My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women in Hip Hop

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Phrozen1ne

I watched it and thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish they could have had more old school female mcs but it was good to see Roxanne Shante, Salt N Pepa, Nikki D,etc. I grew up on MC Lyte, Monie Love, and Queen Latifah and listen to Foxy, Kim, and Eve. So I have experienced the beginning to now.

They did pretty well with the old school emcees and underground emcees. My favorite emcee has always been and always will be Rakim. I always loved Nikki D because she had a flow like Rakim.

Originally Posted by Phrozen1ne

I thought it was interesting when they stated that nowadays a female MC has to have a strong male rapper in the game to give her the boost that she needs. For example, Lil Kim was a product of Biggie and had no plans of being as explicit as she was when she came out until he convinced her to switch up her style. She was the first to get notoriety for XXX lyrics and it helped her become big. Nikki Minaj got a boost from lil Wayne. I think Nikki is talented, but I can't stand that patty cake rap that is prevalent in a lot of her music. People in the industry have only been hyping her so much because her looks, her stamp of approval (lil Wayne), and because there aren't many female MCs out there that are willing to put it all out there sexually like she does, which is what the industry wants. People like Irv Gotti had compared her to Lauryn Hill! WTF Trina stated exactly what was going on with the rap industry now: You can be talented, but people want something to look at visually. I wish Foxy could get off the ignorant wagon because she really could be doing big things again in the industry. The mixtapes that she has pumped out are CRAZY!

Originally Posted by Phrozen1ne

I also think Missy Elliot needs to get credit for keeping fun rap alive.

Biggie was the frontman for Lil Kim and Charli Baltimore. It's interesting how Kim made it big but Baltimore never did.

Nikki Minaj has a flow that makes people say "who is this" even if her flow is garbage. The same goes for Lil Wayne. You may hate his flow but wonder who is the guy with the strange voice and funny phrases. As for Minaj's looks, she's plastic surgery from head to toe.

Elliott kept fun rap alive and reminded us of how hip hop started. It was part activism and the rest fun.

Originally Posted by Phrozen1ne

When they spoke about the Lauryn Hill factor not being present in the industry I thought that sad. I like that Lauryn played the game by her rules and that along with speaking her mind on wax, she never compromised herself to sell records. It did come back to bite her in the ass though. Although she is slowly getting back into the swing of things, her man and the industry took her through alot and I feel her heart isn't in it. You can tell by viewing recent performances on youtube. She has mouths to feed and I think that is the only reason she is coming back, so she might be Lauryn Hill, but not the one we were use to.

Originally Posted by Phrozen1ne

I do think independent labels are the way to go and I was happy to see Jean Grae representing. I tend to listen to more independent artists of all genres nowadays more than the mainstream stuff.

It's a shame that Hill's single isn't taking off like I thought it would. But, it's great to see her back.

Originally Posted by Phrozen1ne

Also there is a difference between MC and rapper. For example, Trina is a rapper. And on that note... Monie in The Middle

Indeed. I doubt Trina would ever say she's an emcee and keep a straight face.

Monie tolls the line between rapper and emcee. She seemed more emcee in "Ladies First" and more rapper in "Buddy" and "Monie in the Middle." She has a great flow but I wouldn't call her a "lyricist."**

**I also wouldn't call people like Jay-Z lyricists. He's definitely a rapper as far as I'm concerned. A decent rapper and an excellent business man. He should not be confused with being an emcee. I hate Jay-Z less now than I did 5-10 years ago. But I still don't like him beyond being an excellent business man with an awesome sense of self and style.