In the new book The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop, music journalist Clover Hope profiles groundbreaking women artists — from pioneers Missy Elliott and Lauryn Hill to today’s stars, like Cardi B and Lizzo — who have shaped the sound and reach of rap, eschewing gender norms in the process. Hope tells the story of the genre from its early days to its current moment of global domination through the voices and stories of these women, including chart-topping stars and lesser-known trailblazers, by highlighting their ingenuity, resilience and craft. In this short interview, we asked her to tell us a little more about how the book came together.
NPR Music: Your book is organized around the stories of “100+ women who made hip-hop.” What made you want to tell the story of women in rap through the stories of individual women rappers?
Clover Hope: Number one is that these women have stories for days and I wanted to create a space where all these stories could live and, in doing so, create a new story about hip-hop.
There are women rappers most people know by name and the ones who don't necessarily get the same widespread shine, like Lady of Rage or Bahamadia; there are those who were celebrated and those who were considered problematic — I'm thinking of the duo Bytches With Problems from the ’90s, who were promoted as the female version of NWA. I wanted to provide a conduit for them to talk about their experience in hip-hop.
In the introduction to your book, you talk about the way the language around these artists (“rapper who identifies as a woman,” “woman rapper,” “female rapper,” the dreaded term “femcee”) can marginalize women at the same time that it claims to center them. How did this impact the way you told these stories?
I knew from previous interviews and coverage of these women that while some of them embraced the term "female rapper," others saw it as a hindrance. I didn't want to contribute to marginalizing them by referring to them as "just" female rappers, so I tried to talk through some of that thorniness at the start of the book. I'm not sure there is or will be a general consensus on what to call these artists (other than just rappers, which they are) because the women will tell you how they want to be identified, and not all of them want the same title.
You went into this project as a hip-hop expert — but in reporting on all these artists, is there a particular story or artist that surprised you?
Definitely the debate over who was the first female rapper. MC Sha-Rock. Debbie D. Pebblee Poo: These were women who helped create hip-hop in the 1970s and simply wanted recognition for it. It was interesting to pick apart the reasoning for that. There are all these layers of suppression that make it so that people don't know their names. I interviewed them multiple times to make sure I got their stories and perspectives — and even then, it was difficult to nail down a timeline. But I found that the friction is what helps produce a clearer picture.
The past few years have been huge for women rappers, who have garnered chart success and commanded the critical discourse to an exciting degree. Who are the artists you’re most excited about right now?
Saweetie, Flo Milli, Tierra Whack and Rico Nasty. I'm excited to see the many ways women are showing their humor in rap.
What do you hope veteran hip-hop fans take away from your book? What do you hope newer fans come away understanding?
I hope veteran hip-hop fans gain new knowledge or context. I hope casual or newer fans recognize how important it is to connect the dots in hip-hop and rap from the beginning of this culture to now, in order to understand why it's such a big deal that women rappers appear to be thriving. |
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| - In 1965, a San Francisco couple heard John Coltrane in concert and felt a jolt of higher purpose. They went on to establish a church devoted to the jazz giant and his spiritual message. In a new documentary short, Jazz Night In America visits the Coltrane Church and thoughtfully traces its winding history.
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- Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" has long been beloved as an "alternative national anthem” — but Jennifer Lopez’s recent performance of the song at President Biden’s inauguration sparked renewed discussions among Native American activists about how the core of the song is a wholly colonialist message.
- From NPR Live Sessions, watch Brian Horton perform “Lift Every Voice” for the Songs for Change project led by NPR Music stations.
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- From nightmarish new music from filmmaker John Carpenter to a surprise solo release from Paramore’s Hayley Williams to the “indie-destroying” rock sounds from Editrix, this week’s All Songs Considered New Music Friday show has something for everyone.
- The Weather Station’s music has often touched on conflict, compassion and loss — but its latest album, Ignorance, explores those emotions in the context of a deep reckoning with the global climate crisis. Singer Tamara Lindeman says her biggest takeaway from the experience was "to acknowledge that I could care this much and this deeply."
- 2020 was supposed to be a milestone year for the Foo Fighters. It was the group’s 25th anniversary; as the pandemic raged, the Foo Fighters’ 10th album, Medicine at Midnight, sat on the shelf with no release date. Out now, it’s both a new direction and a celebration.
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This week, the Tiny Desk kicked off its month-long celebration of Black History Month with a slate of jazz performances. Up first: The personal is political for Wynton Marsalis, who recorded a set featuring music from The Democracy! Suite with the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet from Dizzy’s Club. Next, for his Tiny Desk (home) concert, Immanuel Wilkins reunited with his longtime bandmates at Manhattan’s Sear Sound studio for songs from Omega, his debut all about Blackness, Black theory and the Black experience. And finally, flute player Melanie Charles’ performance is an exploration of space and time, combining the sounds of Haitian folk and Afrofuturism from the Black-owned Williamsburg Music Center.
Also this week: We shared a Tiny Desk playlist from Dwandalyn Reece, music curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture. “A celebration of African-American music must acknowledge the underpinnings of the quest for freedom and justice that the music represents,” she writes — qualities embodied by the Tiny Desk performances she chose. |
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