we had a birthday. Hip-hop celebrates her 50th anniversary this summer.
Although the genre’s roots can be traced geographically to the Bronx, hip-hop music and culture has undoubtedly shaped broader American culture and has global influence.
To celebrate, Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture is hosting Freedom Flows, a Juneteenth event marking the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
They will be premiering a new pop-up exhibition, “My Mic Sounds Nice: History in hip-hop feminism.” Part of that is a new online hip-hop collection vault filled with digital artifacts.
KUOW Arts and Culture Reporter Mike Davis interviews MoPOP Guest Curator Adiarya Johnson, the hip-hop feminist scholar behind the new exhibit and vault.
Johnson’s work as a scholar and curator is influenced by journalist Joanne Morgan, who coined the term “hip-hop feminist.” Morgan’s work has explored how black women connect with hip-hop music and culture while also addressing contradictions within the community.
“We saw a lot of videos of women in the early 1990s and 2000s and understand how many people thought they were being objectified.” said Mr Johnson. “Or maybe they’re… experiencing some form of objectification within hip-hop, or just the lyrics the way many men talk about women in hip-hop. But it’s this idea that we still love to listen to: that music.”
According to Johnson, Dirty South Feminism is a conversation about how black women have been involved in hip-hop and what it means to grow up and live in the South through a feminist lens. It is said that it produces.
“I think there’s a really great area in hip-hop that can cause problems, but how do black women get past that and find their place?”
“My Mic Sounds Nice” pays homage to Salt-N-Pepa’s song of the same name and is divided into three eras.
The first part of the exhibit, Check 1, features artifacts that reflect the early emergence of black women in hip-hop culture, including photographs of MC Sherlock, who is considered the “first female rapper” or MC.
Check 2 is the 1990s and 2000s, a time when rappers like Lil’ Kim and groups like HWA challenged the status quo about female sexuality and pleasure in hip-hop.
Check 3 explores how contemporary artists like Nicki Minaj and Cardi B use not just lyricism, but fashion, hairstyles and music video iconography to convey the themes of their music. I’ll pick it up.
For Johnson, “My Mic Sounds Nice” aims to demystify and amplify the achievements and creativity of black female hip-hop artists to the ears and eyes of fans.
“There is no one-and-only black woman, and we are all different in how she chooses,” Johnson said. “We all dress differently and think differently, but give us a chance to speak, give us a stage to do our best and, you know, show some respect. please give me.”
Freedom Flows: The Juneteenth event celebrating 50 years of hip-hop will be held at the Museum of Pop Culture on Monday, June 19th at 7pm. Tickets are available for her 21+ to purchase on his MoPop website.
Click the play button at the top of this story to listen to the entire segment.
