There are quite a few people who feel that music that is created to raise the consciousness of a particular community is irrelevant in the age of what William C. Bansfield calls the post-album age wherein the music created is commercially driven and marketed to a specific segment of society. Wise Intelligent, the front man for the influential hip-hop group Poor Righteous Teacher, always felt and continues to feel that he was galvanized by the spirit of the people to take up the mic to educate the masses. It is a tragedy that Wise Intelligent, who penned one of the best odes to Black women with “Shakyla,” is forgotten when it comes to bringing knowledge of self beat up and compressed into hip-hop form. “My thing is to touch through all your books and right into the heart of the man,” Wise Intelligent explains when asked what his mission is, “the natural law is in your heart. Love is the law and mathematics. All teachings are internalized and this is what I try to point out in my music.”

Poor Righteous Teachers (PRT) came on the scene in 1990 with the classic single “Rock This Funky Joint.” These Trenton, New Jersey natives dropped jewels made available from the teachings of Clarence 13X (affectionately known as Father Allah in the Nation of Gods and Earths) behind sparse and head nodding tracks. During the 1990s, PRT remained consistent with four albums which provided heavily needed knowledge and calls to uplift the Black community. What made PRT and Wise Intelligent so digestible is that they did not come off as preachy. Their aim was not to reach the college heads, but to reach the sisters and brothers on the corner. “I was locked up as a young man,” Wise explains, “this experience provided me the understanding of freedom. Freedom is very necessary. Crimes we were committing we were inflicting on our own people. We realized we were part of a problem because we were not helping our people. Then I came upon the lessons which gave us a black nationalistic foundation to begin to love our people. The state of the people today is what makes a group like PRT or Wise intelligent possible. When you have lawlessness, you need righteousness.” With this motivation, Wise Intelligent has written timeless joints that can be played for the young bloods and the grandparents as well. In his lyrics, Wise Intelligent has challenged, loved, inspired, and fought for his people.

Ironically Wise Intelligent, whose skill is matched by few, is never mentioned in the several questionable lists put out by numerous publications. “I guess I was the 51st MC,” he chuckled, ”the Source had 110, I must’ve been number 111th. It’s hard to understand why but I don’t dwell on it. I don’t force it. I write according to the time I write. The people need more. I am writing to that 19 year old whose mother is in jail. I’m writing to the sister who has to feed her children.” For Wise Intelligent, commitment does not stop at the mic. Currently, he is working on a book about brothers on the corner who decide to use their street prowess for revolutionary means in the same vein as Sam Greenlee’s Turk Freeman in The Spook Who Sat by the Door. He is also developing a youth organization that promotes everything from knowledge of self to literacy to savings and investment centered around the concept of LOVE, LIFE, LITERACY. In the meantime, Wise Intelligent will add to his discography with his upcoming album, “The Talented Timothy Taylor.”

In this dimly lit nightspot, an intimate setting jam-packed with a crowd anxious to hear their favorite underground emcee rip the mic, two individuals await. One is a female waiting to perform and the other is her male manager, who listens intently backstage. As if being with a female weren’t difficult enough, these men must also undertake the struggles their women endure trying to penetrate the rap game as a serious artist. Added to that, a female rapper’s relationships with men are often the emotional root of her music.

In a relationship where the female is involved in the male-dominated profession of emceeing, the affiliation can be a case of role reversals. Rap has always really been a man’s world, where rappers revolt aggressively and declare their manhood – marking their territory and stressing loyalty to the streets in the name of masculinity. When females take on this role or try to enforce a different position, problems arise. “The love in hip-hop is over men, crew love, brotherly love. It’s very sort of ancient Greek. It really doesn’t allow a lot of room for women,” states Toure, a hip-hop writer and former co-host of MTV’s Spoke N’ Heard. “Hip-hop is, at its essence, is boys, not men, but boys talking about what they do for and with boys.”

Jean Grae’s fiancé Colin also plays manager to the indie femcee who refuses to compromise her style for the mainstream. He is no doubt frustrated as Grae attempts to penetrate the Rap arena on a major scale. Eve’s ex-boyfriend of two years, producer Stevie J, was seen frequently wrapped on the arm of the Philadelphia bombshell, always in the shadows of her celebrity despite his own musical success. Prior to their mutual separation, Eve told MTV News, “Our relationship is great…I’m behind him all the way. I pray to God it doesn’t mess us up. We feel as if we have a strong bond and strong love. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. I think we’ll be all right.” But was Stevie J as committed to the relationship? On her sophomore LP Scorpion, Eve raps in “You Had Me, You Lost Me,” (which Stevie J produced) “Sneaking numbers out my phone / calling bitches on the cell / what the hell / clunky bitches one on the scale.”

What about male rappers who get involved with female rappers? Doesn’t happen often due to the lack of female emcees to pick from. But the most known male emcee/female emcee relationship would probably be between the deceased Notorious B.I.G. and Lil’ Kim. The two secretly (and later publicly) romanced each other in the 90s, after which Kim admitted to being in a relationship with B.I.G. while he was still married to R&B singer Faith Evans. Either way, one certainty is that being the significant other to a female emcee is not an easy role, whether in or out of the business.

Grammy Award winning talent, Ladybug Mecca ("Rebirth Of Slick (Cool
Like Dat)", 1993) formerly of the rap group Digable Planets is currently
in the studio recording her new solo debut set to be released in late Fall
2003.

Ladybug
Mecca, possibly rap’s most notorious voice of her time with the group Digable
Planets in the early 90′s, is now back for her first solo project after a
long layoff and start of a new family. Rebirth of Mec, which showcases
among other things, Ladybug’s soulful versatility, is due out in stores in
late 2003.

On Rebirth of Mec, she bares her soul and explores her journey from
innocence into sense. She pairs her thoughtful words with an eclectic blend
of music: breezy Afro-Brazilian rhythms cross-pollinate with hip-hop beats,
fiery rock riffs and post-bop blue notes meet and prosper. Co-produced and
overseen by Mecca and Nu Paradigm CEO Nkosi Gray, the set features Hitman,
from Dr. Dre’s Aftermath camp, and producers include Shane Conry, Isreal,
Sa-Ra and Martin Luther, from San Francisco-based Good Vibes.

The track "Hit & Mec" details what makes the albums only match
up work over trunk rattlin beats and a dazzling soundscape. Hitman, who has
rhythmed with Dr. Dre and Eminen in the past, puts it this way, "Im straight
gutta, shes straight profound." Another song, "Step Up Wise",
boom-bangs to a message about education and empowerment. "If you want
the truth," Mecca explains, "you have to step up wise."

Prominent in Meccas history is her role in Digable Planets, a communal clan
of poet-rappers that made hip-hop bebop popular in the 90s. Alongside her
two male partners she burst onto the scene like a quiet storm, blowing away
expectations and defining a new stance for ladies who followed on the mike.
"Mecca The Ladybug makes great strides in proving women in rap dont need
to scream and swagger in order to be tough and assertive," wrote Larry
Flick in Billboard magazine. "Mecca never raises her voice but
always is a commanding figure," he continued.

The crews 1993 unveiling, Reaching (A New Refutation of Time and Space),
sold platinum and included samples from Curtis Mayfield, Sonny Rollins and
other pacesetters. The single Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat) was
a Top 10 smash that won a Grammy award for Best Rap Performance by a duo or
group. The trio also scored one Billboard award, among other accolades,
and toured the world as the opening act for Sade. Its follow-up, Blowout
Comb, followed the groups creative light to another singular level of
inspiration.

"I want listeners to come into my world," says Mecca of her solo
debut, Rebirth of Mec, on the independent, self-determining Nu-Paradigm
Entertainment. "I’d like them to feel they’ve entered into a new dimension,
somewhere they’ve been before but can’t remember yet. All in all, Rebirth
celebrates life."

As Mecca told writer Cheo Hodari Coker (Vibe Magazine), "Creating
music is like giving birth, and your baby is a gift to the world."

www.ladybugmecca.com

“Even if it seems like a stereotyped name for a woman, that was far
from being true since you could see my name on subway cars next to all the
male writer’s names. I was a feminist speaking for women’s rights even
before I ever heard about anything like that.” – Lady Pink

Males have always dominated all aspects of hip-hop, and graffiti is no exception.
However there has always been a small but significant number of women who
are represented in the scene. This chapter, although short, will investigate
the females, who played true to the game. Like Lady Pink, one of the most
well known of the female writers, who still writes to this day – legally and
sometimes illegally.

Females have a harder time achieving fame in this predominately male genre.
Some of the best and most well – known female writers – Barbara 62,
Eva 62, Lady Pink, Charmin, Stoney, Lady Heart, to name some, have played
a role in changing the male dominated shape of the graffiti world. Charmin,
for instance, gained her fame by tagging the statue of liberty – the
first writer to do this, male or female, earned her the respect she sought.

Barbara 62 and Eva 62 were early writers – in the same era as Taki 183 –
and they usually wrote in a pair. Many female writers used male names – the
reason for this could be inferred as a way to gain acceptance before a stereotype
could be attached.

Many male writers resented female writers. They did not want them to come
to train yards, they say, “Cause if they get hurt we’ll feel responsible.”
Another female writer of the early days, Kathy 161 would go to the train yards
but most female writers attempted to gain their fame via walls, handball courts
and tagging the insides of trains.

Female writers were usually boxed out of graffiti groups and organizations.
On rare occasions, if a female writer was considered to be a good writer,
she would be invited to join an organization. An example of this is when the
highly prolific and prestigious organization, United Graffiti Artists (UGA),
invited Charmin and Stoney (two very accomplished writers of the time) to
join them. In fact, Stoney had previously been a member of the “Ex-Vandals”
gang. Opposition from male writers to allowing females into their organization
was strong. Many of these writers saw females as a threat, especially if they
had fame, good style, etc.

The attitude towards Stoney by Hugo Martinez (founder of the UGA) and other
male writers was, according to Bama, “…She was about being serious.
Hugo kind of saw her as a threat to the other guys’ egos because she
kind of painted very well…That sort of attitude made some of the fellas
who weren’t as good, but were important members of the group, feel bad.
So they thought that it would be good to get rid of her, and they got rid
of her.”

All- female crews and groups were attempted but they never really got off
the ground. Female writers then were always slaves of the male dominance of
the subculture, always having to be one step ahead in order to be taken seriously
as graffiti writers. They were always on the outside, sometimes breaking through
into the inside.

Females had a lot more to prove than their male counterparts, while aiming
for the same goals of style and fame.They often had to live with rumors about
their sexual activities.

As Lady Pink describes, in an interview with Molotov Cocktail, (a graffiti
‘zine), “As a female writer your sexual reputation is run through the
dirt. Boys will not tell each other that a girl said no to them. People were
saying crazy things about how I wasn’t doing my own pieces and so on…So
I went painting with guys in the Bronx and all the way down to Brooklyn. They
saw that I was serious.”

This can be seen as an attempt to intimidate females from partaking in the
subculture, and it did deter many females. However, according to Lady Heart,
“Although it was sometimes an effective strategy, fear of family reprisals
and the physical risks in train yards were much greater deterrents against
female participation.”

Female style of graffiti was similar to males, although females often painted
more feminine, using less blacks, more color and more visually pleasing characters
and backgrounds. By using more gender role colors, etc, while still maintaining
style and technique, these women individualized their work asserting the fact
that they were females in a male field, but that they could be as good and
sometimes better than the boys.

This article has been reprinted with the permission of the author, Pamela
Oliveras. Contact Pamela at: ukreal1@hotmail.com.

Where My Ladies At? For once, DJ Assault asked an intelligent question. Where are the ladies? I mean in the hip-hop world? I don’t know how many of you can remember back to Hot, Cool, and Vicious but I can. Salt-n-Pepa caused a hell of a ruckus in 86/87 with their single “Push It”, and managed to break down a LOT of barriers. At that time hip-hop was a male dominated arena, even stars like Roxanne Shante had male DJ’s. Salt-n-Pepa had a female DJ. I still remember the line “Spindarella’s not a fella but a girl DJ.” (Don’t ask me what I learned in class last semester, please.) After Salt-n-Pepa, there came a slew of female rappers that I grew up with and loved; Monie Love, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, all females who did some amazing things in hip-hop. Since then, it seems the bottom has dropped out.

In the mid 90′s hip-hop took a different turn. The Black to Africa, Black Awareness, and Self-Knowledge/Respect movements had disappeared and suddenly you had Lady of Rage, Da Brat, Suga T, and Mia X, all very powerful women, all following on the heels of males in the “Gangsta Rap” revolution. Most weren’t given a lot of opportunity to stretch their creative limbs and their albums floundered for a few weeks then, ultimately, died on the shelf. Brat was one of the lucky few that made it out unscathed and continues in her popularity.

The late 90′s and early 2000 saw the emergence of Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Eve and Missy Elliot. All of whom have talent, though I give many props to Missy for being a little off center and Eve simply because her voice delivers an excellent flow (even if the lyrics are bad). But few of these ladies have half the respect quotient of female rappers of the past.

It seems like more and more these days; women are taking on much different roles in hip-hop. Many times if you hear a female voice she’s a vocalist singing the hook, not to say that’s a bad thing, hell Jill Scott tore up that Roots song (the original before they dubbed over her with Erykah), or they are spoken word artists adding a special touch to the track. Rare is it found anymore that there are female lyricists getting in the spotlight. Not to say there are no female lyricists around anymore, but it’s almost like their ability to hold their own on stage and in studio is greatly underestimated by the general hip hop listening public. Which leads me back to my original question: Where my ladies at? Honestly I’ve heard females battle and tear some guys a new one, but it seems no one wants to take them under their wing and hone that sweet talent into something greater. Are men afraid to be shown up by a female, or is it that in such a male dominated arena it’s simply too hard for a female to be taken seriously in the industry (no thanks to Lil Kim and Foxy for their sex kitten portrayal of female lyricists)?

That’s why, here and now, I pose a challenge to all male lyricists and groups (or at least all the ones who happen to read this), if you find a female lyricist with talent that would make Russell Simmons cream his Phat Farms, or at least make him pay attention for a while, pick her up and let her do her thing on stage and in the studio. Test her mettle-and yours-and see if you can’t get a reaction from the crowd. What’s the worst that could happen? Really?

by Iman Saadiqa Abdul-Majid
Originally published in VERBALISMS Magazine October 2002