  I could play the "well they should have been raised better" card, but I guarantee that those who were "raised better" probably did or said similar things back in the day. The difference is the story about that particular female hasn't been blasted across the world.  Women have dealt with it and will still continue to, be it by dancing to the music or starting a movement of sorts.  If they chose to dance to it, then so be it. I can't account for anybody's actions but my own, and I really don't have time to worry about what they are doing.

For the record, I am not for the disrespect of women, and I am not calling all women "queens" so to speak. Yes there are shady men and women out there. Face it. All men aren't "kings"either. There are just as many trifling mofos out there as terrible women. As we go out into the world we are bound to run across (or become)one of these fools (men or women). It is our choice to keep company with them, not associate with them, or become them. This also applies to the female rappers who talk trash about men or women as well.

My take regarding female rappers and sexuality:

Ladies: Men are visual creatures. Men are mostly the fan base. Therefore a lot of the mainstream female rap artists are catering to that demographic.  Men don't want to hear about how some guy did a girl wrong, a break up to make up relationship, lost love,or growing up as a young woman, etc. A lot of men want to hear how the artist can sex them up while looking hot as well.  Unfortunately, there are some female artists who don't really want to be known for all of that,but still appear as "grown and sexy" so these artists get the short end of the stick when it comes to gaining exposure.

My stance on women degrading women.

Women can be very jealous. It shows its ugly head in various ways (2 women+ same outfit = #hellisfinabreaklooseupinhurr).  So depending on the women, she may attempt to deflect it by saying something along the lines of, "Fuck these hoes and bitches! Can't nobody do it like me", etc.  Strangely enough, the same goes with guys in the club, except there might be an unsettled issue (or same outfit scenario) that might cause a fight or worse, bullets.   Again, it depends on how the person deals with it.  Rap music is all about status. Always has been, always will be. This leads me to the next thing to watch for:  Rapping about "Bling"

Remember Erick B and Rakim's album cover, "Paid In Full" ?  That cover was made in 1987, long before the so called, "Bling Era" of rap.  Note the stack of money, the chains, and the "fly" clothes of the day donned by them, not to  mention the title of the album.  The whole album is about getting  paid. in. full., or cutting out the middle man so to speak.

I also used to get annoyed about the flaunting of cash by No Limit, and Cash Money Records.  But guess what?  Everybody wants money, new clothes, a nice car, and a house.  It's a universal phenomenon in this country.  I know I like to be able to go shopping every once in a while, I buy jewelry once in a while, and I want to eat good as well.  Yes, No Limit and Cash Money and various other camps, or artists were a bit excessive with it, but that's how they chose to spend their money. Sure, I could do without the platinum teeth encrusted with diamonds, the Lamborghini  with the suicide doors, and a pool in my living room, but a lot of rappers rap about having "thangs" so to speak. I could listen to Nappy Roots spit about cars all day long, because they do it so well, but it was torture listening to Still Fly from Big Tymers.


I guess what I'm saying here is in order for a female to still enjoy rap music, she needs to do this:
The trick is to search for artists who rap well and fit your music tastes. It was a lot harder to search for music back in the day because it meant you needed to do some traveling to the music shop, dub some tapes from your friends, etc, but we have the internet for God's sake! So  much is at our finger tips it's insane!  Yes, it takes time to find these artists, but when I find them, either I'm pleasantly surprised, or I have another album or mixtape I have to discard.  The best part about it is a lot of the stuff I find is free, so I don't waste any money.

I can hold on to my Jean Grae, Rah Digga, and Bahamadia cds in hopes more dope female emcees will take the underground crown, and get noticed for having flows and not being hoes while hearkening back to the so called "Good ol' days " when Monie Love, Roxanne Shante, MC Lyte, Salt and Peppa ran the game, or I can get busy looking for artists like these:
Boog Brown
K-Rino
NYOIL
Signif
Declaime
Jasiri X
Horse Shoe Gang
Ill Sevenz Music Group
The Left
Nitty Scott, MC
Invincible
Tiye Phoenix

On that note, I hope I encourage you to start digging the e-crates to find your new favorite artists.  Hopefully, I can get another female out there (or male for that matter) to like hip hop and realize that hip hop is not dead, it is alive and and well, kickin it in the underground.