SW 18: R.I.P. to the Female Emcee

Hip-hop legend MC Lyte & acclaimed journalist and author of "When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost" Joan Morgan @ Lehigh University. Photos taken by CalvinJohn Smiley

Scratch Magazine recently ran a great article (if not for the actual content, just for the sheer acknowledgement of the problem) posing the question "where is the female mc?" While it has been some time since I've read the article, I remember walking away with the notion that labels have essentially come to the conclusion that signing and promoting a female emcee is simply not worth it. Female hip-hop acts, as they see it, are more high maintenance, and traditionally do not sell as many records as their male counterparts. From a practical standpoint, half of this statement is true- compare the costs of a full time stylist, hair person and makeup person to the cost of a few new era caps and a box of white-tees and you'll start seeing their point. However, the other half of the assertion, that being that female emcees simply cannot be successful in the marketplace is a crock of shit, and really just stems from the laziness and cowardice of the industry.

Author Joan Morgan raised an incredible point at a recent university lecture: Nelly Furtado has done hip-hop records with Timbaland (whether you want to admit it or not, they are talking in rhyme on that "Promiscuous" song), Gwen Stefani's biggest hit off of her solo record was the Pharrell helmed "Hollaback Girl", Fergie is backed and no doubt coached by Will.I.Am, and Shakira just scored a huge summer smash with Wyclef. By the way, am I the only one that got hype everytime that song started, thinking it was Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz "Deja Vu", only to be profoundly and utterly disappointed, everytime? In any case, those particular pairings were mentioned to point out that the black male hip-hop producer is being promoted and marketed as a desirable brand, yet there are virtually no black female voices coming from a hip-hop perspective that are being sold in a similar way. When female hip-hop artists are sold as desirable, it's not in the aspirational manner that a Pharrell Louis Vuitton advertisement may convey, but rather in a base, oversexualized, and exploitative context. The black female voice in hip-hop has become more marginalized than ever, with labels deciding that it simply can't be sold in the way an arguably culturally appropriating artist such as Fergie, has the ability to (sidenote: Hipster suicidal as it may sound, I actually kind of dig her single, although I think she jacked both Shawnna & MIA's whole entire steez).

Unless Lady Sov makes a strong enough impact, Lauryn Hill finally returns in full form or a Pharrell takes initiative to find the next Ms. Hill and subsequently throws his full support behind this artist, then the female emcee in general, and the black female emcee in particular, will soon be a thing of the past. No worries though; little white, brown and black girls will still have people like the wanna be Vida Guerras in a rap video to take an example from.

Queen Latifah - "Ladies First"
from 7th Wonder's "Daisy Lady"

Queen Latifah - "Just Another Day"
Herb Alpert's "Making Love in the Rain"

Queen Latifah - "Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children"
from Dennis Coffey's "Scorpio"

Yo Yo - "Black Pearl"
from All The People's "Cramp Your Style"

Lauryn Hill - "Sweetest Thing"
from Rhythm Heritage's "Theme from SWAT"

Fugees - "The Score"
from Cymande's "Dove"

MC Lyte - "Lil' Paul"
from Detroit Emeralds' "You're Getting A Little Too Smart"

MC Lyte - "Bad Sister"
from Whatnauts' "Help is on the Way"

[Palms Out is on MySpace]