The Female MC (Where’s She At?)

The female MC. She exists. I know she does. I’ve seen her at my local open mic. I’ve seen her on cheesy reality shows. I’ve heard her on college and independent radio. I’ve seen her at female MC showcases. I’ve read her flows on web cyphers. I’ve seen her on My Space. But how come I don’t hear her on KMEL or see her video on MTV or BET? Yeah, I can catch some out dated joint by Lil’ Kim or Foxy Brown and Lauryn Hill’s flows never get old, but, where is the new generation of female MCs?

It’s a man’s world. I get this. Men run and ruin this world at their will. Women clean up the mess, however that may manifest itself. Hip Hop, the progressive counter-culture that we may be, still subscribes to sexist values that choke the female MCs voice. The male dominated industry of Hip Hop still lacks faith in the female MC.

A few weeks ago I was at a function when a few men started to talk about Hip Hop. This issue having been on my mind for awhile now prompted me to tell the men that there are no new female MCs on the radio and quite frankly Hip Hop, the industry, doesn’t seem to give a hoot. The response, by one Bay Area MC, was “Who gives a shit? If there were females dope enough to be heard, they would be.” His response angered me. There are most certainly female MCs trying to be heard who are dope enough to be put on. And there are most certainly wack male MCs getting breaded out for spitting garbage!

One might say that just like the women’s liberation struggle, only women can uplift women. Thus, the responsibility of putting female MCs into the mainstream falls on the shoulders of women. But the truth is that the heads of major labels, major radio stations are not women. The labels are run by men. It’s a man’s world.

So, just like with the women’s struggle for equality, the challenge to put talented female MCs into the mainstream, requires that men join our cause. If the same ol’ cookie cutter gangster, ride or die female MC is what the mainstream allows for, why haven’t we had a new one of those in few years? What’s the problem?

The entertainment biz is cutthroat. It’s musical chairs, there’s never enough room for everybody to play. If you are trying to blow up as an MC, the threat that the next MC will take your spot is real, and can happen at any given moment. The public fan base is wishy-washy and easily distracted, often only offering unconditional loyalty after your dead and gone. Investment into an MC can be risky. But with no female MCs to speak of, why not take the leap? Why not offer up something new to a male gangster MC saturated radio line up? Isn’t that why Lil’ Wayne gave us Drake or why T-Pain resurrected the auto-tune, to come new? The same shit over and over gets played out, that’s why T-Pain’s auto-tune craze is already falling off.

I am a grown woman. I have kids to raise. The truth is a pain I need in order to arm my children for the real world. The reality that it’s a man’s world doesn’t distract me from other truths, such as, women have the right to be heard, even if it unsettles their men’s world.

The truth is that a crop of female MCs to shake up the game would be both a wise financial and cultural investment into the future of Hip Hop. Let’s step our game up!

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