0:02

From I Heeart podcasts, I

0:04

Am Fab five Freddie and this

0:07

this fifty years of hip hop podcast

0:10

series. Without question,

0:12

hip hop game changers and innovators

0:15

always included women, going

0:17

way back to the beginning of this hip hop music

0:19

game. Talking about Shah Rock aka

0:22

Mother of the Mic, to Queen Latifa

0:25

and her incredible un I t Y

0:27

to MC light, one of Brooklyn's

0:29

finests. These women and others

0:31

are recognized as the pioneering

0:33

ladies of hip hop and significant

0:36

to helping amplify female

0:38

voices within this rap

0:40

genre. Doctor Joy licensed

0:43

psychologists and hosts of the mental

0:45

health podcast Therapy for

0:47

Black Girls.

0:49

So when I think about the history

0:51

of women in hip hop and their contributions

0:53

to the genre, I really feel like there

0:56

would be no hip hop without women. I think, as

0:58

we think about most few us, you

1:00

know, women make significant contributions,

1:03

right, and there is a whole perspective and

1:05

a whole viewpoint that you don't get

1:07

if women are not a part of any kind

1:09

of background. And so when I think about,

1:11

you know, some of the earliest participants in hip

1:14

hop, Black Queen Latifah, you know, just

1:16

thinking about like the kinds of things they would

1:18

rap about and incorporate into their music.

1:20

Were just very different than I think what men were

1:23

talking about at the time, And I think that women

1:26

really pose like an interesting

1:29

mirror in a lot of ways to kind of

1:31

hold up like, hey, like the field can be about

1:33

more than just these things that people are talking

1:35

about, Like they're all these concerns that women have in

1:38

terms of equality and like sexual

1:40

assault and domestic violence, like all of these

1:42

things that I think were really important to

1:44

talk about as a part of the music as

1:46

well as just like making fun music, right, Like I

1:48

think just making good songs and like things that

1:50

people they enjoy has also been an

1:52

important part of women's contribution.

1:55

Rod Digger, rapper and actress.

1:57

Well, I feel like the perspective of

2:00

women is particularly in hip

2:02

hop, is a is a unique because

2:04

we have these hard exteriors

2:06

because we all.

2:07

Understand that the male dominated

2:09

sport, but at the same time,

2:12

we bring the nurture to the situation.

2:14

We bring the element to hip

2:16

hop that probably you wouldn't

2:18

have got if it was just men.

2:20

With men, we know there's a lot of bravado

2:24

and ba chiese folks, but we as

2:26

women, we tapped into our

2:28

softer sides and we know how

2:30

to bring the feelings out

2:33

of men and things like that.

2:35

So I would say we are probably

2:37

responsible for the ladies

2:40

love ll You

2:42

know, we get lovable.

2:43

Boys, we get the we get

2:45

the dear mama like men

2:48

being able to tap into their feelings

2:50

and understand the importance

2:52

of a woman and hold

2:55

us in that regard.

2:56

SHOUTI das music industry

2:58

executive.

2:59

Some of the founding women of hip hop.

3:01

From an artist perspective, you

3:03

know, I would have to shout out rock Sane Chante,

3:06

Queen Latifa, EMC, like

3:09

Monie Love Yo yo.

3:12

They were some of the first

3:14

women of hip hop and and of

3:17

course Missy Elliott who came later.

3:18

But the ladies that I just mentioned,

3:21

they kicked it off.

3:22

They made it full for female rappers,

3:24

right, They opened the doors for female rappers

3:26

and made it possible.

3:28

And quite honestly, you.

3:29

Know, not as big of an artist, but

3:31

I got to give it up to j J Fad because coming you

3:34

know from the a like, I love JJ Fad.

3:36

You know, we listened because it kind of felt it

3:38

fell into that booty shape vibe for us.

3:44

So shout out to JJ fab.

3:46

You know, I was a young girl listening to Rock Sand

3:48

Chante and all the different versions right of

3:51

rock Stan Rock Sand.

3:52

It came out back in the day, and of course.

3:54

Like when Queen Latifa did you and I t wire

3:56

like that was everything for me as a black woman,

3:58

Like it gave me a sin of pride as a

4:00

woman.

4:01

I love that, you know.

4:04

We had female rappers that were holding

4:06

their own and getting the respect that they deserved.

4:08

Because we know that hip hop was a very male

4:10

it still had as a very male dominated industry,

4:13

and so those ladies made

4:15

it okay for women to be in hip hop as artists,

4:18

as executives like myself, and

4:20

it just made us feel good about ourselves and

4:22

it created this sense of unity. I

4:24

do feel like when those

4:27

ladies, the Empty Lights, the Queen Latifa's, the

4:29

Yo Yo's, and all those ladies came

4:31

out initially Moneyloves, they

4:34

instilled unity and pride amongst

4:36

females within the black community.

4:39

And then you kind of started in the two

4:41

thousand decades seeing a little

4:43

bit more dissension, and I think that probably

4:45

just came from the competitiveness of it.

4:48

Right when you had Foxy.

4:50

Brown and Little Kim, which we love

4:52

them, but they you know, sometimes people started

4:54

pitting them against one another, but you didn't see

4:56

that initially with the Latifas

4:58

of the world, and and that's kind

5:01

of frustrating. I hate that it

5:03

took a turn, but that was

5:05

you know, the industry, and you

5:07

know that's what happened.

5:08

But those ladies really set it

5:10

off.

5:11

Some of my favorite pioneering women in

5:13

rap man. Let me run down a few Rock

5:16

Sanne Shante, Lisa Lee,

5:18

Shah Rock, Mercedes Ladies,

5:21

Pebbly Pooh, Miss Melody mc

5:23

Trouble, Vanessen, sin Quiz, Lady

5:26

of Rage, the Boss, jj

5:28

Fad, Cookie Crew, Lady

5:31

B to name a few. MONI

5:34

Love British born Grammy

5:36

nominated rapper and radio hosts

5:39

Shyrock.

5:39

She was a very I've said this before

5:41

and other interview.

5:42

She was a very big influence on me and one

5:44

of the first women among

5:47

several of the pioneering women.

5:50

As far as the Mount Rushmore women

5:52

in hip hop, she would be in

5:54

there because she definitely

5:57

is one of the founding folks.

5:59

Also, so when I got

6:01

to Philly, I met and

6:04

got to know the history of Mady b

6:06

who is from Philadelphia, and she actually had

6:09

like a twelve minute record.

6:10

I think she actually released the first

6:12

solo female record

6:17

back in like yeah, I think

6:19

this is back.

6:19

In like either like the end of the seventies

6:22

or the top of the eighties or something like that. Don't

6:24

quote me on that, but she's

6:27

up there. I would there's I mean, there's plenty

6:29

more. I mean rock san Chante put the battery

6:31

in my back. She made me fairless.

6:34

She made me when she came out and she was doing

6:36

what she was doing, and it was absolutely brazen

6:39

and bold and fearless and talking back

6:41

and like, dude, a man, what

6:43

do I care? You could get some of this too,

6:45

you know. She definitely put the battery in my back.

6:48

So I would say her also.

6:50

And if I had to put another faith in mony's

6:53

mount rushmore of women at

6:55

the headstone of hip hop culture,

6:57

it would be Pebbly Pool because Pebbly Pool

7:00

helped me develop my flow.

7:02

Listening to Pebbly Pooh, her

7:04

cadences.

7:05

Her flow, the fun manner

7:07

in which she delivers rhyme, her bubbly

7:09

voice, I would say Pebbly Pooh

7:11

for me. So that's the Money's mountain rushmore

7:14

of women right there.

7:15

Real honor to have had a part

7:17

in Queen Latifa getting

7:20

signed and then directing her first two music

7:22

videos. DJ Mark, the forty

7:24

five King in New Jersey was making incredible

7:27

beats for a crew of MC's he'd

7:29

put together known as the Flavor Unit.

7:32

I'd go out there to hang out with Mark,

7:34

check out his beats things he was

7:36

doing. This is back in the mid eighties. One

7:39

day I was hanging out with Mark and he had a tape.

7:41

He says, yeah, man, you know, the Flavor Unit was all

7:43

here. He would play beats and they would rhyme,

7:45

you know, sharpening their skills. He said

7:48

a female had stopped by and she

7:50

got down on the recent tape and

7:52

her name was Queen Latifa. He

7:54

also mentioned she had a little bit of reggae flavor

7:56

and I always been a reggae head. Mark

7:59

gave me the tape. I flipped when

8:01

I heard it. Loved her style, rhymen

8:04

and then puney through the reggae flavor in

8:06

there. I played it for an A and R

8:08

at Tommy Boy Records signed

8:11

Queen Latifa immediately, and

8:13

then I was honored to direct her first two

8:15

music videos, Dance for Me and

8:18

the Classic Ladies first, which

8:20

also featured mony Love

8:22

on the song and in the video, and that really

8:25

helped blow her up. And every time

8:27

it's played, it's always a thrill to

8:29

see the Queen doing her thing and

8:31

mony.

8:32

Love right there by her side.

8:34

Ll cool Jet, actor rapper

8:37

entrepreneur considered one of the best to ever

8:39

do it.

8:40

Oh man, So many of them, I mean, from Pebble's

8:42

Pebbly Pool to shah Rock to deb

8:44

To, I mean so many of them.

8:47

I mean, you know, from even like Angie

8:49

Be and even.

8:50

Though they were a little later, but Blondie

8:52

and all of them, they came later, but you

8:55

know, look sha peblic Pool, Debbie,

8:58

all of them, Like, for me, they

9:00

were unbelievable. I mean when I heard

9:02

shar Rock doing the echo Chamber and all that,

9:09

it was crazy. Hey, I go as far as to say

9:11

it was later. But even Lady Be out of

9:13

Philly when she made a record that was important

9:16

to me. I heard, you know, clap your ears,

9:18

everybody,

9:23

Well she made that record out of Philly.

9:24

I was loving it.

9:26

So all of those females, those were

9:28

the main ones that I heard, you know, back

9:30

then, you know what I'm saying.

9:31

And then later on obviously the chantees

9:33

and.

9:33

All of them came later on, but that

9:36

was the crew, like shar Rocks on Rock the

9:38

Belt, She's on our channel right.

9:40

Like, they deserved to be celebrated

9:42

again.

9:43

They deserved that love.

9:45

You know, a lot of people don't know about Angie

9:47

Stone from the sequence.

9:49

This was one of the early Sugarhill groups.

9:52

Real Strong Funk You Right On

9:54

Up was one of the big songs that sequence

9:57

had on sugar Hill Records.

10:00

Only voice female group that

10:02

was once again very early in the game.

10:04

But Angib as she was known

10:07

in the sequence Girls, later emerged

10:10

as an incredible R and V vocalist

10:12

under the name Angie Stone, who

10:14

also had something to do with DiAngelo's

10:17

career in the beginning, very

10:19

early female in the rap game,

10:21

back in the days Rod Digga.

10:24

Well, I do feel every

10:26

era had it set of circumstances

10:28

to deal with. I feel like early

10:31

on the women

10:33

were striving just to be

10:35

treated fairly and equally and even

10:37

be recognized. So that's why

10:40

I feel like there was so much aggression.

10:42

There was so much kind

10:45

of like that that that force, that

10:48

that battle mentality. And

10:50

then fast forward, once hip hop

10:52

became a thriving, multi

10:56

million billion dollar business. Then

10:58

it became about okay, what's

11:00

and we know that sex cell So

11:03

ultimately the sexuality

11:06

of women got explored more

11:08

and more, and then that became the prototype

11:11

for the females.

11:13

And I just think with every you

11:16

know, even now with you.

11:18

Know a lot of the girls out here drilling

11:21

and killing it, it's like they are

11:23

I feel like, we always answer

11:26

to what's going on with the men. So if

11:28

that's you know, if that's what the men are doing,

11:30

the women say, hey, we got

11:32

this money.

11:34

Less well, I mean, the thing that stands

11:36

out the most now as

11:38

opposed to the women in the beginnings

11:41

is.

11:41

Of course the sexuality. And

11:43

I think that that was going to be.

11:45

Women are embracing their sexuality and

11:48

started and bracing their sexuality

11:50

along the road and are

11:53

comfortable with it. I think

11:55

partly to do with not

11:57

feeling so much.

11:58

Like you have to fight the men. I think that's

12:00

what happened.

12:01

And I think that's all praises do to the

12:03

women that came before, because

12:06

earlier on there were many

12:08

of us that didn't particularly want to want

12:11

to even free attention to our

12:13

womanhood for the simple reason that we had

12:15

so many men to fight in

12:18

this culture, you know what I mean.

12:20

It's like, Dan, can I get some ears, get

12:23

some likehood?

12:24

Can I get some popular

12:26

attention over here?

12:27

Like dudes, I'll pick everything.

12:29

So it was definitely a sense of

12:32

I don't want to show femininity right

12:35

now, really that much so much because

12:38

these guys just running everything

12:40

and we were competing with them, you

12:42

know. But as women came

12:44

out and demanded more attention

12:48

time, you know, professional

12:50

attention, I mean, you know what I mean, like more ear time,

12:53

more mic time and all.

12:54

Of that, and more shows getting booked, or.

12:56

As that started to happen, women began to

12:58

feel more comfortable without being

13:01

woman me, you know,

13:03

because it then became because of these women

13:05

that kicked down doors before us, it then became

13:07

apparent that that was a part of the professional

13:10

fight, that we didn't have to be on so much anymore.

13:13

And hence, with.

13:13

That, a lot of women decided

13:16

to embrace their femininity in a manner

13:18

of dress.

13:19

But the point being.

13:21

Just being comfortable in being

13:23

comfortable in your curve, being comfortable

13:25

in your bodily dimensions, and being nice

13:28

on the mic. A lot of women felt

13:30

rude to express that more later

13:32

on and embrace their sexuality

13:34

and things like that. So, you know, and

13:36

I do believe that there's in just

13:39

in the world of music and in the world market

13:41

of music, there's room for everything. You

13:43

know, So whereas you didn't

13:45

see money scantily clad

13:47

and the bikini or what have you, rhyme

13:50

and there's room for that, there's

13:52

room for that with another MC

13:55

that may embrace that, like the plot.

13:57

And I say that in today's terms

14:00

too.

14:00

There were girls that are embracing

14:02

that vibe a lot more and

14:04

there were girls who don't want to embrace that vibe either,

14:06

and I think that there's.

14:07

Roomful of all of them, shouty das.

14:10

So there's definitely been a change, I think in

14:12

terms of how female rappers evolved.

14:15

Even when you think about what they wore, and

14:18

you know, like the lights of the

14:20

world of tifas, you saw them

14:22

in more baggy clothing or you

14:25

know, more fully closed. But then you

14:27

know, I think female rappers grew

14:29

into their femininity. Whether

14:31

that was a little Kim

14:34

who you saw being a little bit more risque,

14:36

but we loved her.

14:37

It was still tastefully done.

14:39

On Foxy Brown, they became more

14:42

fashion forward, partnering

14:44

with some of the high end fashion houses

14:46

and dressing them for videos,

14:48

and you had the June Ambrosis of the world, you

14:51

know, bringing the fashion flair to the world, to the hip

14:53

hop world, and so I think

14:55

women became a little bit more comfortable in their

14:57

femininity, even though I feel like there

15:00

was still a lot of misogyny that went

15:02

on in hip hop and some

15:04

of the men still you know, calling

15:06

women the B word and objectifying

15:09

women in videos, and it

15:11

just all kind of started changing when you went

15:13

into the two thousand decades, and so you

15:16

saw more skin, if

15:19

you will, in the videos and on

15:21

stages and.

15:22

As the women evolved.

15:23

But then you also had you

15:25

know, the foujis with Lauren Hill, which you know,

15:28

we all love what she represented. I think

15:30

she she still represented a little bit

15:32

of what we felt like almost

15:34

like women fighting the power, if you will,

15:36

still being creative and and true.

15:38

To themselves and them having to show all that skin.

15:41

So like, shout out to Lauren Hill and what she was

15:43

able to do as a black woman.

15:45

And I don't I don't judge.

15:47

I'm not you know, the hip hop police,

15:49

and I'm not judging anyone that chose to go

15:51

a different route. But I do feel like, you

15:54

know, we went from being close to just pretty

15:57

much not caring much at all,

15:59

and so it definitely changed.

16:02

And then now even nowadays, like you know, kudos

16:05

to Cardi B, you know, Megan the

16:07

Stallion, you know, folks like that. I also

16:09

love Rhapsody because I think rhaps he kind of represents

16:12

some of the old regime, if you will,

16:14

of hip hop and the way women did it. But

16:17

you know, you have to do what's comfortable

16:19

for you and your own skin. From an artist's

16:22

perspective, that was different because it was an artistic

16:24

expression for them to feel

16:26

comfortable and to take risks.

16:28

So you saw more risk.

16:29

Taking that came you know,

16:31

in the in the next you know, say

16:33

ten to twenty years in

16:35

terms of fashion and how

16:37

you know, hip hop artists dressed.

16:39

And then now like you.

16:40

Got hip hop artists, female hip hop artists

16:43

on the red carpet at the met Gala, Like

16:45

that just goes to show you.

16:46

How far hip hop has come.

16:48

Like you you know, back in the day at the met Galla,

16:51

you only saw actors and actresses

16:53

and folks like that on the red carpet. But now

16:57

because hip hop really controls all

16:59

of the culture or all.

17:00

The big fashion houses.

17:02

They want to be a part.

17:02

They want the Cardi B's, they want the making the stallions

17:05

because you know, these kids look up to.

17:07

Them and they know what they need, they know their.

17:08

Value to the culture.

17:09

And so your women have

17:12

just become more comfortable in their skin

17:14

and been able to embrace their

17:16

sexuality more in a way that they're

17:19

unapologetic about it. And so if

17:21

that works for them, you know, God

17:23

bless them.

17:24

Ll cool Jet.

17:25

I think the key for the females is they

17:27

have to just stay creative and not fall victim

17:29

to the pressures of the industry

17:32

and society just making them all

17:34

do one thing. And you

17:36

know, I love when they do different

17:38

things. I love to see I love the diversity

17:41

that's there. I love to see a Lauryn

17:43

Hill one day, at a Missy Elliott another day,

17:45

and then a Cardi Be another day.

17:47

I like that. I like the mix.

17:49

I like the when they in a Queen Latifa

17:51

the next day, but then at MC light.

17:54

You know what I mean, You know, like I

17:57

love the That's the key to me with

17:59

them. They just have to love

18:01

one another, support one another, and create

18:04

and not feel like there's

18:07

only one thing they can do, because

18:09

there's nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with being sexy.

18:11

I'm first aligned on some sexy and I like

18:14

to see it. I'm all with it. I'm on all

18:16

the smoke, you know what I mean. But at

18:18

the same time, leave some room for

18:20

other types of creativity and other forms

18:22

of expression too, so that you don't limit

18:25

yourself it comes. You know you're gonna

18:27

happen with chure as an artist, and you can. You

18:29

don't want to be of one trick pony.

18:31

You know, I'm not gonna be running around with my shirt off like

18:33

I'm thirty. It's not necessary, you

18:35

know what I mean. And I could actually still take my

18:38

shirt off. I don't

18:40

think people would be mad, But I'm just

18:42

saying like, that's not It's like

18:44

you gotta kind of evolve, you know what I'm

18:46

saying. Somewhat, So I would

18:49

just tell the young ladies to give you a make sure you have

18:51

a room, give yourself room creatively.

18:53

Don't paint yourself into a corner where you can

18:55

only do one thing, you

18:58

know what I'm saying.

18:58

And there's nothing wrong.

18:59

If you want to, you want to, you want to bust it

19:01

open, that's what you want to do. That's what you're aspired to

19:03

do by all means, do you think I'm just saying,

19:06

make sure that you know, just understand that there's

19:08

other dimensions to your artist and

19:10

leave room for that as well.

19:12

That would be my advice. butN Bee, hip

19:15

hop legend and entrepreneur.

19:17

Well, I mean, women have always kind of dictated

19:20

where hip hop goes.

19:21

Right. Women are the one that choose who the

19:24

male sex symbols are and hip hop.

19:26

Right, they're the ones that.

19:27

Green form andvited raggors, that put the posters

19:30

up on the wall and all of that.

19:32

But then they also decide who

19:34

they want as female representation in

19:37

the culture. So they're the ones that also get

19:39

to pick the Lauryn Hills as well as the Cardi

19:41

Bs.

19:42

Right.

19:43

So but either way, you know,

19:46

the women's voice has been heard,

19:49

right, But now it's more about women actually

19:51

being seen more, right,

19:54

not just behind the scenes. Because if you go to any

19:56

hip hop venue or award show or any

19:59

of that stuff, black women control production.

20:01

They're the ones coordinating all of this

20:03

stuff.

20:03

But now they're they're going from

20:05

just there behind the scenes contributions

20:08

and they're from the crowd contributions

20:10

to actually understanding how

20:12

to create spaces

20:15

that are not only safe but respective

20:18

of female contribution. Right, So

20:21

you could be a Sukiyana in

20:23

this game if that's who you want to be, but

20:25

we also got to be careful to protect

20:28

the sukianness in this industry,

20:30

you know what I'm saying. So in

20:32

the same way that you know, we as

20:35

men, we all want women, you

20:37

know, you know, we get you know, you stay too

20:39

close to the front row, woman my grab reach

20:42

up and grab something. Right, Let's say they

20:44

have if Vice Spice gets too close to

20:46

the front row and you know, somebody's

20:49

going to try to grab something. So, you

20:51

know, we just got to continuously work

20:53

to make sure that these spaces

20:55

are safe for anybody that want have to be

20:58

hip hop culture.

20:58

Right, peoples should.

21:00

Be getting jumped and robbed and shot and

21:02

staffed and all that, but that women shouldn't

21:04

also be broked and grabbed and like

21:07

that.

21:08

You know.

21:09

But now that women understand how

21:11

the situation works, they are

21:13

in a better place now to make sure that the

21:15

women that are on

21:18

stage are who they want representing

21:20

them. Because women buy more record

21:23

women, you know, go out more polls

21:25

and they do. They on social media more

21:27

so, and it's only right

21:30

that now their voices from behind the scenes can

21:32

be heard and their choices can be seen

21:34

up front.

21:35

You know, hip hop in a few years.

21:37

Will will not look as

21:40

it always has looked, and I think that's for the better.

21:42

I think everybody deserves to be a part

21:44

of representing this culture as long as they are represent

21:46

something that hurts people and you

21:48

know, bother children and anything like that, I

21:50

say, you know, let them have it, let them

21:52

have access to it.

21:53

See what you get out of

21:56

Women mcs continue to rule and have

21:58

always had a strong influence in hip

22:01

hop music and the culture, going

22:03

back to the very beginning fifty

22:06

years.

22:06

After hip hop's birth.

22:07

Superstar artists today like Cardi

22:10

B, Nicki Minaj, Megani, Stallion

22:13

and many other female mcs are

22:16

dominating hip hop.

22:17

Doctor Joy.

22:19

I love that we are seeing so many more

22:21

women becoming kind of

22:23

like the key players in hip

22:25

hop because I think it is time for an evolution.

22:28

And I think again, women have always

22:30

had something to say in any

22:32

genre, right, and so I think it is just now

22:34

that we are getting around to maybe having more women

22:37

who are some of these kind of stakeholders, but

22:39

I think it makes things just much more interesting,

22:42

and I think we get a variety of different sounds,

22:45

we get a variety of different themes when there

22:47

are more women in more diversity in

22:49

the space altogether. So I'm really excited

22:51

about what we are seeing in terms

22:53

of like how the genre is growing, and excited

22:56

to see what, you know, the next fifty

22:58

years looks like, you know, like what Mike sound.

23:00

You know, it feels like there's like these different regional

23:03

shifts that happens as a part of hip hop and all

23:05

of that, and so I'm really excited to see how

23:08

how the genre continues to grow even with

23:10

the next fifty years.

23:12

Kid Coupriate, Grammy Award

23:14

winning DJ and producer.

23:16

You see the females emerge

23:18

and hip hop you see so many

23:21

different perspectives that

23:23

will never even consider before Doctor

23:25

Joy.

23:26

I think representation is incredibly important

23:29

just across fields, right across fields,

23:31

across genres, because I think it is hard

23:33

to imagine yourself as something if

23:36

you don't see other people who also are

23:38

already that right, Like, it's really hard for me to chart

23:40

a course to want to be the president

23:42

of a label or whatever if I'm not seeing other

23:44

people do that, because then it makes me think, well,

23:47

you know, that must be really hard if

23:49

nobody else, if I don't see anybody else

23:51

who looks like me doing that thing, And so

23:53

it makes that a little bit more difficult.

23:56

I think when you don't see yourself represented

23:58

in any kind of feel And I think when

24:00

we think about hip hop, you know, we have

24:02

to think about like that is something

24:04

that young people aspire to be, right

24:06

Like they want to be maybe famous, or they really

24:09

enjoy making music, or you know, they really want

24:11

to share their talents with the world. And I think

24:13

it's hard to do that if they don't see themselves

24:15

represented in the field. And so when I think

24:17

about somebody like Van Band,

24:19

who have you seen like the videos

24:21

of band band, the little girl rapper who talks about

24:24

like naptime and you know, like all this stuff,

24:26

like who even knows, you know, if

24:28

that'll be something she's interested in years from

24:30

now. But you know, I think it makes

24:32

it easy for her to kind of look at somebody like

24:34

Our Rhapsody or you know, Cardi or whoever

24:37

and say like, oh, I can do that thing, like I can

24:39

make music or a little Layley. That

24:41

girl Leayley, I think is also another

24:43

rapper from Houston who is also a

24:45

Nickelodeon store.

24:46

You know.

24:46

So I think we see.

24:47

Like young women who want to kind of

24:49

take up this mantle and like are really really good.

24:52

Like Layley, I think has a beautiful flow,

24:55

but I think it's harder for her to kind of advance

24:57

if she doesn't see people doing those things already.

25:00

Trust me, as somebody that was there in the

25:03

beginning, RAPS half century

25:05

run has been nothing short of phenomenal.

25:08

From its start at a back to school

25:10

jam DJ and MC by

25:12

the one and only DJ Cool Hurt

25:14

to the ladies now leading the game and it's

25:17

a whole lot of fresh women faces doing

25:19

their thing. We got to ask one

25:21

question before this series is all over.

25:24

It's hip hop in good hands for the next

25:26

fifty years, you asked

25:28

me. I know it is, Shahim

25:31

reed, music journalists.

25:33

It's hip hopping good hands for the next fifty

25:35

years. Absolutely, it's in great

25:38

hands for the next fifty years, because

25:41

not only do we have a new generational

25:43

artists, and I think

25:45

the people at the top of the game

25:47

right now as far as the new generation

25:50

of artists are talented and

25:52

they're rightfully starars like you

25:54

can't take none with from Drake. Drake is incredible.

25:57

Kendrick is incredible. Cardi

26:00

being when she, you know, her

26:02

album, even though I think it's taking out a little too

26:04

long to put out a second album, I

26:06

can't get mad because she's married and

26:08

she asks kids and she's enjoying life,

26:11

and that's what it is. You know, we can't

26:13

forget that these people have lives in

26:16

addition to being an artist, so

26:19

family comes first, and she seems

26:21

to be enjoying what she's doing as

26:23

a mother and a wife. But what she did

26:26

with her debut album, with

26:28

every song off the record going platinum

26:31

and helmin all these awards, turning

26:33

herself into icon and the first album

26:36

is incredible, and you know, when

26:39

she calls back with a new project, I

26:41

think it's going to be successful. Travis

26:44

Scott, you got to put him

26:46

down one of the best performers

26:50

out there. He's definitely one of the best. I

26:52

saw this guy hanging from a tree wrapping

26:55

his record at Made in America.

26:57

One here Man.

26:58

Travis Scott is incredible. Future

27:00

is one of those guys who has

27:04

such a strong connection to the streets,

27:07

but as well as the

27:10

pop sharts like these Futures

27:12

is one of those guys who can seamlessly

27:16

being.

27:16

In both worlds

27:19

and nobody thinks

27:21

anything negative of it, Like he could

27:23

do the biggest pop song and not u's

27:25

one outs of street credibility.

27:28

He could do the glimier street record, and

27:30

these sponsors are still won't be lining up

27:32

to hear Future please take out Money,

27:35

Doctor Joy.

27:36

In the next fifty years of hip hop, I

27:38

would like to see more experimenting

27:40

with sound, and I would

27:42

really like to see people kind

27:45

of go back to being like true musicians,

27:48

because I think that we have gotten

27:50

a lot with like auto tune and like all these

27:52

different technology advances, which

27:54

I think is fine, there's a place for that, but

27:57

I think it feels hard to me to think about,

27:59

like, well, what am I kids going to say or

28:01

like their old school jam so to speak,

28:03

in like fifty years right, Like it feels hard to

28:05

know if anything's really going to have stay

28:08

in power like some of the songs I

28:10

think about of like my childhood or when I was

28:12

a younger person. So I really like to see

28:14

a return to musicianship as

28:16

a part of hip hop's next fifty.

28:18

But I would see more power in the hands

28:21

of the artists right as

28:23

media will continue to shift and change

28:26

on the dynamics and how it's

28:28

monetized will continually change.

28:31

Artists now have more power than they've ever

28:33

had.

28:34

Artists can start at SoundCloud page or

28:36

YouTube page, present themselves to

28:38

the world and monetize that and actually make

28:41

money without you

28:43

know, without a manager, even though management

28:45

would help, a good manager would help. Without

28:47

a publicist and the all publishers would help,

28:50

a good pubusiers would help. And without a major

28:52

record company backing them outside,

28:55

even though in certain situations that

28:57

can help, you know, But the artists that make

28:59

the I reconnection to people

29:02

that like their music, they can sell merchandise

29:05

directly to them. Look at people

29:07

like Russ who travel all over the country

29:10

at doubt you know arenas

29:12

now and did that before you ever had

29:14

any type of major situations

29:16

with anyone, you know what I'm saying. So independent

29:19

minded people that are willing to grind it out,

29:22

they get out of here and make some real money right

29:24

now. They don't have to hits

29:27

their ass of any record company. They don't

29:29

have to sign record deals that don't benefit

29:31

them to make sure you got a good lawyer, good

29:34

manager, and a good team behind you, and you'd

29:36

be surprised how far you could go on the country.

29:38

You don't need an expensive lawyer, You just need a lawyer

29:40

that believes. You don't need a famous managers,

29:43

need a manager that believe. You don't need

29:45

one hundred people. You just need like four or five

29:47

people.

29:47

That believe in you. You'd be surprised how far you

29:49

could go.

29:50

Shahim reed, We're going to continue

29:53

to see the artistry. But I

29:55

think the biggest thing is that we're

29:59

going to continue to our ways to control

30:01

our own destiny with our own

30:03

labels and be our own executives.

30:06

We're starting to see it now with the

30:08

streaming and how people could just upload

30:10

the video to YouTube and get

30:13

all this money. So we're

30:15

going to continue to see people hold

30:17

their own and you know, be great

30:19

executives as well. I'm very,

30:22

very very inspired by

30:25

the way if They Pop is going, and I think that's

30:27

where you gotta be.

30:29

Don Cannett, DJ, record

30:31

producer and music executive.

30:34

Hip hop is on very good hands because

30:37

it's an organ that keeps regenerating.

30:40

You know what, I'm saying, so if you think about Kendred,

30:42

if he only goes for another five years,

30:45

his offspring is going to take

30:47

it another ten twelve years. J

30:49

Cole's offspring is gonna take it another ten

30:52

twelve years, Drake's offspring, and

30:54

it's gonna keep going. Little Uzi's gonna

30:56

have offspring. It

30:58

doesn't end with them. And what generation

31:00

now, generation now has our

31:03

offspring of labels that's coming. It's

31:05

just new artists coming in different

31:07

forms now what we see

31:09

different sections of hip hop. THUSI yeah, we

31:12

may go into a whole another vibe,

31:14

but it's still going to be hip hop, and

31:17

it's going to keep generating over

31:19

and over again.

31:19

And I think it's in great hands. Now.

31:22

There's been some music that you know, us as

31:24

hip hop cultural purists don't like, but

31:27

it's still part.

31:28

Of the culture

31:30

and we got to appreciate it.

31:32

Hakeem Green rapper and

31:34

cannabis enthusiasts.

31:36

Hip Hop in the next fifty years could

31:38

either be a big ball of confusion or

31:41

could be what anchors us. And it's

31:43

predicated on us building systems that

31:46

entrench the true values

31:48

of hip hop culture, which

31:50

for me is peace, love, unity, safely

31:52

having fun, knowledge, wisdom, understanding,

31:54

culture, freedom, powerify mean quality, God

31:57

build born cipher. That's

32:00

it, like, that's that's what hip hop is about.

32:02

Is about human

32:05

development, using art and creativity

32:07

and ingenuity to develop

32:10

positive human beings through music,

32:12

art, dance, through

32:15

whatever it is. It's about building human

32:17

character, human development. At the end

32:19

of the day, everything else is just like

32:22

the superficialness of it. You

32:25

know, the music, not the music, but the

32:27

records, the streams,

32:30

the you know, that's just

32:32

what are we doing. We're developing positive

32:35

human beings because if not, we're not going to last

32:37

long as hip

32:39

hop or as anything else.

32:41

We've got to develop positive.

32:43

Human beings that are willing to invest

32:45

in themselves and invest in their future to keep hip.

32:47

Hop alive for the years without question,

32:50

as hip hop moves forward into the

32:52

next fifty years, having a solid

32:54

understanding of how the Internet works

32:57

SEO, which search engine optimization,

33:00

and also getting the handle on how

33:02

to use AI effectively

33:04

is going to be a big part as hip

33:06

hop moves forward fifty more and

33:09

another fifty after that, without question

33:11

question. This episode has been executive

33:13

produced by Dolly S. Bishop, hosted

33:16

and produced by your Boy five five

33:18

Freddie, produced.

33:19

By Aaron A.

33:20

King Howard Edit, mixed sound

33:23

by Dwayne Crawford, Music scoring

33:25

by Trey Jones, Talent booking

33:27

by Nicole Spence,