Finally hip hop heads can rejoice in the emergence of Alia Sharrief. Hailing from East Sacramento and now living in the Bay Area, she is well-known throughout California, and now internationally. Alia’s message stresses that she is more than an image. She is #newfemalehiphop. New art. New revolution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZAPQfYexvI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjuND4RDv0U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v_goRVW-Bc
For those in the know, Aima the Dreamer hails from Oakland and has been rockin’ crowds for years as a vocalist and MC with groups such as J-Boogie’s Dubtronic Science, The Mamaz, Goddess Alchemy Project and Jazz Mafia’s Brass, Bows and Beats Hip-Hop Symphony. All of this in addition to her own solo project has given her a variety of outlets with which to harness her energy as not only a talented MC and vocalist, but also as a strong, feminine woman who easily holds her own amongst a male-dominated industry.
As a freestyle rapper, poet, singer and versatile MC, Aima the Dreamer brings her array of talents and influences to the masses by way of her mixtape, released August 3rd, 2010. In addition to the mighty J-Boogie, the mixtape features a who’s who of underground and independent artists including Lyrics Born, Bassnectar, Crown City Rockers, DJ Vadim, Bunny Mack, Sola Rosa, Brass Mafia and many others.
check for her at http://aimathedreamer.com/?page_id=14
Below is an interview Aima did with our own Weyland Southon on Hard Knock Radio about her incredible mixtape
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ozWccV4SM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDjm398ygXU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47zMOGwDMeg
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Today is International Women’s Day and so we went digging to pull out a few Hip Hop videos that speak to empowerment and social justice.. Many of them are all but forgotten so we thought we’d revise some fond memories.. First up is Queen Latifah and Monie Love their classic song Ladies First…
Queen Latifah and Monie Love Ladies First
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLB5bUNAesc
Many forgot about this jam by Salt-N- Pepa which reminds everyone that women are quite capable of doing any and everything under the sun.. We should not place limits on people..
Salt-N-Pepa Ain’t Nothing But a She Thing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na3u8S9tF9o
Many forgot that author / activist Sista Souljah teamed up with Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad to do an album.. Her first single Slavery is Back in Effect warned us to be careful with the way society was moving in terms of harsh legilsation being passed. If we’re not careful we may wake up and find that slavery had returned. In this song The Hate That hate Produced, Souljah’s flows over a slamming beat and reminds us that she is not here to make white folks feel comfortable. She’s here to challenge the system. I wish they had a video of the song she did with ice Cube..
Sista Souljah The Hate that hate Produced
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neNboHZ3paQ
This is a more recent offering from MC Lyte who has always delivered gems. It features her and DJ Premier. here Lyte is reflective as she speaks to her being more responsible as she gets older and challenging us to set good examples for those who come behind us
MC Lyte The Wonder Years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMhRtxjFY0k
Many of us know X-Clan via Brother J, Paradise and the late Sugar Shaft and Professor X. We forget that they had two dope female emcees who did full length albums.. Isis now known as Linque and Queen Mother Rage were absolutely dope and sadly overshadowed by label politics which led to lousy promotion. The imagery X-Clan put forth was always uplifting, reminding us we are descendents of Kings and Queens.
Isis The Power of Myself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz9sSzt4yvI
Queen Mother Rage Slipping Into Darkness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T85S90nrIH8
Maria Isa out of Minneapolis aka Soto Rico is dope and one of the best around.. I wish she had did a video for this song which pays tribute to Puerto Rican revolutionary Lolita Lebron who fought for Puerto Rican independence
Maria Isa Die Not kill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zScRfVWzXk
Poetic Pilgrimage is a group everyone needs to know.. talk about having dope flows.. My favorite song from them is Freedom.. definition of a Pilgrim is also nice.. I went with this video because of the subject matter, oppression in Palestine, but to be honest damn near anything by them hits..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1orCqZg4SA
This Posse cut called Freedom is from the movie Panther and features everyone from Queen Latifah to Yo Yo to Salt-N-Pepa to patra and many more is classic.. we featured during Black History month and had to revise it again for Women’s History Month
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxyxqVDjSzs
Can you really go wrong with Lauryn Hill, especially when she dropped the landmark album Mis Education of Lauryn Hill? This is a classic jam
Lauryn Hill Doo-Wop That Thing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6QKqFPRZSA
No list would be complete without Missy Elliot... We Run This is one of my favorite joints.. It features Missy dancing while gymnastic champ Dominique Dawson watches.. Missy is always fun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2oIhJG7rXA
Lastly X-Clan’s Paradise Gray turned me on to this new joint by Narubi Selah Hookless2 … This is pretty dope..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxUGjuPQ4A8&feature=youtu.be
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxUGjuPQ4A8&feature=youtu.be
Long time friend Rebecca ‘B-Fresh’ McDonald of City Pages caught up with Oakland’s own Too Short 
who was in Minneapolis on tour with E-40..They were at Epic.. Here Short describes the characteristics and philosophy behind Too $hort the performer, the humanity of Hip Hop, as well as women in history he admires in honor of the upcoming Women’s History Month.
http://vimeo.com/60534720#
We all need a good laugh in the middle of all the vitriol of the Election 2012 season.. This hits the mark…We need more fun songs like this in Hip Hop..The song is pretty timely considering last night a couple of sisters broke into a beauty supply store here in Oakland and stole a bunch of hair.. No money or anything else..Just the hair..
This is what happens when you mashup Biggie’s ‘Ten Crack Commandments’ with a Black Woman’s ‘Ten Weave Commandments’ – all my ladies with weave out there should be able to relate; or at least learn a few tips to take care of their weave.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AodLQpOmhU
