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Tuesday, January 3, 2006

Conspiracy Against Smart Female Rappers?

Posted by on January 3 at 16:36 PM

“Poon Tang Clan” by Ursula Rucker (on her excellent third album, Ma’at Mama, due January 31 on !K7 Records) is sure to stir up controversy in the hiphop underground. A renowned spoken-word poet/MC, Rucker busts the balls of female-objectifying sexists on this witty riposte set to a stark, ominous funk foundation of just drums, cymbals, and stylus-on-vinyl crackle.

Besides possessing the sexiest, sweetest pipes in hiphop, Rucker wields a biting, articulate vocab. I keep waiting for her to blow up, but maybe the mainstream isn’t ready for an intelligent female rapper with liberal viewpoints. Who’s replicated Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill’s commercial success in the last decade or so? Are there, as I suspect, nefarious forces only allowing women who act like XX-chromosomed thugs and sexbots to get widespread media exposure? Or is there really a dearth of witty women mic-wielders? Or am I just overlooking some talented distaff wordsmiths? Mizell? Schmader? Anybody?


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it is so awesome when black people are articulate. I can't wait to hear this witty riposte for myself.

Lady Sov?

Uffie?

M.I.A.? Maybe a singer not a rapper, but an argument could be made.

What's more, M.I.A.'s intelligent, liberal viewpoints have appeared in perhaps the most mainstream of forums/media: the Honda commercial.

Jean Grae?

Forgot about Jean Grae. Good call, Pony. But she's still not what anyone would call wildly popular, is she?
M.I.A. seems to be a clever dispenser of catchy slogans with right-on sentiments more than an intellectual force. Lady Sov is bright and clever with wordplay, but again not the sharpest tool in the box, imo.
I don't know Uffie, but will explore.
Thanks for your input.

With you on Lady Sov, but she's young we guess.

Thing is, we can't really get on board with the whole "intellectual force" thing. We'd rather they rock the party or bedroom or whatever.

Hence the Uffie - she benefits to no end from her producers/beats.

While not necessarily simplistic, rappers are best when conscious of themselves and the music, but not in any lame 'conscious-rap' socio-politcal sense. That shit gets boring. Male or female or trans/Peaches.

Uffie?
really?
damn.

Chuck D, Guru, and Rakim (among others) could both rock a party and stimulate your mind. There must be some women who can do the same.
Why should this be an either/or proposition?

i'm surprised this discussion has happened without mention of philly's bahamadia. she's got skillz for days, and doesn't cater to the t&a crowd at all. what ever happened to her anyway?

Inhibitionist, we would never intend to turn this or any forum into an either/or opposition, there's just certain subject matter we find boring/uninteresting/tired. A subject matter people seem to automatically associate with rappers considered intelligent/smart.

Rakim yes. Chuck D no. Guru ok - if he's Slick. It's weird.

So yes, Uffie - we love electro in most any form.

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