I Don't Give A Damn If Female Rappers Get "Famous"...

I’m not even trippin if women in the hip hop industry don’t get the same exposure or platform as the men do. Nope, because that’s not what I’m focused on. As long as the girls who need to see their image, see it and need to hear their voice, hear it...then I’m happy because it’s what I’ve been longing for and needing for so long.

I used to see the guys in the church goin HARDDDD. They would be serving and impacting the community in amazing ways, it was like fire, grit and passion was flowing through their veins and I loved it. Then I saw the girls they were telling me to hang out with who just wanted to go shopping, look cute at church and talk about changing the world but not going out and actively doing it. I didn’t want to model my life after the girls, I wanted to model my life after the guys. They were doin the real sh*t.

I didn’t have an older woman to guide me, lead me and give me an example as to how to live my life. The women I saw, weren’t doing what I knew God placed in MY heart. So, I thought I was just different. I figured it was just me that had the heart of a soldier and the demeanor of a diva. So, I would study the men and how they moved and imitate it. I would model my life after them but just make it more feminine. I saw how hard they went for the issues they cared about, so I went just as hard in the areas that meant something to me. I saw how they talked, moved, created and took over…. so, I did the same, but in my own way.

Name me one woman in the hip hop culture that I could have modeled my life after? Nope, not talking about suburban women who went on missions trips or pastors wives. Someone like me, who I could relate to. All the rappers/known urban missionaries & leaders were men, and the females only sung the hooks (talking about Christian hip hop at the time). There wasn’t a known woman with a full album. They were hidden. Yes, the guys can make a song about women or tell a woman’s story but it’s something more powerful and special when she is able to share it herself. I wanted and needed to see that. It was cool to listen to and follow the guys but it would have been way doper to have a woman in that place. At least ONE.

So yes, I want a girl to be able to stream a full album from a woman who has gone through the same things that she is going through. Yes, I want a girl to have a “big sister” to be inspired by, look up to and learn game from. Yes, I want a girl to be able to say “I can change my community too” because she sees another woman already doing it. No girl should have to look to a man to hear her story or see her passion being lived out. There are women out here who can take on that role, they just need to know that they can and it is possible. Is that woman you?

With that being said, I don't share female rappers so they can gain more fans and become famous mainstream. I share them so that another woman can finally discover her voice and have someone just like them to look up to. I share them so that just maybe a young girl can see a different image of a woman in hip hop....that she would see a symbol of truth, strength and pure talent, not just a shell of sexuality being exploited by the industry. I share them because they are dope as hell and undervalued. I share them to show the world that women do have a place in this culture and they too have a call to change this world.

Check out the media section to see these dope female emcees sharing their truths. Also check out the Diva Spotlight video series to see women making big moves out in their community and changing lives. More to come! The women are like hidden gems out here in the world, I’ll find them for you. Just remember, Diva Demeanor is where they all gather.