hip hop

Queen Shit: Lil’ Kim Celebrates 25 Years as Rap’s OG Doll

Lil’ Kim’s personas have long been a point of contention among many hip hop listeners concerned with women’s representation in the genre.

What the T.I. and Tiny Abuse Allegations Reveal about Hip Hop and Power

We don’t live in a society where the abused get justice. Read more »

Short Shelf Life: For Women in Hip Hop, Aging Is a Heavy Burden

Men may have been able to eclipse ageism, but women in hip hop are still obscured by it. Read more »

Cultural Disruptors: City Girls Flip Misguided Stereotypes into Their Superpower

City on Lock is their ethos at its finest—taking the stereotypes stacked against them as bold, Black women who demand good sex and long money, and flipping them into their super power.  Read more »

Petty, Egotistical Barbs Overshadow J. Cole’s Important Message

Holding people, including Black celebrities accountable for their inaction or misguided action, isn’t an attack or an attempt to create undue separation between Black men and Black women.  Read more »

Black Barbie in Bulgari: Revisiting Hip Hop’s Ghetto Fabulous Era

Though ghetto fabulousness doesn’t quite look the same as it did in 1997, its influence lives on.    Read more »

Beyond Expectations: Lil Nas X Forges a Freer, More Fluid Hip Hop

Lil Nas X is as interested in complicating genre as he is in complicating expectations of men in the music industry. Read more »

“Cuz I Love You” Invites Women to a Self-Love that Runs Deeper than Hashtags

Cuz I Love You’s self-love anthems aren’t cheesy, forced, or performative, thanks to Lizzo’s evolution as an artist. Read more »

Hell Hath No Fury: The Importance of Black Women’s Rage in Music

Black women’s screams are often purposefully ignored, but channeling that anger in music forces people to pay attention. Read more »

Rapped Up: Why Can’t the Mainstream Media Address Female MCs One at a Time?

As soon as the spotlight expands to allow another woman in, critics trip over themselves, cranking out long articles stuffed with several different female artists. Read more »

BitchTapes: Tunes For The Perfect Summer Pool Party

Summer’s in full swing, and so too are pool parties. Read more »

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