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An article on women djs in Nairobi, Kenya tells a familiar story of women facing men's resistance to their involvement in the music industry. It also does a nice job of introducing a number of djs based in Nairobi.
It's kind of a trip to see this video about an industry-oriented women's empowerment event on King Mag's site. I don't see anything about it on the Women in Entertainment Empowerment site but it seems to be another kickoff event of some sort.
Not to belabor the obvious but these are King's "Related Articles":
BALLIN’ OUT OF CONTROL
What’s the most girlfriends you’ve ever had at one time? The most—prob...
Dennis Rodman
Not the kiss and tell type, huh. That’s cool. Word is your years in Chicago were the peak of your...
King of The White Girls
If one expects revolution to, well, revolutionize then it cannot be passive. It must be aggressive...
Warning: These Girls Are Porn Stars
Wednesday’s Haps
- Kim Kardashian Stars in Sex Tape Sequel - C-Murder is getting another trial. - 'Nappy Heade...
Oh well, let's see what happens when WEEN really gets going next year with more concrete projects beyond the million name database.
[Note: any of you closet lefties get the joke behind the title?]
Jess Harvell is live blogging the Congressional hip hop hearings. I checked in around 12:30 or so and couldn't get sound out of the video webcast but Jess's account gives me a strong sense of gladness not to be watching that little screen.
Some excerpts:
10:29 a.m. The first 20 minutes of this thing have been one long, vigorous handjob for Bobby Rush from one Representative after another for being such a brave soul. Is this how these things normally go?
10:53 a.m. When I die, I will be forced to take notes on a congressional hearing where the opening statements never end. I just told Maura that if she hears my head hit the keyboard to come over and kick me a few times.
12:12 p.m. MTV's "stuff as much incomprehensible motion into three-hours as we possibly can" at the VMA's now makes a lot more sense, at least from a live-blogging perspective.
It sounds like a tedious show. Maybe Jay Smooth was right but mostly because this is so boring that no one will care.
But there is a revealing note about music industry execs:
12:25 p.m. Man, all these m[deleted]s are so hot to distance themselves from their hip-hop content/product or otherwise play it down that it's kind of shocking.
I guess ol' Jess is stuck in front of that monitor for the rest of the day. That's what you get for making those kinds of programming decisions!
It's really pretty today in Raleigh. Sunny and a relatively mild temperature. Think I'll go for a little walk while Jess keeps track of those hearings for us.
Update:
Here's the NY Times version.
After initial news regarding their creation, the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN) held a launch event Wednesday night and you can see the pictures here.
Though Kimora Lee Simmons was announced as the spokesperson, Valeisha Butterfield is described as the founder and is clearly the lady in charge. You can find out more about her and some other happening women that are involved in one unclear capacity or another at WEEN's new website in the About section.
Since this was simply a social event there's not much here to which to respond. However a commenter on my initial post, in which I express my suspicious inclinations regarding this organization, had the following to say:
They actually started this WEEN thing way before the congressional hearings were announced. Things like this take planning; you can't just spring it up in that short amount of time. The first WEEN meeting (which a friend of mine attended) was held right after the Don Imus thing. Since then, they have been planning - creating a website, getting members, being strategic. This is just the formal launch.
Instead of being cynical, you should recognize that regardless of when the first meeting took place, that the organization is needed. That's why the first meeting - in which only 20 guests were invited - had over 200 guests respond and nearly 100 attend.
You're right, things like this do take planning and, since these issues have been fairly big for years now one would expect something to emerge at an industry level sooner or later. That it began after the Don Imus controversy doesn't really say much about deeper concern since that was the point where it became clear that there was going to be a big backlash against business as usual.
How this group will actually function and what their true agenda is remains to be seen and will only be revealed by their actions. Just because they claim to be responding to real social concerns does not mean that their organization's actions will ultimately address such concerns in a relevant manner.
Given the fact that this organization has come into existence so late in the game regarding the foul treatment of women in hip hop suggests that something beyond social concerns are driving this group. The fact that external social pressures have been growing that could affect corporate bottom lines and that HSAN is involved should be enough to make anyone wonder why this group is gathering now.
I only said I was being cynical in a sarcastic manner. I'm really just being realistic given everything I've seen to date.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
HSAN Creates Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network [WEEN] Just in Time for Congressional Hearings
Russell Simmons Helps Diamond Industry Get Ahead Of Leonardo DiCaprio's Blood Diamond Flick
HSAN takes a stand regarding the portrayal of women in hip hop and Kimora Lee Simmons takes her rightful place at the helm:
Taking a stand on the issue of portrayal of women of color in entertainment, specifically in Hip-Hop music, women in the entertainment industry have joined forces to announce the launch of the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN).
Fashion mogul Kimora Lee Simmons, singer Joss Stone, Universal Records EVP and Motown Records President Sylvia Rhone and Executive Director of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Valeisha Butterfield are notable participants, which includes more than 80 influential women in the entertainment industry including corporate executives, recording artists and educators. The group has been meeting for the last several months to develop WEEN's mission statement, program and strategy. Simmons has been tapped as the organization's national spokeswoman.
I know I'm an awful, cynical person whose deprived upbringing in the South means I will never understand the sophisticated yet selfless ways of the big city but I just love the timing of their appearance as Congress prepares for hearings on the representation of women in hip hop media to shore up their own faltering ratings.
Because, deep down inside, I know they really care and that it's not just another campaign to blunt the force of moral outrage as it threatens the bottom line of hip hop business.
Related Coverage:
Variety: Congress holds hearing on hip-hop
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network Launches
Russell Simmons Helps Diamond Industry Get Ahead Of Leonardo DiCaprio's Blood Diamond Flick
Flat Buns Patty Melt Commercial (30 seconds)
Remember Hot For Teacher by Van Halen? They were such a sucky band as were all the metal bands we endured in the 80s when I still periodically watched large amounts of MTV. These Carl's Jr./Hardee's Flat Buns commercials totally brought me back to Van Halen and my main argument for rock fans regarding the current state of hip hop.
Most of my white friends in North Carolina still seem somewhat amazed that I listen to rap music more than any other genre out since most of them think the whole deal is bs. Seriously, I still get people saying rap is not music as if that was an intelligible statement. On the other hand, some of them have moved on to discussing issues related to rap that they've been hearing about cause I'll explain it to them in a manner they can understand. So there are small glimmers of hope.
Van Halen - Hot for Teacher
What I've never gotten around to is using my argument that dismissing rap because of gangsta rap or whatever other subgenre is dominant is like dismissing rock in the 80s because you didn't like heavy metal. The bottom line is that what's charting has little to do with the full range of musical activities within any genre of music. But we rarely get to that because most of them would have to take it on faith that rap is anything other than racist, mysogynistic, homophobic noise that wakes them up when it rolls through their neighborhood.
Seeing these remind me so much of Hot For Teacher. Don't know if any teachers complained back then but I understand why they're complaining. When other people take control of representations of you and your kind, however that's defined, it usually doesn't work out so well.
About 2:20 into Hot for Teacher you get a shot of the teacher walking down the aisle from behind that may have been picked up for the ad. In fact, you could argue that the whole thing is a ripoff of the Van Halen video. But Hot for Teacher is actually much more demeaning with the teacher characters playing into fantasies of beauty queens and strippers.
And the little kid is a pimp at the end of the Van Halen video!
Kanye West - Throw Some D’s Remix
A lot of questions are being asked about hip hop these days. Recently, Felicia Pride introduced Rap Sessions, a traveling panel and discussion event with the questioning title, Does Hip Hop Hate Women?
I don't know about hip hop as a whole but I do know that there's a lot of woman hating going on in rap music.
In the above video by Kanye West, a remix/parody of Rich Boy's song about getting new rims for his new Cadillac, Kanye humorously plays with the idea of upgrading various women with breast implants. It's funny and it's catchy, yet it takes the commodification of women for granted to the degree that it's quite sick and hateful.
And hip hop's full of such things that both attract and repel, leading some of us to feel conflicted about our love of hip hop, especially when we find outselves drawn to music that has such objectionable elements.
In the coming week or so I'll be focusing on signs of life rather than signs of death in hip hop. But I wanted to start off by saying that many of the problems in hip hop are quite obvious but what to do is not, that feeling conflicted is normal in such a situation, especially when one's concerns are dismissed out of hand by so many hip hop fans, and that those that can't understand or empathize with such feelings are not to be trusted when addressing serious concerns.
I don't claim to have the answers regarding social change within hip hop but I do think that coming together in dialogue with the intent of following through with action is inherently necessary and that includes projects like Rap Sessions.
Coming Soon: Hip Hop Signs of Life!
A new edition of Change This is out including Co-Creation Rules! by James Cherkoff and Johnnie Moore that emphasizes an "open source" approach to marketing in which the company and the consumer engage in the creation of meaning. Or something like that.
I couldn't get behind all of the broad opening statements but most of the manifesto presents a useful series of points designed to help companise understand the contemporary consumer's mindset.
Also worth noting is Elisa Camahort's Women Bloggers: Changing Their Worlds, Changing the World about BlogHer, a community of women bloggers.
I haven't been closely following the gender discrimination lawsuit brought by Kim Osorio against The Source, Dave Mays and Benzino, but justice was served last night to the tune of $15.5 million. It should go without saying that the verdict will be appealed.
Jose Martinez gathers some details for the New York Daily News while Leonard Greene does the honors for the New York Post.
SOHH had a courtroom observer with daily reports but they don't seem to have a landing page for the series and reports aren't interlinked however, if you want a look back, go wander around over there or check out yesterday morning's report and you'll see some of the others linked in the right hand Related Articles column.
Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond recently interviewed folks with Source connections which leads into a larger discussion of hip hop journalism for the Village Voice.
If you're feeling a bit suspicious about old Clyde at the moment, it's all good.
I'd suggest clearing your head with the really real from Adisa Banjoko on using the Matrix to save his daughter from feeling like she needs to look like a white girl.
The Black Hair Matrix:
How Jada Pinkett-Smith Saved My Daughters Self Esteem
I'm not ashamed to say that I cried while reading this story.
According to the press release, the MBADC Women's Music Industry Workshop has left its iVillage location and will relaunch January 1st with a new site. The site will focus on women's issues in the music biz, though men are welcomed as readers, and the shift relates to a desire to move away from the "stereotypical women's content" that Randi Reed felt came with the territory at iVillage.
The MBADC Women's Music Industry Workshop is a sister site to MusicBizAdvice.com and the new developments include MusicBizAdvice.com staff writer Darcie-Nicole Wicknick becoming Managing Editor of the relaunched Workshop site.
Wicknick states:
"My personal hope for the WMIW is that it will offer diverse perspectives for women (and men) in the music industry. We're aiming for this site to serve as an outstanding resource with content for all."
Right on. My own experience has been that well done resources for women operating in male dominated terrain tend to have a lot of good material for working with and around business as usual. I look forward to having more time in the new year to check out what these folks are up to.
When I saw the announcement that Kim Osorio is puttin out a publication called RHYMES & WOMEN Mixtape Magazine aka RAW, I thought that the former editor of The Source, who's bringing a lawsuit against the magazine for gender discrimination and sexual harassment, was doing a project to boost female djs and mcs. The very idea seemed like a form of justice, even though it probably wouldn't rake in the dough as did The Source in its heyday.
But then I read more of the description of the first issue and realized just how wrong I was:
RAW features interviews and centerfold pinup posters of the hottest models and video chicks from around the country in every issue. This issue features a 54 caramel honey straight out of Harlem, USA.
However, if the business relationship with models is handled in an above board fashion, i.e. they are treated like professionals rather than choice cuts of meat, then that could also be a positive development in the modeling scene. In fact, if they included some real coverage of what goes on behind the scenes. it might be a positive endeavor.
Of course, it's not just a modeling magazine, RAW is planned to have news and coverage related to the mixtape scene, so it's a mixtape and pinup play featuring honeys and artists who are mostly men. Which is probably a good business idea since it also will include a "fully licensed Mixtape Album" with each issue. The time has probably come for licensed mixtapes since they now have a visibility and popularity that makes it feasible to sell them on newstands and so forth, emphasizing their marketing value without putting folks in danger of RIAA mixtape crackdowns.
Official site: RAW Magazine.
Though hip hop remains a male dominated musical sport, next month brings the She's My Dj! female turntablist competition to New York. Female djs will battle for supremacy on the turntables at SOBs. Among the judges of She's My Dj! will be Kool DJ Red Alert.
More info on She's My Dj! at Femmixx.com.
While Suze Orman's financial advice seems pretty reasonable, if obvious (but folks need the obvious), GoodDebt.com's Jon Hansen feels that some of what she says will keep you in debt.
Film industry professional Karen Woodward shares 10 Tips for Young Professionals About the 'Real' World including my favorite:
"1. Lose the attitude. I can't tell you how annoying 20-somethings (men and women) are who, because they are young and cute and went to a good college, think that they are smarter than anyone else."
But the most telling advice I've seen of late comes from MusicBizAdvice.com in the form of Safety Tips for Female Concert Fans and Women in the Music Industry. It contains good advice for female fans and professionals. Men should read it too, in order to be reminded of the bullsh*t and abuse women have to guard against who just want to see a show or work in the biz.
First Kim Osorio and Ms. Info show the boys that they're NYC's Reigning Queens of Spades, then Ms. Osorio comes clean at the Hip Hop and Feminism Conference in Chicago and now word's out that she and Michelle Joyce are going after The Source for sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
Now that's hardcore hip hop action!
Thanks to Hashim Warren for alerting me to the legal action via [the late] Media Chin-Check.
The NY Times has two interesting articles today that relate to hip hop's cultural influence, for better or worse. One article attributes the NCAA trend of "popping the jersey", in part, to hip hop style and that makes perfect sense. Like the Feenom Circle's Rawj says:
"aint gonna say that everybody knows who I is, but when you see me collar-poppin doin the electric slide you'll be like 'this brotha gets down for his.'"
I was really surprised that a NY Times writer is just catching on to the fact that the term "b*tch" can include men. Although Virginia Heffernan is focusing on tv, she seems to have missed the extensive use of b*tch among male hip hop artists, comedians and their fans when dissing other men. Given that rap musicians have a distinctive ability to mainstream prison culture, one would think that the connections would be fairly obvious. Even more so given that hip hop is full of the kind of macho males who diss "faggots" but think it's ok to get head or f*ck a guy as long as they beat him down first. You know, with all the talk about reforming hip hop, I doubt any prominent cultural critic is ready to take that one on.
By the way, Carolina's gonna kick everybody's punk ass. And maybe some day the NY Times will figure out the related meanings of punk that have nothing to do with music, little to do with Ashton Kutcher (though the lineage is there) and everything to do with men raping men.
Essence Magazine has been in the news lately, not only for the total acquisition by Time, Inc., but for the Take Back the Music campaign addressing the treatment of women in hip hop. In fact, Stanley Crouch's recent attack on hip hop thuggery closes with a discussion of this campaign and the many heartfelt online responses, that include posts from men as well as women.
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