07/11/2024
I've been taking in a bit of the usual pearl clutching and folks all aghast at the current mainstream women rappers getting the majority of the publicity. The Glorillas, Sexxy Redds, ( are the City Girls still a thing?) the Ice Spices and such. The bemoaning of these young women getting the shine (for now) for their over the top vulgarity and such. I know plenty folks on here who can really get down to the marrow of this generational divide, in addition to the deeper societal reasons and issues behind the continued hyper sexualization of young black girls and women and how the industry itself eats of the bodies and labor of said women MC's and has been dining for a loooong time. I am sure someone will chime in and say it has never been this bad or the lyricism of not only the current spotlight rappers but many of the last 15-20 years has been abysmal. Indeed.
But to quote Yasin Bey from his debut solo album cut "Fear Not of Man" from "Black On Both Sides "
"Listen—people be askin' me all the time
"Yo Mos, what's gettin' ready to happen with hip-hop?"
(Where do you think hip-hop is goin'?)
I tell em, "You know what's gonna happen with hip-hop?
Whatever's happening with us"
If we smoked out, hip-hop is gonna be smoked out
If we doin' alright, hip-hop is gonna be doin' alright
People talk about hip-hop like it's some giant livin' in the hillside
Comin' down to visit the townspeople
We are hip-hop
Me, you, everybody, we are hip-hop
So hip-hop is going where we going
So the next time you ask yourself where hip-hop is going
Ask yourself: where am I going? How am I doing?
I'm not gonna go all crossed-arms and puffed out chest "tsk" "tsk" "tsking the younger generation but it comes with the territory of an art form. The elders often critique the young or wag their heads and fingers on some "Look here youngster! We did it like this! You ain't doing it right!" Whereas the youngsters often say "Mmmm yeah, well..we're doing it this way, whether you like it or not".
That clash brings me to an astute comment I heard a younger rapper say once about the difference between OG's & Old Heads.
YBN Cordae of Raleigh NC & Suitland Maryland on an episode of "Everyday Struggle" with Akademics (SMH) and on The Breakfast club a few years back, while explaining the reason he recorded a song alled "Old N*ggas" explained that,
, "The difference is the O.G.'s will be like alright young N*gga, this isn't the way to go, but this is... they'll let you know when you trippin' but they'll give you advice on it. Old heads will be like 'you punk-ass you punk ass young n*ggas! YouknowwhatI'm sayin? Like, you don't know sh*t. That's how it be though."
But what happens when the OG's are locked away ( reminiscent of what happened to many revolutionary clans, movements and so forth when empire's move to crush cultural movements)?
The often overlooked documentary "Bastards of The Party" really lays out the birth of the Los Angeles gang culture in the aftermath of the CointelPro program, when many OG's were locked away and the youngsters were left to find their own way. But I digress.
Queen Latifah, Yo-Yo. MC Lyte, Roxanne Shante, Sha-Roc, Monie Love, Bahamadia, Lady of Rage, Medusa, Nefertiti, Ladybug Mecca, Stahr, Jean Grae, Hurricaine G, Shortie No Mass, Salt, Pepa, Eve Missy, Gangsta Boo (RIP), Rah Digga, Trina and more... are a litany of living women MC OG's
By the early aughts ( 2000's) many of these emcees were in transition. The landscape was changing and analog was shifting to digital. Major labels were getting gobbled up or restructured into lager media conglomerates and imprints and indies were struggling too.
But more alarming was the rapidly rising rate of incarceration among women and girls, and especially black and brown women and girls.
According to The Sentencing Project, a non-profit organization that "advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice".
Between 1980 and 2021, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 525%, rising from a total of 26,326 in 1980 to 168,449 in 2021. While 2020 saw a substantial downsizing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this trend reversed with a 10% increase in 2021.
But I also noticed something else. Many of the top-selling, some would say iconic emcees of the late 90's and early to mid 2000's were going to prison. Not jail, but prison. Regardless of their violations and past experiences and fame and platinum and near platinum sales these now current OG's were catching numbers.
2005: Lil Kim gets a one year stretch for perjury.
2007: Foxy Brown gets a one year stretch for a fight in a salon back in 2004.
In 2008 alone, Da Brat got a 3 year bid for assault with a bottle . Remy Ma got 8 years for assault with a deadly weapon, weapon possession and coercion.
In 2013 Lauryn Hill aka L. Boogie aka Ms. Hill got three months in prison and three months home confinement for tax evasion (note: She paid back the entire $970,000 she owed, but at sentencing the judge said "The defendant does not deserve a get-out-of-jail card for deigning to pay what she owes."
That said, each issue is different but this is the first time we see prominent black women emcees catching serious time and therein lies the dearth of some of the most prominent and iconic emcees who perhaps could have been OG's and perhaps available to the younger rappers coming up.
What does incarceration do to a person? It varies I guess but still the results are no less tragic.
Some of the current rappers making a name for themselves right now were either little children or tweens or perhaps didn't even exist during this period in Hip-Hop but regardless of the rap lineages they outwardly claim, Kim, Lauryn, Inga, Shawnte and Reminisce all have some influence over the current and future generations of emcees coming up, even if it is inadvertent or subliminal, this current crop of emcees (or rappers) making their way in a landscape that has an explosion of emcees but arguably very little difference in style and aesthetic are still part of the messy legacy that is Hip-Hop.
But how then, do we get back to or create an era of parity, with the internet and streaming and algorithms, seemingly placing emphasis and elevating the current "stars" but leaving very little room for the Sa-Roc's , NoName's, Princess Nokia's, ScarLip's, Sampas, Lil Simz, Leikeli47's and yes Rapsodys to get their shine? Which is to say, the variety and diversity of styles and skills is out there but nowadays one has to wade through so much to find what feeds their soul.
(I'm on one today) Ya'll be easy.
This is "Bastards of the Party (Documentary) [Low, 480x360]" by keith salmon on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
