LibGuides: On the Road: 4-12 "Ladies First": Women of Hip-Hop

DISCLAIMER

TEACHERS SHOULD PREVIEW ALL CONTENT PRIOR TO SHARING WITH STUDENTS.

"Ladies First": Women of Hip-Hop

Suggested Grade Level: 4-12

This research guide serves as a resource for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Education Department course, "Ladies First": Women of Hip-Hop. For additional information on the course and for more teacher resources, see: http://www.rockhall.com/education/distance-learning/courses/WWR-Hip-Hop/

This class illustrates the complicated and changing roles of women in hip-hop. From early pioneers, to the game-changing artists of hip-hop’s second wave, to today’s leading innovators, women have continually (and effectively) worked to have their voices heard in a genre too often dominated by men. By exploring representative songs from artists such as Roxanne Shanté, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, Missy Elliott, and Nicki Minaj, students will examine the undeniable, yet often overlooked, impact and influence of women in hip-hop – then and now.

Search the Catalog

Databases

These research databases can be accessed within the Library and Archives.

African American Music Reference
African American Music Reference brings together 50,000 pages of text reference, biographies, chronologies, sheet music, images, lyrics, liner notes, and discographies which chronicle the diverse history and culture of the African American experience through music. The database is constantly expanding to include comprehensive coverage of blues, jazz, spirituals, civil rights songs, slave songs, minstrelsy, rhythm and blues, gospel, and other forms of black American musical expression.
RoJaRo
The world's largest free music magazine index covering rock - jazz - roots music - blues - country - rap - soul - folk-latin - gospel - metal - psychedelic - reggae - punk - world music - salsa - afropop - pop - film music-progressive - dance - techno - electronica - avant garde - ska - r&b - exotica - house - etc. Also including music magazine, fanzine & record label information.

For Your Students

The History of American Pop by Stuart A. Kallen (Editor)
Call Number: ML3477 .K35 2012
Examines the rich history of the American pop genre of music and discusses innovators who shaped the style, form, and content of the music.

Online Resources

All Music: MC Lyte
All Music: Missy Elliott
Allmusic.com page for Missy Elliott
Nicki Minaj fan page
All Music: Queen Latifah
All Music: Roxanne Shante
All Music: Salt-N-Pepa
PBS: Independent Lens - Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes
Past Rock Hall Exhibits: Sepia Magazine

Rock Hall Video

Spinderella spoke and performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on February 15, 2012. In this clip, she demonstrates one of the sets she used to spin in her earliest days as a member of Salt-n-Pepa.

Objectives

These resources, pulled from class discussion and selected from the Library and Archives' collections, will help you to:

Consider  women’s  roles  in  the  development  of  hip‐hop.
Identify  leading  female  MCs.
Analyze  the  messages  conveyed  in the  music of  artists  discussed.

Books

The Anthology of Rap by Adam Bradley (Editor); Andrew DuBois (Editor); Chuck D (Afterword by); Henry Louis Gates
Call Number: ML3531 .A57 2010
This pioneering anthology brings together more than three hundred lyrics written over thirty years, from the 'old school' to the 'golden age' to the present day. Rather than aim for encyclopaedic coverage, Bradley and DuBois render through examples the richness and diversity of rap's poetic tradition. They feature both classic lyrics that helped define the genre, including Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's "The Message" and Eric B. & Rakim's "Microphone Fiend", as well as lesser-known gems like Blackalicious' "Alphabet Aerobics" and Jean Grae's "Hater's Anthem"
Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip Hop Culture by Yvonne Bynoe
Call Number: ML102.R27 B96 2006
A complete guide to the history, development, people, events, and ideas of Hip Hop music and culture
Hip Hop and Rap Lyric Book by Hal Leonard Corporation Staff
Call Number: ML54.6 H57 2003
Once considered an outsider art form, the music that originated from the streets of New York City has now become the new rock'n'roll, a major force dictating the trends of the day. At the core of this cultural fascination with rap music are the lyrics, which run the gamut from clever rhyme patterns and lighthearted party fare to gangsta verite, providing a glimpse into inner city life for those far removed from it. The full spectrum of this vibrant genre is represented in this book by nearly 100 artists.
Nicki Minaj: hip pop moments 4 life by Isoul Harris
Call Number: ML420.M563 H377 2012
From her outrageous outfits to her private life, this is the Mick Minaj manual: everything any fan would want and need to know. From humble beginnings in Trinidad to being snapped up by hip-hop king Lil Wayne in New York, Nicki has defied the odds and become a global superstar.
The Rolling Stone Book of Women in Rock by Barbara O'Dair
Call Number: ML394 .T76 1997
Essays on the music industry, sexual politics, and more by leading music critics accompany an illustrated biographical compendium of the most important female musicians, with profiles of Bonnie Raitt, Carol King, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Madonna, and many others.
Somebody Scream! by Marcus Reeves
Call Number: ML3531 .R44 2009
In Somebody Scream, Marcus Reeves explores hip-hop music and its politics. Looking at ten artists that have impacted rap—from Run-DMC (Black Pop in a B-Boy Stance) to Eminem (Vanilla Nice)—and puts their music and celebrity in a larger socio-political context. In doing so, he tells the story of hip hop’s rise from New York-based musical form to commercial music revolution to unifying expression for a post-black power generation.
Women Icons of Popular Music by Carrie Havranek (Editor)
Call Number: ML82 .H38 2009
Women Icons of Popular Music puts the limelight on 24 legendary artists who challenged the status quo and dramatically expanded the possibilities of women in the highly competitive music world. Using critical acclaim and artistic integrity as benchmarks of success, this can't-put-down resource features rich biographical and musical analyses of a diverse array of musicians from country, pop, rock, R&B, soul, indie, and hip-hop. It goes beyond the shorter, less detailed biographical information found in many women in rock compendiums by giving readers a more in-depth understanding of these artists as individuals, as well as providing a larger context-social, musical, political, and personal-for their success and legacy.

Audio

Pink Friday by Nicki Minaj
Call Number: CD MINA PINK-R 2012
Under construction by Missy Elliott
Call Number: CD ELLIOTT UNDE 2002

Video

From mambo to hip hop: a Bronx tale by Henry Chalfant
Call Number: DVD COLL FROM-M 2009
This well-crafted hour-long documentary - produced in conjunction with NYC's City Lore project and Latino Public TV - traces the music of the South Bronx, where Puerto Ricans who emigrated from Puerto Rico to the South Bronx in the 1950s and 60s merged their music with the African-Americans who moved in during the 1970s to create the original hip-hop movement of break dancing, scratching and B Boys.
Juice
Call Number: DVD FIC JUIC 2000
Q. Raheem. Bishop. Steel. They're four Harlem friends who spend their days hanging out and looking for a way to get the power and respect they call "juice."

Archival Resources

New to Archives? Check out:

Da Brat
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Foxy Brown
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Lil' Kim
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
MC Lyte
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Missy Elliot
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Monie Love
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Queen Latifah
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Salt-n-Pepa
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
ARC-0110 Women in Music Artist Files
The Women in Music Artist Files span the years 1989 to 2002 and contain biographical information and clippings featuring prominent women in the music industry. The artist files provide documentation on the impact of women in rock and pop music, specifically in the 1990s.

YouTube Videos

Kangol Kid and Roxanne Shante, "Roxanne, Roxanne" / "Roxanne's Revenge" / "Have A Nice Day," Central Park

MC Lyte, "Cha Cha Cha"

Queen Latifah, featuring Monie Love, "Ladies First"

Salt-N-Pepa, "Expression"

Missy Elliott, "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" [Video]

Nicki Minaj, "Moment 4 Life," live at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend