SOHH NYC
New York is back, forget what you heard
Broke Femcees (Seriously) Unify for "Getting Money" Mixtape
Posted on July 7, 2008 11:57 AM
Written By SOHH Reckless
The title should really say "Why are Lady of Rage, Amil, and Babs Still Trying to Rap?" Lady Luck was never a "rapper." So she would have been omitted.
Via press release:
"Radio personality Ed Lover of [New York] Power 105.1FM and Uneek, formerly of the Bounce Squad have joined forces to create a movement entitled Females Earning Money (FEM). FEM [is a mixtape that] features four of the fiercest female lyricists the industry has ever experienced… Babs Bunny, Lady Luck, Lady of Rage and Amil.
"I'm excited about the project," says Babs. "Each one of us brings something great and different to the table and I'm ready to go in! We are all very talented and we have all worked with major artists in the industry… Rage with Dr. Dre and Snoop, Amil with Jay-Z, Luck with Def Jam and EPMD and myself with Diddy. None of us are amateurs, but at the same time we all still have something to prove."
This is ridiculous. Lady of Rage has been around waaaaay too long. She's been around so long I can't recall whether or not "Afro Puffs" was her first—or last—hit. Her days with Death Row have been finished so long now that they've been reused and recycled for groupies like Ashanti and Olivia. And Amil? Once she got dropped from Roc-A-Fella, there was no coming back. Last time I heard, she was working at Walmart (which is probably not true). Not that there's anything wrong with working at Walmart. But that just goes to show that you can go from the top to the bottom in an instance. How long has it been since she's had a career? Ten years?
Babs Tranny Bunny, on the other hand, is a different story. Her career both peaked and was over with as soon as she signed with Diddy. How much of a percentage is he still taking out of your earnings, Babs? And for how many more years?
SMH. Why do people, who don't have to be rocket scientists to see Diddy's mark of bad luck, keep signing with this dude?
How did I forget Lady Luck? After a rumored two albums that flopped—and I say rumored cause I've never heard of either albums—Def Jam canned her. And then she got beat by Remy Ma in that 2004 Fight Klub freestyle battle that made International P—and his Monday Night pool table showdown—famous. She's been known as the "loser of that one freestyle battle" ever since.
In a nutshell, this project consists of no one relevant. And not one of these chicks has any money. Yes I know this is supposed to be for a good cause. But no one's going to care.
hey joe,
honestly,....i understand the right on, bet gossip character and scope of your commentary on this blog spot, and page. but honestly,...for you to tear down the female emcees who went through the most turmoil business wise collectively, during rap sales spike era of 96-2004. while tryin to fulfill a dream is heinous. seriously, rap has always been in an arena, that did not demonstrate an equal playing field, when discussing male/female dialetic. to disassociate that away from the female sector of rap as a business is wrong. plus, a step back when you take into account, who these entertainers were aligned with. i comment on the difference between a female rapper, and a male rapper all the time, on the forums.sohh.com. especially as the lines have started to blurr and more male rappers have started to gravitate towards the business model of the female rapper more and more[example ghostwriters, poorly overproduced production, and execution, awful imagery, and marketing, etc, etc....]. plus at the same time people have ignored and been oblivious to this fact as well, in the business of rap. coupling it with degradative, 'culture stealin'[that is becomin my word. rightfully, so when we talk of the business of rap, and the twelve year reign and destruction caused by the how can i be down aesthetic of rap being completely jettisoned away as a preventive measure in the business]. yet, and still the how can i be down aesthetic never was a component, of female rap. especially seeing as the female component and bgirls that inhabit hiphop is in a very small number from this culture's perception, and inception. so i champion any female emcee in rap, regardless if they suck or not. plus, i look at the males responsible for the project and sh!t on them, which is where the turrets should be actually aimed. simply because more female presence of any kind is needed in rap, and definately hiphop. plus, the playing field is different, and the need for more females to permeate the actual culture of hiphop. those female artist and any female artists' projects act as a valuable gateway tool for females to get into rap, and most importantly hiphop. so i don't ever, give anyone any credence when they are destructive to a female project that should be released at least first. that project should see the light of day and be actually heavily weighed on more factors than a male released hiphop album. plus, the male involvement in the project should also, be reviewed justily, and also,...the factors of the album, and complextion of the industry should also be weighed upon heavily when the album comes to fruition and hits the stands.
now granted i am waiting for this completely
awe-inspiring beauty developed in the grass root role and mantra, of this culture. that crafts her own furious lyrical prowess, from scratch and is current to the signs of the time, in the culture to grace my tv screen, and ipod white headphones.
but considering my hands own approach in this culture and the drastic need for more females to be apart of hiphop, and knowing from experience that hiphop is really female anemiac to begin with and has always been. i can wait, but have learned to sit patiently while someone tries to find that talent, but in the meantime find a way to be entertained. seriously, there is no difference between this group and saltnpepa, as actual talents. the difference lies in timing and how huge they became. plus, you have to tie in, that....saltnpepa executed to jettison herbyluv, and still had a career. this is usually very difficult to do, and one of the reasons, why saltnpepa only permeate to the top level when we think of female rappers, in general. every other female rapper, in question goes through the same types of destruction of draws, yet and still these females catch the brunt, unjustily.
so,...i can and have to learned to take a:
l'trimm, with a grain of salt with + one's and sweet tee's to the ghostwritten, but delivery savy skills of foxy and kim.
so i fully understand that the female game is/was never on the same plane artistically or skillwise as the males in hiphop. fine,...but others need to understand that, and females in general need to be made aware of this fact as well. imo,...more females need to learn about the culture of hiphop wholeheartedly. especially when it comes to the fact that hiphop is male dominated, and females are needed that can learn to navigate, and expertly pilot that dynamic. especially in a context of life, in general...imo,...hiphop is a valuable tool and arena for a woman to grow those said skills, and relationships.
now bare in mind, i know females are dually destructive to one another. especially when it comes to things like being current, and visually acceptable.
cause well yall like sh!T like that as a way to weed other women out or whatever. i'm not sure why yall fully do it but whatever. but to dismiss this project before it even is released, is wrong. what should have been done was for you, to throwaway the gossip column schtick and rout these women on. they are the heavily pr women in hiphop who weren't visually appealing wholeheartedly, or lacked that one kernel that makes a female appealing as an artist. but, where attached to artist and asked to flesh out this female aesthetic, which was controlled completely by males. but even though i lamented, and loathed some of their work. they were the ones who weren't believed in as being the truth. but if amil's first album, on tha roc, serves as an indication. an indication that a woman with out all the pieces as an artist but a sound team can produce a quality album, and be productive. [especially considering an arguement can be made that amil's full length was the best roc album from the roc not named jayz at the time, of its release as well. plus, the best non jayz act, and album in tha roc's history till beanie's second album should also be logged into the history books.]
granted, what needs to be quelched from entertainment is the couple/of love project, with the fake hide the relationship pr. plus, the results when that couple isn't on anymore. plus, the male figure tryin to ostracize that female act as well, because of the failed relationship. which to be honest, most women go through, and fail to create another head of steam....plus have to take the brunt of, the blow when it comes to their draw.
yet, and still these women in this project deserve a little more. especially for showing some perseverence, and overcoming the large business obstacles that are generally presented in this realm.
and with that said:
shame on you,......
you were bogus,...and in this instance usually i am really mean, and don't give a phuck, but when it comes to the females presence in rap, and the culture of hiphop. i clap my hands and wait for the time, when quality wholeheartedly in a lopsided market can be achieved.
you should do the same, and should wait and see when it comes to this project, and any other female rap influenced project in hiphop is released.
Art Barr
women in rap, are not on the same playing field, ever.
don't act oblivious to the fact.
judge them for the factors present, which are really phucked up and back off.
wow...why all the hate? I am happy to finally see the females coming together! Your cruel comments show exactly why it's so hard for women in this business. These girls were all with major players in the game and in their own right deserve some respect. Your comments truly show the ignorance of the music business. I may stop reading this site as a female I am truly offended. I can't wait to support this tape and project. Luck, Babs, Rage and Amil you go girls!! I'm a big fan of all of you!
Female emcees stay takin L's...SMH
Don't mean to sound sexist but I'ma just state the facts here. Big ups to all femcees doin their thing but the truth remains that the rap game will forever be dominated by MEN. That's just the way it is. I got faith in Lady of Rage tho...Afro Puffs was the jam back in the day: "I'm hittin MCs like HAYYYOOKEN!!"
Signing with Diddy = CAREER SUICIDE
Amil got some tig ol bittiez tho...I'd definitely hit
yea, i think it was the source (if not xxl) where Amil admitted to working at either k-mart or walmart. i heard they said she wouldn't rap, dame pushed her to rap but she wouldn't come in. thats just what i heard. still i'm looking forward to this one, we need more nice female mc's. hell, they should do a series lol. make this one volume 1 and do a volume 2 with yo yo, mc lyte, jakie-o, and angie martinez lol maybe even throw da brat in there. shit, i'd cop it
what does money have to do with anything now a days if you dont have money you cant rap what wrong with people today. how did this guy get a jib sucking someone one dick your writing skills suck
I think the writer's choice to DISS rather than APPLAUD the good intentions of AMIL, BABS BUNNY, LADY LUCK, and RAGE is indicative of the HipHop media's views and overall views of the people that listen to HipHop. So what if these women have never had MAJOR hits? The NEW artist that debuts doesn't have any MAJOR hits under their belt either until they MAKE one. I PERSONALLY know UNEEK and consider her a friend. I also have worked with BABS BUNNY and LADY LUCK. These are all hard working women. RAGE and AMIL also had their brushes with the limelight but who's to say that they can't have another opportunity.
All they're trying to do is make GOOD music. Is THAT so wrong? They can't have an opportunity to put out some music that SOMEONE will enjoy? There are QUITE A FEW emcees out there that have a following and probably get to travel around the world to places that you could only IMAGINE w/out a MAJOR hit. Who gives a FUCK how much money they have left, etc. This should be about the music...let it be that. There's only one BOL and he's at XXLMAG.com quit trying to bite his style by dissing cats for no reason. Let these young ladies do their thing. If you're not interested...DON'T BUY IT!!!!! Don't shit on their efforts though.