Ladies

An amazing range of things emerged for me at my Wandering Muse day at the Rock The Bells Hip Hop Festival last Sunday. I'm not going to attempt to cover it all in one post but I will say I left satisfied that my love of Tribe Called Quest & KRS-One is rooted in something far greater than nostalgia alone. That said, I started the day struggling inside. Outwardly, I feel like my struggle for hip hop is to allow people to hear the music beyond the stereotype, to help myself and others bridge the cultural gap and experience the universal messages. Inwardly, my major struggle with hip hop is a lack focus on female representation. Where my ladies at?! We need to step up, drop money, be heard, and represent because the hip hop industry is not doing that for us.

The line up was almost entirely men. The only woman in the line up was Lauryn Hill, DIVA beyond DIVA! Yes, she gets accolades for her talent but her behavior lacks respect for her peers, the musicians on stage with her, and her fans, which makes me not want to be one anymore. And that is what we had to represent the ladies at the longest running, most successful hip hop festival in the world. Seriously? Then looking around, well, there were some women in the crowd. Maybe 1 to 7 or so. I'll admit I do fall into that consumer stereotype of women when it comes to events like this. I have pride in my love of hip hop music, culture, and art. And while I'm not rich, I'm willing to drop money to support it and represent it. I was looking for art/clothes that represented hip hop and consciousness. I was happy to see quite a bit of it. More than the gangsta bent that the mainstream associates with rap, if not hip hop. The problem... "Do you have that in women's sizes?" I had several vendors look at me with a blank stare as if I wasn't speaking in English. Argh!

Let's start with MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Pam The Funkstress, Salt-n-Pepa, Miss Elliott, Lil Kim, Eve, M.I.A., Lady of Rage, Foxy Brown, Angie Stone, Erykah Badu, Goddess Alchemy Project, Lil Mama, J.J. Fad, Monie Love, Jean Grae, Khia, Remy Ma, Fergie, and it goes on and on. Those are just the artists representing the ladies in the house! There are far more of us in the listening/paying audience. I hate to say it but it seems to me that at least at this venue for hip hop women are being subjugated in a way that has nothing to do with objectifying lyrics. One's presence must be acknowledged, let alone valued, in the hip hop market place.

I should mention that KRS-One spoke to the absolute importance of women to hip hop and hip hop culture. It's not the first time this man has managed to keep me open by acknowledging what is burning in me. I'll always love and respect his wisdom. Still, where is my female Teacha? I know she's not silent but she's also not being heard.

Hm...