She's The Bestest...

This past summer, those in the Hip Hop world zeroed in on channel 54 (or whatever channel BET is for you) to watch “My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women & Hip Hop”. This was BET’s first-ever original documentary and it was time for the Hip Hop community to engage in dialogue on the ‘Female MC’ and how they largely impacted Hip Hop. BET was actually doing something right.

In the 1990s, women MCs exploded and what they had to offer wasn’t in comparison to what the male MC offered. Style, sexuality and authenticity caught our attention and we were hooked. The Lauryn Hills, Missy Elliots, Lil Kims, MC Lytes and Foxy Browns all provided some element to rap music that made many of us want to keep on listening. Whether it was MC Lyte’s lyrical prowess, Missy Elliot’s sick creativity or Lauryn Hill’s powerful & thought-provoking lyrics to educate, as consumers we couldn’t get enough. But we had reached a point where all these great female MCs were not in mainstream media and many people in the Hip Hop community began to raise questions: ‘where did the Female MC go?’

Onika Tanya Maraj, whom we all know as Nicki Minaj, came onto the Hip Hop scene during the late 2000s. Nicki was that typical young girl from Jamaica, Queens whom freestyled and had a dream. One day Lil Wayne heard her and her dream began to unravel into a reality. The BET documentary ended with Missy informing the audience that Female MCs are not going anywhere and they are still here. Nicki Minaj is a clear validation of Missy’s statement. Many people have criticized her work and whether she really contributes to Hip Hop or music as a whole.

Stay tuned every Monday as I dedicate it “Minaj Monday” where you and I can get into serious dialogue about Nicki Minaj and her success in the industry thus far.

1-2-3: Hip Hop lives in You & Me

         “For most of its public life hip hop has poignantly reflected the steadily shifting currents in American social, political, and pop cultural life.”  - S. Craig Watkins

         Hip Hop is a cultural movement that evolved through the years to speak to the masses through lyrics, beats, rhymes and fashion. From the “Boogie Down Bronx” came artists like KRS-One and none other than Sugarhill Gang. In 1979, Sugarhill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight”, which became the first Billboard charted rap single and since then Hip Hop never left the scene.

We began to hear the smooth rhymes of Slick Rick: la-di-da-di La-di-da-di we like to party; to “It’s like that”, the real lyrics of Run D.M.C. So what has changed? There is no doubt that the music industry has evolved and the world of Hip Hop is not how it was in 1982, but the fiery lyrics of poverty in urban communities, issues surrounding race and gender has not left. It is just time to make these poetic words more mainstream. Hip Hop’s purpose is to serve as a voice for those who may have become silenced & to embrace a whole youth culture... I am most certain that its purpose is still there!