500 Female Emcees | Hip-Hop and Politics

500 Female Emcees: Meet Jean Grae-Iconic, Legendary-the Best

March 15, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Originally known as What? What? Jean Grae (Tsidi Ibrahim) was born in South Africa, but says that she will always be a New Yorker by heart. She is the daughter of two jazz musicians where she learned an appreciation for all genres of music by age 9.

She attended the famed High School of Performing Arts as a vocal major and was later accepted to New York University as a Music Business major. She was recruited by a rapper named Ocean to form a group Natural Resources where Jean cut her teeth as a song writer and producer.

In 1997, Natural Resource founded their own record label, Makin’ Records, and released the 12″ single, “Negro League Baseball“, which became an underground hip-hop classic.

Natural Resource dissolved in 1998, after which Jean changed her stage name from What? What? to Jean Grae, which she was a reference to the X-Men character Jean Grey. She released her first LP—Attack of the Attacking Things—in 2002, and followed it in 2004 with This Week.

She created a buzz for herself and which led to her recording tracks with artists like Atmosphere, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Da Beatminerz, Phonte, Masta Ace, Mos Def, Styles P, Pharoahe Monch and Immortal Technique just to name a few.

Jean linked up with producer 9th Wonder to record and album called Jeanius which was never completed after it was leakedon the internet. She went on to be signed to Babygrande Records where she released the critically acclaimed ‘This Week‘ and ‘Evil Jenius‘

In 2005 Jean signed to Talib Kweli’s Blacksmith Records. On April 28, 2008, Jean Grae posted a blog entry on her MySpace page saying goodbye to her fans.She later cited disenchantment with the music industry and desire to start a family as the reasons behind the “retirement” and said that she was working on new material and still wanted to continue in music: “You know what? I need that Grammy. I think I might be able to stop after that”^.

According to her wikipedia entry…In July 2008, Talib Kweli posted a blog entry explaining Grae’s album, mentioning that she was not retiring. The blog ends encouraging fans to purchase the album, referring to Grae as “one of the last true MCs left.” Grae returned to doing live performances later that year.

On September 18, 2008, Jean Grae posted a Craigslist ad offering her creative services for $800/16 bars.^[ On her MySpace blog entry, she states, “I don’t wanna complain anymore, I just wanna change some things about the way artists are treated and the way you guys are allowed to be involved, since it IS the digital age.”

On June 23, 2011, after an almost four-year hiatus, Grae released a free mixtape entitled Cookies or Comas, which features guest appearances from Styles P, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch, it also includes the highly praised tracks “Assassins” from Monch’s W.A.R. album and “Uh Oh” From Talib Kweli’s Gutter Rainbows.

On October 22, 2012, Jean Grae performed with MeLa Machinko and DJ Mr. Len in New York City at WNYC’s Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, also recorded as an episode of Judge John Hodgman. During the episode the upcoming records “Gotham Down” and “Cake or Death” were named.

On January 2, 2013, she released a 10-track project called Dust Ruffle. Dust Ruffle features unreleased songs from between 2004 and 2010. Of the album she says: “It’s such an interesting retrospective project because I get to actually hear myself evolve from 2004-2010. Snapshots of life.”

Between October and November 2013 she self-released a series of EPs titled Gotham Down Cycle 1: Love in Infinity (Lo-Fi), Gotham Down Cycle II: Leviathan. Gotham Down Cycle 3: The Artemis Epoch. In December 2013 she combined the releases into one and titled it Gotham Down Deluxe. Jean Grae also released an online sitcom titled “Life with Jeanie”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjb5JnhmrFU

In January 2014 she also released The State of Eh, an audiobook. All are available for download on her website.

Jean Grae My Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFz6ECvaiqQ

Jean Grae Love Thirst

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9gE4ybCp_c

Jean Grae Kill Screen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzK-fn9NaCE

Jean Grae Supa Jean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXeMYZQRmXM

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, 500 Females page Tagged With: 500 Female Emcees, Cake or Die, Evil Jenius, female hip hop, Jean grae, Underground Hip Hop

500 Females Emcees: Meet Lecca from Japan

March 13, 2014 By mrDaveyd

One of Japan’s most popular artists is Lecca. She’s half Latina-half Japanese Jamaican inspired, reggae, hip hop, dance hall singer, songwriter. She’s considered a major ambassador for reggae inspired music in Japan.

She cut her teeth and got what she described as ‘warrior’ training in 2002 when she graduated from college and decided to spend close to a year living in New York and Toronto so she could attend open mics, work with local artists and be a part of showcases. The experience was invaluable.

When she returned to Japan in 2003 she joined she joined a Hip Hop group Legnis. A year later she left and hooked up with popular reggae performer Pang where she found her groove and calling.It wasn’t long before Lecca went solo and the rest they say is history.

Her indie debut, Recca (2005), featuring guest appearance by Pang, was delivered in 2005; it was acclaimed as one of the best reggae/ska releases of the year, allowing Lecca to play festivals along with the greats like Gregory Issacs and Marcia Griffiths and bringing her a contract with Cutting Edge, where she debuted in 2006 with the EP Dreamer, followed by Urban Pirates (2006), which charted at number 57.

Her most recent album ‘Zoolander‘ came out in 2012 and is still making noise all over the world. Stand out songs include ‘Golden Lion‘ and ‘Clown Love‘

Lecca ‘Sky is the Limit’ w/ Rhymester

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jtnpBgKc1Y

Lecca ‘Lets Begin’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EIMU-h_8oE

Lecca ‘Start Line’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B36VveqGqzU

Lecca ‘Golden Lion’

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, 500 Females page Tagged With: 500 Female Emcees, Female emcees, Japanese hip hop, Lecca

500 Female Emcees: Meet Apani B Fly from Queens, NY

March 1, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Apani B Fly-Queens NY

Apani aka Apani B-Fly Emcee, often referred to as Apani B. is a revered hip hop artist, author, entrepreneur and activist from Hollis, Queens in NYC. She is a founding member of the hip hop super-group Polyrhythm Addicts, along with fellow members DJ Spinna, Mr. Complex, and Shabaam Sahdeeq. Apani emerged during the golden era of the 90’s to be considered a pioneer of New York City’s underground hip hop scene.
Apani has toured internationally and been embraced by a loyal and ever growing fanbase as new listeners discover and relate to her music. She is singularly set apart by her ability to use her vocals to confidently project a large presence throughout every performance with her agile delivery as well as inspire with socially conscious themes while managing to not forget to entertain the listener.

Now although a busy and dedicated mom of 3 beautiful and talented children, Apani continues to remain relevant as an important figure on the indie music scene. Apani continues to reach new levels artistically, always making new music and collaborating with varied artists, working as a makeup artist for several high end brands, expressing creativity through fashion, authoring books, as well as producing live shows and events through her company 2040MM.

Reach her on twitter at http:/www.twitter.com/apaniclassic

Check out our Master list of 500 Female Emcees Everyone Should Know

Apani B-Fly – Estragen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDc-QaS3XCw

Apani B-Fly – A Million Stories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiE0WPiYRsk

Apani B-Fly – Let Me Know

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdT3d5So6Q8

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, 500 Females page Tagged With: 500 Female Emcees, Apani B Fly, female emcee

500 Female Emcees: Meet Boog Brown-Grinding Hard & Being Herself

January 23, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Originally from Detroit and now living in Atlanta is an emcee, songwriter and poet who many like to say has skillz comparable to artists like Nas, Rakim and Lauryn Hill. We’re talking Boog Brown who is no stranger to set-backs. After moving from Detroit to Atlanta in 2007, she found herself without a job , a car or even a mattress to sleep on. But nothing feeds the soul of a true Detroiter like adversity.

Determined to make her unique voice heard, Brown donned her work clothes, put pen to paper, Chuck Taylors to the pavement and started to grind. Boog became a regular at Atlanta’s hip-hop venues, meeting producers, promoters, writers and aficianados. The message of her music was simple and the purpose, pure: Be yourself. Grind hard. Be better. Get paid.

Since the release of her first “official” mixed tape, Grind Season Vol. 1 in 2009, Boog has grown an impressive following, both online and off. She’s been featured on PotHolesInMyBlog.com, TheGrittyCommittee.com, and TheFembassy.com. Boog Brown has also graced the pages of Creative Loafing and MetroTimes- Detroit.

Boog Brown signed with Mellow Music group and in September of 2010 released the critically acclaimed ‘Brown Study’ with producer Appollo Brown. An instant classic, the album earned a spot on ITune’s Top 10 New Hip-Hop Artists list as well as a 2010 Itunes Indie Spotlight.

Fresh off her stellar performance at the AC3 music conference in Atlanta, Boog Brown was featured on BET’s My Mic Sounds Nice: the Truth About women in Hip Hop and has since gone on to win Best Female Emcee from ATL’s coveted Heart of The Hood Awards.

check for Boog Brown at http:/www.twitter.com/boogbrown

Boog Brown In Tune

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3hIDtY14Kw

Boog Brown Polaroids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JySHTD5iTEI

Boog Brown Shine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKmjJi9HvoI

Boog Brown Window Open

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jf3jyZXeVs

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, 500 Females page Tagged With: 500 Female Emcees, Atlanta, Boog Brown, detroit, female Rap

500 Female Emcees: Meet Awkwafina-Comedic Rapper from NYC

January 23, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Awkwafina hails from Forest Hills, Queens and has been making a name for herself as of late because of her satirical videos which poke fun of New York City hipsters, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg while humorously extolling the virtues and quirks of ‘the Vag’ (women’s body part). She attended LaGuardia High School where she played trumpet and was trained in classical and jazz music.

She adopted the name Awkwafina, and began rapping and writing songs in Garage Band at age 17. From 2006 to 2008, she attended the Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing, China, where she studied Mandarin. She also majored in Journalism at SUNY Albany.

Her recently released debut album is called Yellow Ranger.

Awkwafina NYC B#tches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-taYShNaPU

Awkwafina My Vag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z726OPwCnjE

Awkwafina Queef

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs6-o7Ci8J0

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, 500 Females page Tagged With: 500 Female Emcees, awkwafina, comedy rap, female Rap

500 Female Emcees: Meet Diva aka Keldamuzik from the Bay Area

January 20, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Diva aka Keldamuzik is from the San Francisco bay Area where she describes herself as someone the ‘entertainment industry has been waiting for’. According to her bio,

she is bringing a dynamic look and sound to a game that has been watered-down as of late. She’s a vibrant Hip Hop artist whose talent will not be denied. Aside from obvious reasons Diva plans to set herself apart from the run-of-the-mill acts that come and go. Her lyrical ability puts her on a plateau most established artists only wish for or try to purchase. .

In January of 2005 Keldamuzik signed a production deal with Squad Music Group and started recording her first album entitled “Shut Up, Listen!” that was released in summer 2005.

In summer of 2006 Keldamuzik started her own imprint, Golddigga Entertainment and began recording her second album entitled “Diva“, released in 2007.

Keldamuzik created and hosted her own reality TV series called “Diva TV” as a promotion vehicle for all of her releases and videos. Diva TV aired on over 25 public access stations across the San Francisco Bay Area, and received 100,000 viewers weekly. The program showcased the life of Diva aka Keldamuzik and her weekly exploits through Bay Area Hip Hop culture, special features and interviews include celebrities such as T.I., Diddy, Young Jeezy, Keenan Thompson, DJ Kid Capri, Biz Markie, Ice T and many more.

In 2009 Keldamuzik had her first taste of Hollywood after having her song “Weight Up” placed in Sony Pictures “Please Give” starring Catherine Keener and Amanda Peete, which was released in theaters nationwide later that year. Going forward Keldamuzik’s “Squash it” an anti-violence song was also licensed in MTV’s Real World San Diego, episode 8 and in Oxygen Channel’s, “Bad Girls Club“.

In 2010 Diva released her third album “Diva TV – The Album” and her hit single “Thirsty” spent 5 weeks on Australia’s Kiss FM’s top 10 chart. Thinking “outside the box” Diva networked and created “The Bay Meets Barbados” tour where she opened for Reggae artist Kirk Brown for several shows on the island of Barbados. Later, she headlined “The Bay Meet St. Maarten” tour for a string of shows; all of the above doing wonders for her Caribbean and International fanbase. In 2011 Keldamuzik started “The Cultural Exchange Tour” in which she opened for Jah Cure at the Heroes Music Festival and appeared on Good Morning Antigua twice.

In 2012 Diva performed and toured with R&B sensation Lloyd in Tokyo Japan for the Summer Music Festival which also featured rappers such as YC, J-lie and Kid Ink. In 2013 Diva’s music was entered into Pandora and to follow up she has performed at Yoshi’s in San Francisco and Las Vegas’s Hard Rock Hotel.

Aside from many of the major success she’s had, a special feature of Diva was published in the Examiner.com. She is now an unofficial spokesperson for Oakland’s very own clothing line Skylier Wear and has modeled for start up jewelry company by Bracelet Bizar.

DIVA (Keldamuzik) ft. Eddi Projex – I Don’t Care

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igJd8Ft-50w