Memoirs Of Redefinition Radio #12: Women In Hip Hop Part 2-Vicki Anderson, Sweet T, The Real Roxanne, Antoinette, Queen Mother Rage, Yo Yo, Nikki D, Sha-Key, Nefertiti, Bahamadia, Ang 13, and more...

Memoirs Of Redefinition Radio #12: Women In Hip Hop PT 2

The first all theme show on Redefinition Radio was the "Women In Hip Hop" special (5-28-05 and Memoir Entry #5).This is a subject that is very important to me. That previous show and these two shows (including the show related to Memoir #13) were completed to coincide with the first and only, far as I know, B-Girl Hip Hop Conference in the world and it's right here in Minneapolis! This years (2006) event was the second annual and there was representation from Women all thru out the world. It was a great event and I was glad to be a part of it in the best way possible, as a fan. I got to see, meet and be entertained by some of my favorite MCs such as Roxanne Shante and Medusa. As well as be introduced to some new talent. Plus it's always a pleasure to check out the always impressive Ang 13 from Chicago. All in all it was a excellent experience and hopefully I will see a lot more people checking it out next year. For more info please go here: http://myspace.com/bgirlbe

The information belows coincides with the Redefiniton Radio Show dated: 6-24-06

VICKI ANDERSON A.K.A MYRA BARNES

"The Message From The Soul Sisters" is one of so many songs that I learned about from Hip Hop. Everytime I heard someone use the sample of the main part of the rhythm track I had a smile on my face. I'm pretty sure I first heard it on the Tony D produced "In Control Of Things" by YZ in '89 (YZ does suggest to be the first to use it and actually has another song taking shots at all the mcs that used it after him called "Get Off The Rhythm" which uses the same beat also). In the same year Gang Starr used it for "No More Mr. Nice Guy". Another favorite usage would be Above The Law's "Freedom Of Speech". The list goes on and on. However, for a very long time I had no idea what the original song was. The first time I found out who it was I was at a party in Chicago (I believe it was either the Cue Club or the Double Door...) checking out DJ Tone B Nimble (of All Natural). He played the track and I had to jump up and find out what it was. He showed me the cover and I tried to commit it to memory so I could seek it out. This was sometime in the mid 90s so it wasn't as easy to me as coming home and doing a little net surfing and finding satisfaction...I mean I didn't go on the internet for the first time until late '97 (yeah, I try to fight technology sometimes but lose every round...eventually...ha). That meant that the quest was on by looking in run down records stores that left my clothes and hands dirty after spending countless hours digging thru stacks of used vinyl while breathing in mildew and dust that usually had me sick for a day or two, but man it sure is rewarding when you find the right records...ha. Anyway, I never found it. I think part of the problem was that I got confused because she is known by two very different names; Vicki Anderson and Myra Barnes. It is the latter that this song is credited to on the 45, but it comes on a Vicki Anderson LP of the same name. I'm not sure why she used two different names but it confused the hell out of me*. Granted even if I knew that piece of information it's highly likely that I still wouldn't have found it because it's a rather rare record. I finally got my hands on the track courtesy of the CD series "James Brown's Funky People" (part 2). Thru out the 3 volume series I was also introduced to another one of her tracks (as well as the other key ladies in the James Brown revue; Lyn Collins and Marva Whitney) that is also excellent, as we have grown to expect from most any early to mid 70s James Brown related music. Internet research often suggested that James Brown considered her the best female singer and a lil researching of your own for her tracks are sure to convince you as well*. She does have a beautiful voice and you'll find me referencing this as "one my all time favorite beats" on occasion.

SWEET T & IYONI J

I've always been a fan of Sweet T (truth be told I even had crush on her back in the day, please see her "why did it have to be me" video if you need a reason). I've played several of her tracks on Redefinition Radio over the last year and 1/2 (ex: It's My Beat, It's Like That Y'all, Let The Jingle Bells Rock, On The Smooth Tip), all of which I think are excellent. "The DMX Will Rock" is how I first heard her which makes sense because it is her debut. I wrote about this song briefly in Memoir #2 ("Hip Hop Around The Globe") because the other MC is Iyoni J who is believed to be from the U.K. Unfortunately there is next to no information about her out there. She comes in strong on her second solo verse with, "Devastating, Calculating and I'm a masermind, there's no one in the world who's got a rap like mine. Davy D do your thing, I'll rock the microphone. I'll make all you people feel right at home". I couldn't agree more, as you can add this to my very long list of favorite '85 Summer Jams. Davy DMX is one of the pioneers of Hip Hop production and he flexes his beat making skills on this track as well as showing and proving with the scratching. On the mic both Sweet T and Iyoni J hold it down lovely. The back n forth at the end of the second verse flows nicey and I really love the harmonizing. I have to admit that this song doesn't showcase Sweet T's full ability, it's the other songs I mentioned above that really do that. As previously mentioned "The DMX Will Rock" is her debut but there she is only a guest and her first solo offering is the now classic "It's My Beat". It's produced by Hurby Luv Bug who is also responsible for all the production on her debut album, "It's Tee Time" except one track produced by Toi Jackson (Sweet T's real name which sheds light on the punchline "Don't think I play games cause my name is Toy" from "It's Like That"). It's one of the first, possibly the first, song to sample (what is Hip Hop's most sampled song) James Brown's "Funky Drummer". I suppose it's fair to focus my attention on the production here being that it is the main topic and title for that matter. Another highlight however is at the end of the track her DJ, Jazzy Joyce, joins in for some back and forth rhyming with Sweet T (a routine that Jazzy Joyce later duplicates with Digable Planets on thier "9th Wonder" single when she was briefly DJing for them). "On the Smooth Tip" is a nice funk groove (sampling Parliament's "Mothership Connection") that she describes as "A Rhytmic sound moving smooth like Lake Eerie, altering any scientifical theory"...I've always just loved how that line sounded (I'm surprised no ones sampled or scratched that yet but happy because I have been meaning to for a long time, consider this the "planting of my flag"). Earlier in the song she informs and warns, "Testing my mic, one, two, one, two, I'm here to entertain and this means you. Don't need no help, all by myself. I proceed cause you need to enjoy youerself. Try to compare, oh don't you dare cause I'm sweeter than the cream in a french eclair. Smoother than the ice in a skating rink, have I forgot anything, hmmm, let me think, oh yeah, I take a pen (and) draw you all in line, you'll find I'm a lyrical mastermind". Very classy and just like she says, "...wanna hear something wack, well this ain't it". "Let the Jingle Bells Rock" is simply the hardest and arguably the best Hip Hop X-mas song every created. All that considered, "It's Like That Y'all" is still my favorite. It's a nice track with some Betty Wright "Clean Up Woman" sampled flavor. What stands out the most to me is her ability to sound smooth and sexy but still slip in some hardcore flavor in there as well, "Back to raise hell, I got records to sell, I'm still on the top, don't you think I fell. Never taking a loss, weak rappers I toss, make no mistake Sweet T's the boss. Janet Jackson's Nasty, but I'm in control, Aretha Franklin bow down to the new Queen of Soul"....ah, so very bold and confident. After the album died out she didn't release any music for a couple years but she has managed to resurface a few times since with a side project (Poizon Posse), a name alteration (Suga) and back to recording as Sweet T as of recent..

THE REAL ROXANNE

I was just recently in Virigina at one of my favorite record spots and I picked up a copy of The Real Roxanne's "Howie's Teed Off" 12" for my man, Plain Ole Bill. He was excited to get it and told me that he thinks that it might be his favorite singing in a rap song "ever". I really can't argue with that. Sure it's debatable and there's probably something out there technically better but I'm willing to guess that in most of those cases, like a lot of singing in Hip Hop, that the actual lyrics are somewhere between ridiculous and awful. There's something about someone singing "no words can explain just what my DJ does, other DJs sound like him and that is all because, people fradulate the way he cuts and scratch, but everybody is such biters I know that Howie's Teed Off". Come On!! "Fradulate", "Such Biters"....hearing those words, ever so Hip Hop, sung by a lovely lady with a lovely voice are certainly at the least tetering on classic. I think this is clearly her best song however her catalog has much more to it. A more popular track is actually on the flip side of "Howie's Teed Off", "(Bang Zoom) Lets Go Go". The dramatic intro with her doing some fast rap type toasting has been featured on several break beat records with some pieces that have been scratched by many a DJ (EX: "Yes, You are now rockin with the best" and "Cold Break Ill With The Drummer, Hit Me"). It's a pretty interesting track. It's got a sort of futuristic go-go style to it. Howie Tee shows up to drop some lyrics here and there as well when he's not getting busy on scratches. Full Force [producers of both tracks] also do some background singing and cameos. Bugs Bunny (as well as Elmer Fudd) even makes a few appearances on the breaks. Going back to the production real quick, there's a few complete beat change ups that occur to keep things interesting. One takes place on a Big Band sound and the other is a reworking of Billy Squiers "Big Beat" (the intro and outro of that piece have also been DJ favorites: "big drum beater" and "sorry wrong beat"). Roxanne (a.k.a Dimples) raps and sings her way thru all of this quite nicely, but raises the lyrical stakes at the close of the track following a barrage of excellent cutting by the Hitman Howie T, "Rappers thought they could take me but on the contrary, now they're all in the MC cemetary, but since I'm a lady up to this day I put a red rose on every one of their graves. Never should they have crossed my terrority, that's it, period, end of story".

ROXANNE SHANTE

Keeping the Roxanne theme going we have "The Payback" By Roxanne Shante. First off, this beat is so hard!! Me and my crew used to always rock over this beat on home freestyle tapes, live shows and we even used it on our first real studio demo. This is one of those early tracks by her where she is apparently just rocking all the lyrics strictly off the top off the head. I often credit her as being a key pioneer of freestying off the top on record. I'm know people had dabbled in doing it on songs before her but I confidently say she definitely was the first to stress it. Not to mention she was really good at it. This could be considered a precursor to her infamous track "Big Mama" where she goes thru with out mercy and attacks the who's who of female MCs at that time ('92). On here she doesn't name names but she touches on the subject of females MCs not giving her credit for the doors she opened for them. She does have a point and her track record also stands in support of her claims quite nicely. She has to be one of the first Female MCs on wax that had the respect of the guys (the only others that comes to mind instantly is Sha Rock & Lisa Lee). A big part of the reason she gained that respect is she was able to compete with them. She held her own against U.T.F.O, KRS One, and anyone else who stepped in her path. She also held her own in freestyle competitions such as the New Music Seminar (where there was a famous battle with her and Frukwan of Stetsasonic and Gravediggaz). Look for more on her in future Memoirs for sure...

ANTOINETTE

Unfortunately, Antoinette is possibly most "famous" for a on wax fued with MC Lyte. According to the masses Lyte won. According to me...and a select few others, Antoinette walked away the victor...lyrically speaking. Of course, the main root of debate is that Antoinette is said not to have wrote her own lyrics. That was MC Lytes main course of attack with lines such as, "Do not say Sh** until you write your own rhymes". One can not deny the validity of the arguement but any Hip Hop fan of reading album credits will also note that MC Lyte was known to have lyrics written and/or assisted by Audio Two, King Of Chill, and others as well...that's what I found a bit ironic. Ok, hold up one second, before the Hip Hop police get all geared up for battle let me assure you that I'm not hating on MC Lyte. I'm a fan. I'm just saying that maybe it's not as clear a case of victory as it was made out to be. OK, let's focus on Antoinette here. The first time I heard her I was, 17 years old, visiting in Atlanta and driving my Uncles car and "I Got An Attitude" came on the radio. Moments later I was in my first car accident. Now, I consider myself pretty responsible and I to this day swear it was the other guys fault but is there a smidgen of chance that I was so captivated by her that I wasn't paying as much as attention as I could...we'll never know cause I'll never tell. All I know is I was very impressed from the opening "Orally potent, lethal but steady, man your battle stations, I'm ready" to the closing verse, "You wanna know why I played you like that? I don't like your face, take your runnin' shoes off you ain't in this race. Kick back, sit back, step off, sit down and be numb. (I) feed crumbs to bums, rock rhymes over drums...". She continues with the challenge, "You ain't ready betty, sorry sally this is my thing a lot of male vocalist can't even hang". She is no joke....ah, which reminds of her other "kryptonite" and the second thing in the MC Lyte arsenal...the complaint that she sounded to much like Rakim. When I first heard that, I was like, 'Huh? I don't get it, I don't hear it'. Eventually I saw what they meant but I don't think I would go as far as calling it biting. At this time Rakim was influencing a lot of MCs. Some of them more obviously and more popular than Antoinette so I didn't get the back lash. Ah, what do you do, it's a popularity game and she couldn't break thru the wall of mass acceptance despite how good she sounded on a beat, which in this case is handled by Hurby Luv Bug, and this is probably my favorite drum working of the popular "Impeach The President" drums. This track is also the source for the "Duck Alert" scratching on the song of the same name by Marley Marl and Craig G (a clever use for a DJ Red Alert diss). Speaking of Marley and the Juice Crew, there is also a rarity floating around from the mid 80s called "Raw Attitude" with Antoinette and Big Daddy Kane. Alright, all of that to get to this, the song I played here is "Unfinished Business". It's another great production by the under-appreciated Hurby Luv Bug. It's raw drums with a ill bass line & some nice Kool & The Gang horns to give it a jazzy feel. With a similar approach to "Attitude" she pulls no punches, "I'm gonna get mine because it's only right and ain't a soul alive that's gonna take my mic, because I'm a girl you got bold, wassup you feel like a troop? I'll have you sipping a soup a fruit playing a flute...". From there she goes on to respond to MC Lytes first attack on her, "Drop the beat, I'm gonna go this way. I just knew some chick would have something to say, like I'm a biter, non-writer, you're misbehaving, attention's what you're craving, you should be saving that basement mumble, crumming just to crumble about nonsense now lets tumble, I'm gonna defend this, we can't end this until I finish the unfinished business".* The B Side to "Unfinished Business" is "Hit 'Em With This" (which along with "I Got An Attitude is on Hurby Luv Bug's "The House That Rap Built" compilation in '88) and is the last in the "trilogy" of songs of hers produced by Hurby. I suppose it's my least favorite of the three, but it's still a solid track. It's a lil more laid back, but another well put together Hurby production. As usual, Antoinette is filled with lots of nice lil quotes such as "I got a score to settle and my revenge is the groove", "I'm like the Book Of Life and I hope you're good readers", and "Hand me a mic and history is made at my show". Following these releases she released two albums, "Who's The Boss?" (Next Plateau '89) and "Burnin' At 20 Below" (Next Plateau '90), and I haven't heard anything from her since. Both albums have more than a couple notable tracks and I'll dive into details of those in another entry very soon (hoping to get an interview as well)...

QUEEN MOTHER RAGE

  Queen Mother Rage was a part of the Black Watch Movement, the organization which also birthed the crew X-Clan. She only dropped one album with a few singles and that was it. I always wished she did more. Her writing was top notch. She didn't waste time on nonsense and kept her focus on serious and/or key issues. Her voice was distinctive, with a slight lisp, and engaging....perhaps even seductive. Which leads us to "Wisdom Is An Orgasm", one of the stand out tracks on the album. It's a slow moving beat that allows her plenty of space and time to flow some unorthodox patterns while dropping knowledge on the "Sissies!". Here's a lil jewel, "Lyrics to the mortals are doorways and portals to the supreme way of thinking for the authors, Listeners move to the music some choose to move upon it kicking in their uninspired two cents but this is taken [???] of the Rage [????] used unjustly I must [???], I must [???] egos in need of diffusing cause delusions of grandeur bringing greed into the new path". "Slippin Into Darkness" is her debut single. Again it's at a slow tempo and combines a nice collaboration of samples with some slowed down "Natilus" (Bob James) and Edwin Starr's "Easin' In" as the main course. It comes in with some high paced scratching eventually voicing, "It gets blacker" then the beat drops and Professor X (r.i.p) proceeds to drop science, as he is known to do. The Queen Mother comes in with, "You feel friction and what I elicit is a flow, intruding but soothing I diffuse the ego". Let's move on to the second part of the first verse where she drops this, "I live to dismiss the context of the idle, incompotent, inside the cabin is unconscious, Awaken black congress, evident domainess, we are the originals, for us to take a stand and seat is critical, moves are forbidden their mission is to stop this and you assist them for a profit. Truth from their falsehoods should be light within the prism of your wisdom, but they explain and we forgive them. A victim to the gift of gab as they withhold you from the motherland, misled that money makes a better man. Discipline's the foundation to manhood and knowlege, it's time you confront the promise that we come to take back all that is ours [??-an it's an imposition when you shun and lack powers], already you possess heart and magnitude but you let 'em oppress you with inaccurate views of your african descendecy so if don't look for the light on the path you'll forever be...". She doesn't have to say anything after that, their are no words just the eerierly melodic sounds of the instrumental and in your mind you feel as if you are indeed "Slippin' Into Darkness". Queen Mother Rage where are you? We need more of that. New music, unreleased demos...whatever, I'll take it.

YO YO

Yo Yo was introduced to the world by Ice Cube and made (what I believe to be) her debut on his 1st solo album "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" on the track "It's A Man's World". I admit I wasn't much of a fan of that song and it didn't really excite me for a Yo-Yo project. Then later that same year her first single came out, "Stompin' To The 90s" and that changed my opinion. It was another finely produced Sir Jinx track*. It's basically just her rappin....in the early 90s that was all it took to make me happy....ah, the simplier times, ha. It's filled with nice flows and patterns. Upon hearing that the doors of possibility were re-opened so when I ran into the 12" I picked it up. I immediately went to the b-side which I hadn't heard yet and it was listed as "unavailable on LP" so that gave it more of a rarity curiousity. I really love the beat! It's a pretty busy production but Sir Jinx knows how to make it work. Verses two and three have exclusive beat changes/additions that come in and grabs your attention and are gone before they can be fully appreciated which makes for, shall we say, "repeat business". Yo-Yo comes in strong and apparently knows it with, "An agressive intro letting you know I'm on the battle tip, appearance is fragile but packing power like a battleship. Ripping thru flesh and bones like a Piranha, my DJ, Chilly Chill is cutting better than Benny Honna". She even gives a glimpse into the future by continuing to play tribute to Chilly Chill, "On the crossfader he's as evil as Darth Vader with a light saber but his cuts are much greater. The brother is swift with his right and (it's) as if it was possible he'd be scratching compact discs"...in the background vocals she laughs at the end of that line. I'm not sure if it's because she is giving herself props for how swift she flowed those lines or if she was amused by the stretch of imagination it would take for Chilly Chill to complete that task. If it's the later then I hope Chilly Chill hasn't let her down and is current with today's technology. In any event, this is easily my favorite Yo-Yo track. To be quite honest, nothing else ever really grabbed my attention in the same way even though the strength of this 12" did convince me to buy her first three albums in search of more of the same. I never found it exactly, but there were a few nice cuts along the way. I suppose there is a slight chance it took place on her fourth album, Total Control, by which I had given up but that's probably unlikely (especially with titles like "one for the cuties", "body work" and "thank you, boo"). Oh, here's a lil Hip Hop trivia (I don't know the answer, that's why I'm asking), In the outro of the track Yo-Yo is talking to her homegirl, Paula and they are just giving shout outs and Paula is giving her props and then at the very end of the track Paula asks (with fading echo for added "diss-effect") "What happened to that girl you used to rap with?". Does anyone know who that girl was? Was Yo-Yo previously in a group? Did they have music? So many questions...

NIKKI D

My experience with Yo-Yo is similar with Nikki D...same year too (1990). She came out blazing with her debut single on Def Jam, "Lettin' Off Steam". In the hooks Flavor Flav is co-signing for her hardcore style and even informs the unaware that she is Def Jam's first female MC. Production is handled by Sam Sever and it's quite a piece of work. I have to assume that he, or someone in charge of things, was aware of that because the rhyming ends approximately 3:00 minutes into the 5:00+ minute track. It's a nice layering of a few great elements including The Politicians "Free Your Mind", what I believe is Kraftwerks "Trans Europe Express" lightly in the background at some points, "Jam On The Groove", a little "Nautilus" on the hook, some scratching of "Ain't We Funkin' Now" by Brothers Johnson and another thing or two that is currently escaping me. Nikki D has great mic presence. She sounds hardcore but it doesn't seemed forced or fake. I've always just loved the song so much that I never really noticed that it is not really a "quote heavy" song. That's not to take away from her performance because it's definitely on point. It's more related to the fact that it's just an all around good package. Her voice, flow and personality are the strength, but there are definitely some lines that always make me smile, such as, "Step to the crowd, work the mic like a symphony, steady rhyming with conviction, let's see who can get next to me" and my personal favorite, "I'll take it and break it make you a mystery chief, have em wondering what keeps hitting my stage underneath"... There's just something sinsiterly satifisfying about the imagery of her defeating an opponent and trapping them beneath the stage...I think we can all agree that's pretty hardcore. That's quite an entrance into the business. However, once her foot was in the door with this 12" she took a different approach with the album (granted it was suggested by her B-side title on this 12" as well) and it's filled with songs about relationships and sex. From there she made a few appearances here and there but not much else unfortunately.

SHA-KEY

Perhaps I've told this story before so I'll skip ahead to the point of relation to this article, in the early 90s I started my first "official" company. It was called Rage Promotions and I set out to offer my help to record labels on particular artists that I was interested in and/or a fan of. It was a interesting, difficult and enlightening experience to say the least...I'll discuss that in full some other time. I can't remember where I first heard of Sha-Key...It's quite possible it was with an article in Rappages (I think that came out before her album dropped). In any event, if I remember correctly, I do recall how I got involved in her project. At the time I was also doing some promotional work with Lugz (boots and shoes) and my boss there (Hello Diana!) knew the lady heading the Sha-Key release at Imago Records and they needed some promotional help so the link was made and I took on the project. She was definitely about style. Her work was a nice combination of old school flavor and new school abstract (a la Freestyle Fellowship)...plus she added her own flavor as well. This mixture of styles is excellently displayed on "Bicoastal Hold Up". The song starts out with a few bars of acapella and then the human beatbox kicks in (courtesy of Rahzel who was prominently featured on the album before moving on to The Roots). Then the actual beat comes in (early production work by Djini Brown who did two tracks on the album). Showcasing her new school stylings, Sha-Key switches up her flow and more noticably her voice and inflections every few lines which keeps it interesting. At pretty much dead set in the middle of the track the beat drops and Rahzel's beatbox again takes prominence as Sha-Key does some Old School harmanizing with a reworking of G-Man's (of the Crash Crew) classic closing performance on "High Powered Rap". The album displays a nice range of sounds and subjects. The album didn't do great sales, but I'd like to note that, while it may not be accurate to say that the album is "responsible" for the later success of it's contributers, Sha-Key gets credit for surrounding herself with the right people who each went on to some level of success; Anti Pop Consortium (Beans and Hi Priest both made appearnces and the album was produced by, save two tracks, Earl Blaize), Rahzel (went on to work with the Roots and then a successful solo career), Djini Brown (a talented and fairly well known producer), Mr Live (recorded singles for Fondle Em and a couple of other indies in the later part of the 90s), Ill Bill of Non Phixion (does one his first appearances on "Doompasaga" alongside Hi Priest) and members of Soul Coughing who were first (or simultaneously) in her band Rhythm Method (apparently Earl Blaize would have the band play and then construct the tracks from samples of that). She also did the Lalapoolza Tour the year her album dropped on one of the smaller stages, but it's said that her performance was so impressive that it prompted the Beastie Boys to invite her to the main stage on some days. She has since done multiple other projects and/or appearances but now goes by her birth name, Hanifah Walidah.

NEFERTITI

Nefertiti dropped her first and only album in 1994. I have tried several times and I can never find much info about her. The problem with a name like Nefertiti is that with a google or myspace search you get a gazillion links that have nothing to do with what you are looking for. Of course, I dediced to dig in my old files from my magazine days where I have stacks of artists bios and I found one for Nefertiti which has lots of interesting reading:

-she was the first rapper to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival

-she was the first female facilitator involved in Jim Brown's "Amer-I-Can" program that involved her  speaking at community centers, schools, and prisons around the country teaching the elements of self-esteem and self-advancement

-her first "professional" rap experience was the only female member of super group Microphone Mafia which was produced by legendary West Coast producer/DJ Bobcat and also featured Threat, Laquan, Funky Town Pros, K Born, and others.

-she only signed her record deal with Mercury after they agreed that $50,000 of her deal would go to pay her tution to any college of her choice..noted as the first such arrangement by a Hip Hop artist.

-she was born in Chicago and at some point she moved to Los Angeles. She was connected to the whole Good Life/Project Blowed movement and has a verse on "Heavyweights Round 2".

As for the album itself, it's production is handled primarily by DJ Pooh (who I'm always giving props to!) with additional contributions from Diamond D (2 tracks), Guru (one track which he also rhymes on), Suede (who was doing a lot of work with Pooh around this time), Nikke Nicole (a talented female producer who was doing some impressive tracks at the time)* and a few others. Nefertiti is not one to waste time with words. Nearly every track on the album deals with important issues such as death, family, community issues, social issues, cultural issues, gender issues, enviromental issues, politics, and then some. "Don't Drink The Water" [DJ Pooh] is one of album stand outs. Verse two sums up the track nicely with, "Don't drink the water as far as the beach I wouldn't let that dirt sh** touch my feet. Don't need no excuse to shoot while I'm digging down deep into my roots. The truth is (inaudible word) don't give a hoot about pollution so who you think you fooling with that phooney constitution. Tell it to a child that don't know no better, while the ozone's getting thinner now who's slanging melanin?". Which reminds me of verse one with, "my oh my there's a hole in the sky, The government's covering the whole damn city and when, dark hits the street, it's the mark of the beast, So you better beware, you better beware, uhh ause this devil won't stop, straight up like six o'clock...". Other tracks that I would recommend are "My Soul Good", No Feelin' Inside", & "No Nonsense" w/Guru.

BAHAMADIA

"Rugged Ruff" is a certified DJ Premier produced banger. Bahamadia's flow on this is bonkers! I don't know if typing it will do it justice, you have to listen. When I heard her debut album, Kollage (where this track is from), I just "knew" she was going to be on top of the game. Well, no such luck. I dont know how well the album did but it certainly wasn't a hit unfortunately. I mean what do you have to do for god's sake...ha. She had production by Premier (3 tracks plus interludes), Beatminerz (2 tracks plus interludes), Ski (one track right in the midst of the prime as a key producer for Jay Z's "Reasonable Doubt" album the same year, 1996), Guru (2 tracks; while starting to venture out from under the Gang Starr name with production on projects like Jazzmatazz, on which Bahamadia also appeared), The Roots (1 track which also features Black Thought and Malik B) and for a whole different vibe there are two tracks by N.O. Joe who's known for his work with artists such as Scarface (probably like 1/2 his discography is produced by him...I don't even think that's an exxageration), The Luniz, Geto Boys and so on. No matter the producer, track or topic Bahamadia more than held it down. Yet after this release it wasn't until 2000 (four years later for those too lazy to do the math) that she came out with a second CD (an EP of 7 tracks) on indie label Good Vibe Recordings that seemed to ship out way under the radar and eventually away into the shadows without much attention. However, her skill apparently wasn't overlooked by everyone because between her debut and her second release she made a fair amount of guest appearances on a host of other projects/albums such as Lyricist Lounge (an nice duet with Rah Digga called "Be OK"), Soundbombing II, Herbaliser's "Very Mercenary", Roni Size-New Forms, King Britt-The Reason, Boogie Monsters-Say Word, The Roots-Push Ya Lighter, Gang Related Soundtrack, Princess Superstar-Too Much Weight, and on the debut single of Army Of The Pharoahes where she was an original member...as well as a bunch of other stuff. OK, it's not a bad looking resume' I'll admit but I'm still not satisfied....ha.

ANG 13

Ang 13 (formerly known as Sista Ang) has been destroying mics and competition for a very long time. I first heard her in the early 90s at a club in Chicago (where she is from and where I was living at the time...well, the far north suburbs for me, but whatever...). I was really impressed however there was a "miscommunication" of sorts. The person I was with loved to amuse himself as much as possible and while she was performing was making some sort of joke about something...maybe even something or someone on stage with her, eventhough he thought she was fresh. Anyway, one of the guys on stage with her made note of it and told her after she got done performing and she came right up to us and asked us if we had a problem. On one hand it caught me off guard cause she came ready to "handle bizness", but on the other hand hanging out with him this wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened...ha. I just explained, as best I could, the situation but told her that I really liked her performance and she thanked me and that was that. From then I would see her at various venues that I went to and everytime she was doing top notch performances, no matter who she was on stage with she stood out. In 1994, I started (along with a gentleman known as J Bird) a magazine called Caught In The Middle and then my Time Travel radio show (trust me there's a point, this isn't all about me....ha) and that's when I started to ask her for demo tapes. I mean I had seen her perform probably like 20 songs by now so I knew she had tracks. I knew people she worked with (like her one time DJ, 33 1/3) who told me she had tracks. For whatever reason I never got my hands on a Ang 13 demo. The best I got was her solo track on a Chicago Compilation in 1995 called Talent Fest....and here we are. On this track she shows a lot of her versatility; she displays a lot of styling with flows that switch from erratic pauses to rapid and smooth then she slips in a few bars of some harmonzing and then right back at the competitions throat and that's all just in the first verse!! I know there's the constant myth out there of the "she's good, for a girl" but she by no means falls under that bracket. I've seen her out rap, out freestyle, out battle, out perform and whatever else many a man on the mic and I'm not talking about dudes who can't rap, I'm talking respectable MCs.* The beautiful thing is that she was just in Minneapolis last year for the B Girl Be Festival and I watched her performance at First Ave and she was as polished and talented as ever. There's no doubt that she is passionate about the craft of MCing. She even gave me some new tracks (yes, finally got a "demo" from her...more on that in a second) and that confirmed that she hasn't missed a step. The stand out track there for me is "Me and Mine". It's filled with plenty of clever word play and flows, "I'm a Queen with the crown of a King, you just a jester. I'm seated at the tables and able to bring the pressure" or " 6 scientists and 7 chemists was on their business, ran a caper on mother nature, look what they got in the finish, a powerhouse, built like a brick house, I'm thick with a sick mouth, north sider on fire burning sh** south". You should peep her myspace (info below) for more great stuff and when we last spoke she "promised" copies of all her demos from the 90s up to the present. That was last Summer...I'm still waiting :)

As you may have noticed, an ongoing theme with these ladies is that many of them only released one album (maybe two). There's many suspected reasons to why that is. One that frequently comes up is that Hip Hop is a overly male dominated culture. There's certainly a unhealthy amount of truth to that. There is no question that some of these MCs, who happen to be female, where as talented and in many cases more talented then the male peers at the time. However, while 100s of average male MCs got second, third, forth, or how many other chances to make sub-par albums the ladies weren't afforded the same opportunities. It's not hard to imagine some of them probably lost the faith, energy or desire to continue on. Certainly one couldn't blame them when the playing field they are trying to represent on is built on demeaning them and treating them as sexual objects. I'm willing to bet that all of them had to deal with the producer, label worker, studio engineer, show promoter, radio show DJ, peers, fans and whoever else is involved try to mix business with "pleasure" (certainly the term is relative only in the mind of the agressor). My point, men or boys grow up! Yes, there are a lot beatiful women out there...I see them too, but let's also remember they are worthy of respect and living life like a predator is by no means as cool as you might think it is. OK, I'm done with my rant, but I felt it essential because this subject gets me so heated whether it's about slept on MCs because of gender or the fact that I have many many women (from daughter, mother, neice, girlfriend, sister, etc...) in this world who I love and have to be concerned about their welfare in this kooky world. Anyway, reach out to these artists and give them props, but tell them where you got the info so I can get mine, props that is... :)

myspace pages:
http://myspace.com/bgirlbe
Sha-Key a.k.a Hanifah Walidah: http://myspace.com/suckaforlife
Sweet T: http://www.myspace.com/sweetteemusic
DJ Jazzy Joyce: http://www.myspace.com/djjazzyjoyce
The Real Roxanne: http://www.myspace.com/the_real_real_roxanne
Queen Mother Rage: http://www.myspace.com/queenmotherrage
Yo-Yo: http://www.myspace.com/yoyomusic
Ang 13: http://www.myspace.com/ang13
Bahamadia: http://www.myspace.com/bahamadia
Antoinette: http://www.myspace.com/antoinetterapps
Roxanne Shante: http://myspace.com/roxanneshante

-couldn't find pages or updated info on Nefertiti, Iyoni J, or Nikki D so any info or assitance would be greatly appreciated!!

-side notes:

*Vicki Anderson/Myra Barnes: I have seen it list that Myra Barnes was he "maiden name" but not sure how/why that changes her first name also. To complicate matter she also recorded under the alias, Momie-O and released one 7" under James Brown's short-lived "I Dentify" Label. I'd suggest these tracks for sure, "Super Good", "Answer To Mother Popcorn", "Land Of Milk and Honey"

*Antoinette: I also often find myself quoting her "Seeing Is Believing and Doing is Achieving" line as a form of motivation, for whatever that is worth...

*Yo-Yo: The production credits on the 12" actually say "Produced by Sir Jinx, Ice Cube with the funky Hip Hop Punch (whatever that means... ha) by Delvon, the Funkee Homosapien". I just "assume" that Sir Jinx did the bulk of the "magic"...

*Nikke Nicole: even more rare than the Female MC is the Female producer in Hip Hop. Honestly someone quickly name me ten female producers in Hip Hop...I can't do it either, not quickly and without research anyway. That's not a good thing... Anyway, Nikkie Nicole did some fine work in her short time on the scene.

*Ang 13: Let me stress that I think it's unfortunate that I have to point that out when a female is a good rapper that I mean good compared to everyone not just other females, but there's a lot of myths in the world.

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