by Kay Hollins
Through their work, Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, and Missy Elliot, have been credited with bringing feminism into the male-dominated [and unfortunately, historically misogynistic industry that is Hip-Hop. The late 80s and 90s were a time when women in rap and R&B were blowing audiences away with empowering lyrics and style, and bringing Black feminism to the forefront through both.
It was time for something new in Hip-Hop. For once, we were getting music that not only sounded nuanced but also expressed themes like sexual liberation, girl power, and the Black woman’s plight from the perspectives of those going through it all firsthand.
In 1999, Jamaican-American author and journalist, Joan Morgan’s classic, When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life as a Hip-Hop Feminist was published. It is in this book that Morgan coins the term Hip-Hop Feminism, a sub-set of Black feminism that centers intersections of race, gender, and class while also acknowledging the contradiction of being a Black feminist that enjoys/is part of Hip-Hop music and culture. Like Morgan, other amazing authors have been, in their own unique ways, defining and establishing the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. So, here are five texts that every Hip-Hop feminist should read; and why!
1. When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life as a Hip-Hop Feminist by Joan Morgan, 1999
For the Hip-Hop feminist reader, Morgan’s Chickenheads is a powerfully potent read via the lens of a Black woman that loves Hip-Hop, though she often feels it does not love her back. This book is just as vibrant and creative as it is academically innovative and educational, as it presents and analyzes information crucial to both community and culture; flavored like the experiences our mamas tell us about. It’s amazing how many topics and issues surrounding Black womanhood (sex, sexism/racism, dating/courtship, motherhood, careers, etc.) that Morgan mentions remain relevant two whole decades later. Her diction is funky, conversational, hip and entertaining . Just as much of a must-read now as it was in ’99!
2. Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets by Feminista Jones, 2019
Feminista Jones is an American social worker, activist, cultural commentator and writer. Along with contributing to The Washington Post, Salon, TIME, and Ebony, she has received great acclaim for her threads on Twitter and her decades-spanning work as a blogger.
Jones’ book, Reclaiming Our Space, analyzes how feminism has changed over the years because of the technological advancements of the internet, specifically social media. Though focusing on feminism rather than Hip-Hop feminism, this is a great read because it focuses on the differences between feminism and Black feminism. It emphasizes that Black [feminist] women have quite the different experience in the fight for equality than our white counterparts, due to also having to face sexism and racism (various forms of misogynoir). This book is full of research, and knowledge dating back to slavery, as Feminista Jones makes connections to the work modern Black feminists are doing today.
3. Wish to Live: The Hip-Hop Feminism Pedagogy Reader by Ruth Nicole Brown and Chamara Jewel Kwakye, 2012
Assistant professor of gender and women's studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ruth Nicole Brown and scholar, Chamara Jewel Kwakye implement poetry, performance, document analysis, playwriting, polemics, cultural critique, and autobiography into this compilation of Hip-Hop feminist theory. Wish to Live is the analysis of the radicalism of Hip-Hop, with its history of expressing the realities of social issues in the communities that have been credited with its invention and advancement. Moving beyond, yet still influenced by, the elements of Hip-Hop (rapping, breakdancing, graffiti art, and deejaying), collections such as this one are great when searching for those doing the work to expose injustices that Black women face in a way that is modern, and also encourages the youth to get involved in community activism.
4. Home with Hip Hop Feminism: Performances in Communication and Culture by Aisha S. Durham, 2014
From a Hip-Hop feminist perspective, Aisha S. Durham, cultural critic and Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of South Florida analyzes the correlation between white-centered feminism and masculinist Hip-Hop culture. As a lover of Hip-Hop, similar to other authors in this list, Durham asks the important question: where do Black [feminist] women fit into the culture? This is a read that celebrates Black womanhood in the ever-evolving pop culture world, which as we know is heavily influenced by Black and Hip-Hop culture alike. This read excellently includes everyday experiences in such a real and raw way, appealing to undergraduate and graduate students interested in media and cultural studies, race and ethnic studies, and gender and sexuality studies; but also those of us looking for something relatable and insightful.
5. Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought by Beverly Guy-Sheftall, 1995
Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Black feminist scholar, writer and editor did something so masterful with Words of Fire. In this collection we are gifted with contributions from over sixty prolific Black women, including feminist greats Shirley Chisholm, Angela Davis, bell hooks, June Jordan, and Alice Walker. Credited as the first major anthology to trace the development of Black Feminist thought in the United States, Words of Fire privileges us the wisdom of our ancestors and feminist predecessors from their perspectives; views of the fight for equality, dating all the way back to the earliest days of abolition and the planning to dismantle the master’s house. To know our history is to know ourselves, and it is so beautifully fulfilling to know that when it comes to feminism, particularly Black feminism, the fire to dismantle oppressive systems is generational and inside us all.
*Happy reading, and cheers to a Hip-Hop loving, hot girl summer!