Cartwheels On Concrete

Female Emcees Vol. 5: Obscure 90's Edition

2009-01-05T20:25:00.098-05:00

For this volume I've selected a good number of obscure/rare tracks from the 90s by female emcees who have little to no info on them during my sessions searching, and two Canadian females I recently discovered given I'm from the US. If you could add on to anything I wrote, provide me with additional joints I did not mention, or know what some of them are doing these days, please do so in the comment section. Big ups to Travis for letting me post this installment over at WYDU.

01. PosNeg - No Doubt (Lord Finesse Remix)
02. Kool Kim - Ya Gotta Know (feat. Essence)
03. Triip - Keep It Flowin'
04. Love 'N' Props - Nobody Knows My Name
05. 2 Kannon - Keep It Goin'
06. Time Zone - Throw Ya Fuckin' Hands Up (feat. Queen Asia & Zulu Nation)
07. Chun-Li - Leave Your Guns At Home
08. Kandy Kane - Do My Body Good (feat. Miilkbone)
09. Tara Chase - Autonomy
10. Silouette - Rude Girlz
11. Ayesha - Where U Want It...?
12. Shazzy - Stone Walls
13. Misunderstood - One To One
14. Soul Kid Klik - Mortal Combat (Row Mix)
15. Champain - Corruption Everyday (feat. Louie Rankin)
16. PHD - Set It (feat. Havoc, Reecey And Kamikaze)
17. Sah-B - Some Ol' Sah-B Shit
18. Shä-Key - Soulsville
19. Michie Mee - Cover Girl

(Click To Download)

Alt Link: http://rapidshare.com/files/330615819/va-female_emcees-_vol_5_-2009-ho1ogramz.rar

01. PosNeg was created by Walter Velasquez & Lorenzo Lewis (aka Solex) in '95. The group featured two Bronx female emcees Walter grew up with, Kema & Sniper. After completing 10 out of the 12 tracks on their album slated for a release on Warlock Records in '96, Solex was tragically murdered and Walter soon lost interest in the project. PosNeg manage to release two 12" singles on VMax Records: No Doubt/Death List in '96 and No Doubt Remix done by Lord Finesse in '97. They also have an EP under PosNeg/Sistar Act entitled Best of Both Worlds that was recorded in '96 and features 8 tracks including "Death List" and "No Doubt". I'm guessing this is the actual release they were working on before Solex's death.

02. Essence
I heard "Ya Gotta Know" off a compilation entitled Tags of The Times put out in '98. It was first released as a vinyl single in '97 under Fly Guy Kool Kim with production from Haas G (known together as The UMC's). The track features Essence aka Ayana Soyini, hailing from the Lower East Side of NY and former member of Natural Elements. In an Unkut interview A-Butta claims she left the group due to creative differences and an urge to do her own thing. You can hear her on Natural Elements' "Shine" and the all-female posse cut "Estragen" from Volumes 1 & 3 I've compiled. Also check her out @ http://www.myspace.com/ayanasoyini

03. Triip
I grabbed "Keep It Flowin" off the 4th installment ('94) of the Echo/Lyricist Lounge Underground Airplay tapes. Echo released 6 tapes in the 90s before changing their name to Ecko due to legal issues. These were promotional-only with purchases from their clothing line. I have no info on Triip but she was dope as hell.

04. T-Love
Love 'N' Props is Taura Taylor-Mendoza aka T-Love's first group. "Nobody Knows My Name" was featured on The Southpaw EP in '96. T-Love is an LA-based emcee, singer, journalist, and founder of Pickininny Records. Her record label released Jurassic 5's '97 debut and her '98 Return of The B-Girl EP. She moved to London and released her full-length album Long Way Back in '03. Last year she released an retrospective album entitled Long Way Up (The Basement Tapes) that covered most of her unreleased catalogue.

05. Philly-bred K-Swift is the emcee behind 2 Kannon. They released one 12" single Keep It Goin' bw The Sequel on Meca Entertainment in '92. Bahamadia fans may recognize her from the DJ Premier produced track "3 Tha Hardway" off Kollage.

06. Queen Asia
"Throw Ya Fuckin' Hands Up" is from the '96 album Warlocks and Witches, Computer Chips, Microchips and You released by Time Zone, a group led by Afrika Bambaataa. Queen Asia was also credited as a vocalist on "I'm Workin'" from YZ's Sons of The Father album.

07. Chun-Li is a NY emcee who released one 12" single called Raspy in the mid-late 90s on Mindstate Records. "Leave Your Guns At Home" is off a compilation released by Freeze Records in '95 that featured unreleased tracks from artists on Blackmarket Records.

08. Kandy Kane was a member of Miilkbone's crew. "Do My Body Good" was produced by Nick Wiz in '94 while he was working with Miilkbone for Da' Millkrate album. In the liner notes of Nick Wiz' Cellar Sounds: Volume 1 released late last year, Nick speculates that she was probably from Newark, NJ.

09. Tara Chase is a female emcee from Toronto, Canada. "Autonomy" was featured on Beat Factory Rap Essentials Volume Two released in '97 and produced by Saukrates. "Autonomy" was her first commercial success followed by "Northside" in '01. Considering she's from Canada, I didn't discover her until recently.

10. Silouette is the female emcee of the Baltimore duo Annexx Click. Along with K-Mack they released several records in '95-'96 (quite possibly 5 in total). "Rude Girlz" was released in '95 on Concrete & Wiz Foundation Inc.11. Ayesha is another emcee from Philly. "Where U Want It..." is a miscellaneous track from '94 that was given to me with no info (receive a lot of those recently, much to my dismay). I first discovered her on "Million Dollar Bill" off the Funky Vibes EP, a compilation of unknown Philly acts as well as a rare Bahamadia cut. I'm unsure if Ayesha released an actual album or any other twelves besides We've Got To Live Together in '93.

12. Shazzy
Shazzy debuted in 1990 with her album Attitude: A Hip Hop Rhapsody on Elektra. It was the first album produced by the Stimulated Dummies aka the SD50's (Dante Ross, John Gamble & Geeby Dajani). Her music video for "Giggahoe" got quite a few plays back in the day and was remixed on a 12" by The Beatnuts the same year. A few years later she developed a much more aggressive, gangsta approach (similar to Bo$$) for Ghettosburg Address, her unreleased and extremely hard-to-find '94 album also under Elektra. This is where "Stone Walls" is taken from. (If someone could hook me up with the full album it'd be much appreciated. I'm anxious to hear it in its entirety.)

13. Misunderstood hails from Brooklyn, NY. "One To One" was released in '95.
*Edit: Misunderstood is actually Heather B.'s moniker. I simply mistook her for another mc from Brooklyn who just sounded similar. She released The Real Ruff & Rugged/One To One 12" in 1995 on Front Page Entertainment. It was produced by KRS-One.

14. Storm
Soul Kid Klik was a group from NYC created by G-Clef of Ghetto Philharmonic. Members included Infamous, Blakspik, Goodfella Mike G, Storm the Ghetto Mutant, Malik Kahaar Ali, Skinslaya & DJ Spinbad. G-Clef was managed by GZA Entertainment, which was co-owned by GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan. Due to creative differences with management the group never released an album. This remix was off the Mortal Combat 12" released in '96. I've read Storm the Ghetto Mutant aka The Black Sonya was to release something in '97 as a soloist but have yet to find anything by her.

15. Lady Champain
"Corruption Everyday" is the lead single off the Corruption Everyday/Ghetto Tunez 12" released in '95. Champain also released an LP in '97 produced by Mark The 45 King and has 3 tracks on Mark's Put The Funk Out There bootleg.

16. Reecey
PHD was formed by Blaq Poet (before he joined Screwball) & DJ Hot Day. They released several twelves, an LP and an EP on Tuff City Records during the early-to-mid 90s. Reecey was only featured on "Set It", the b-side to This Is For My Peeps 12" single.

17. Sah-B has been featured on all three Lords of the Underground albums released in the 90s and on "Da Underground Sound" by De'1. "Some Ol' Sah-B Shit" is the b-side to her 12" put out in '94 and it was produced by the one and only K-Def. She guest appeared on Blackwatuz' Da Kitchen/No Boundaries 12" in '99.
18. Shä-Key is a Brooklyn-based emcee who had an album out in '94 called A Head Nädda's Journey To Adidi Skizm, where "Soulsville" is taken from. She is part of the Brooklyn Funk Essentials, a collective of musicians and poets from all different backgrounds who mix jazz, funk and hip-hop into their repertoire. Now she goes by her birth name Hanifah Walidah. Check out her video of "Soulsville" below.

19. Michie Mee is known for being the first Canadian female emcee to ever get signed to a US label (First Priority/Atlantic in '88). Her first exposure came in '87 when she was featured on the all-Canadian hip-hop compilation Break'n Out produced by KRS-One and Scott La Rock of Boogie Down Productions. Since then she has released 2 hip-hop albums, is the vocalist for an alternative rock band called Raggadeath, and is currently working on an album called Rock Rap Reggae Mee set to be released later on this year. "Cover Girl" was featured on the '97 Beat Factory Rap Essentials Volume Two along with Tara Chase's "Autonomy".
Hope you enjoy this installment and suggestions for Volume 6 are always appreciated. Peace. - Ho1o

Female Emcees Vol. 1-4

2008-10-14T04:32:00.009-04:00

I've created a series of female emcee compilations that R.H.S. posted at OhWord.com back in April. You can directly go to the post here to get Volumes 1-4 and view comments. I'm glad to see that Vol. 1 has been accessed 1,597 times so far! Thanks for all the support and just keep spreading the word. Vol. 5 is currently in the works and will feature even more obscure selections. I'll be posting that here and on another blog once it's finalized. If you have any suggestions just send me an email.

Female Emcees: Vol. 1 (Click To Download)

Alt link: http://rapidshare.com/files/330504096/va-female_emcees-_vol_1_-2008-l.m.rar

01. Nefertiti – Mecca To Watts
02. MC Lyte – Ruffneck
03. Bahamadia – 3 Tha Hard Way (Feat. K-Swift & Mecca Starr)
04. Lady of Rage – Unfuckwitable
05. Heather B. – All Glocks Down
06. Lauryn Hill – Final Hour
07. Mama Mystique – Tremendous Ft. QNC (Remix)
08. Eternia – Control
09. Paula Perry – Extra, Extra!!
10. Lin Que – Let It Fall (Feat. MC Lyte)
11. Da Beatminerz – Shut Da Fuck Up (Feat. Apani B Fly & What? What? aka Jean Grae)
12. Queen Latifah – U.N.I.T.Y.
13. Nonchalant – 5 O’Clock
14. Shortie No Mass – U Like My Style
15. Jean Grae – My Crew
16. Stahhr Tha F.E.M.C.E.E. – RhymeFluid
17. Mother Superia – Most Of All
18. Apani B-Fly Emcee – Estragen (Feat. Ayana, Helixx, Heroine, Lyric, Pri The Honey Dark, What? What? aka Jean Grae & Yejide)

Female Emcees: Vol. 2 (Click To Download)

Alt link: http://rapidshare.com/files/330530040/va-female_emcees-_vol_2_-2008-l.m.rar

01. Invincible – Sledgehammer!
02. Deadly Venoms (Wu Fam) – Venom Everywhere
03. Rah Digga – Lessons of Today
04. Bo$$ – Deeper
05. Isis – Ask A Woman
06. Psalm One (Rhymesayers) – Rapper Girls
07. Femme Fatale – 1999
08. Champ MC (Wu Fam) – Keep It On The Real (Pete Rock Remix)
09. Makeba Mooncycle – Hard Copy (Feat. MC Lyte And Lin Que)
10. Njeri Earth (Wu Fam) – Benevolent Lieutenant
11. Mystic – The Life
12. Dessa (Doomtree)- Mineshaft
13. Jane Doe – Bi-Sexual
14. Masia One – Natural Progression
15. Sima Lee – Trust Nobody
16. Yo Yo – You Can’t Play With My Yo-Yo
17. Queen Latifah – Ladies First (Feat. Monie Love)
18. Nicki D, Paula Perry, Rah Digga, Heather B, Precious P & Bahamadia – Six-Pack

“Tried to mix it up with different styles. A range of topics get discussed so don’t skip over certain tracks, that “bi-sexual” joint produced by 88-Keys is like woah. Got some from the Wu Fam on this. For those who don’t know Deadly Venoms was a group consisting of N-Tyce, J-Boo, Champ MC, Finesse, and Lin Que. They recorded 2 albums, which never got released. The 3rd album, with the omission of some of the original members, did get released. “Venom Everywhere” is on their 2nd album. If anyone got some info on Femme Fatale let me know.”

Female Emcees Vol. 3: Posse Cuts & Feature-ettes (Click To Download)''

Alt link: http://rapidshare.com/files/330607970/va-female_emcees-_vol_3_-2008-l.m.rar

01. Reflection Eternal – Chaos (feat. Bahamadia) *
02. Arsonists – Blacklisted (feat. Helixx)
03. Decompoze – All Out (feat. Juice, Invincible, Magestik Legend, One Be Lo & Elzhi)
04. Viktor Vaughn – Let Me Watch (feat. Apani B-Fly Emcee)
05. Spice 1 – Don’t Ring The Alarm (the Heist) (feat. Bo$)
06. GZA – Victim (feat. Njeri Earth)
07. Natural Elements – Shine (feat. Essence)
08. King Geeedorah – Next Levels (feat. Lil’Sci, ID 4 Winds & Stahhr)
09. Makeba Mooncycle & Talib Kweli – Lunchroom Classics
10. A Tribe Called Quest – Rock Rock Y’All (feat. Jane Doe, Mos Def, Punchline & Wordsworth)
11. Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes – Untouchable (feat. Tupac Shakur) **
12. Natural Resource (Jean Grae aka What What) – Bum Deal
13. Fugees (Lauryn Hill) – Rumble In The Jungle (feat. A Tribe Called Quest & Busta Rhymes)
14. Polyrhythm Addicts (Apani)- Big Phat Boom ***
15. The Associates – From The Ground Up (feat. Shaydie, LMNO, T-Love & Iriscience)
16. Rita J of All Natural – Dreams and Aspirations (feat. Stoney Rock, Adad and KP)
17. T-Love – L.A. To Brooklyn (feat. Siah & Yeshua Dapoed)
18. Nacrobats – Assault (by Cosmo Galactus, Psalm One, Infinito 2017, Verbal, Pugslee Atomz)
19. The B.U.M.S – Lyfe ‘N’ Tyme (feat. Mystic)
20. Scratch – Sumthin’ That U Missin’ (feat. Ciph Born, D-Ruck, Flo Brown & Spon)
21. Urban Thermo Dynamics (Ces) – Manifest Destiny
22. The Roots – The Session (Longest Posse Cut in History) (feat. A.J. Shine, Bo-Watt, Lord Akil, Malik B., Mr. Manifest, Pazi Plant, Shortie No Mas & Me, Myself And I)
23. Ice Cube – It’s A Man’s World (feat. Yo-Yo)
24. De La Soul – Buddy (Native Tongue Decision) (feat. Q-Tip, The Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah & Monie Love)

* This one’s off Soundbombing II and prob my fav track featuring Bahamadia.
** Yeah in retrospect she wasn’t a great emcee but I admit I have a soft spot for Left Eye. I was 6 when TLC dropped their first album and followed their careers up until Fanmail. Heh, back when we were playacting rugrats I remember how I would always imitate her and recite her verses whenever their videos or albums got played. I didn’t go as far as wearing a condom or greasepaint on my left eye, but she was def fresh to me. This track used to spook me out a bit because I heard it posthumously (the album wasn’t released in the US). As you listen to this track it becomes apparent that she was in the midst of a spiritual awakening of sorts, which led to her retreat to Honduras and subsequently to her tragic demise.
***The original & better crew… back when Spinna provided the top-notch beats.

Female Emcees Vol. 4: Posse Cuts & Feature-ettes (Click To Download)

Alt link: http://rapidshare.com/files/330613265/va-female_emcees-_vol_4_-2008-l.m.rar

01. Young Zee – Stay Gold (feat. Lauryn Hill)
02. Talib Kweli – Black Girl Pain (feat. Jean Grae)
03. Murder Squad – No Peace (feat. Ice-T, Ant Banks, J.Frost, Spice 1, Bo$ & Treach)
04. Digable Planets (Ladybug Mecca) – Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
05. The Roots – Proceed III (feat. Bahamadia)
06. Dysfunkshunal Familee – Some People (feat. Apani B-Fly Emcee)
07. MMO, KGB & Deadly Venoms – The Symphony
08. Juggaknots (Queen Herawin) – Hey
09. Masta Ace – Who U Jackin’? (feat. Paula Perry)
10. Gang Starr – You Know My Steez (Three Men & A Lady Remix) (feat. The Lady Of Rage & Kurupt)
11. Common, Kool G Rap, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, Posdnuos, Rah Digga, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Sporty Thievz & Talib Kweli – One Four Love (Part I)
12. GZA – 1112 (feat. Njeri Earth)
13. De La Soul – In The Woods (feat. Shortie No Mas)
14. Peace, T-Love, A.C., Nefertiti, Self-Jupiter, BJ, Ganjah K, Medusa, Ko Ko, Mikah 9 & Volume 10 – Heavyweights Round 2
15. Pharoahe Monch – The Ass (feat. Apani B-Fly Emcee)
16. T-Love – Wanna-Beez (feat. Chali 2Na)
17. Wu-Tang Clan – Slow Blues (feat. Vast Aire, Timbo King, Prodigal Sunn & Byata)
18. Cocoa Brovaz – Spanish Harlem (feat. Hurricane G)
19. T-Love – Return of the B-Girl (feat. Kool Keith)
20. Apathy – Da Bitchez (feat. Eternia)
21. Germ – Itz Uzelezz (feat. Lin Que & Finsta) (Evil Dee Remix)
22. The Flavor Unit MCs (Queen Latifah) – Roll Wit Tha Flava (Extended Version)
23. The Stop The Violence Movement – Self Destruction (feat. KRS-One, Stetsasonic, Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Just Ice, Doug E. Fresh, Heavy D, Public Enemy, Tone Loc & Ms. Melodie)
24. Professor X – Close The Crackhouse (feat. Big Daddy Kane, Brother J, Chuck D, College Boyz, Digital Underground, Ex-Girlfriend, Freedom Williams, Sister Souljah, Two Kings In A Cipher, Wise Intelligent)
25. A.L., Fre, Grafh, Invincible, Jane Doe, J-Live, Kofi Taha, Mos Def, Rubix, Tame One & Wordsworth – A Tree Never Grown

Introduction

2008-10-13T02:47:00.000-04:00

Peace and welcome to Cartwheels On Concrete. This blog will be dedicated to the women in Hip-Hop, focusing in the realm of emceeing. I have been digging for tracks by or featuring female emcees for a long period of time now and built a pretty large collection of albums, eps, and 12" singles from well-known artists to those lost in obscurity. My deep interest stems from my pure love of hip-hop and all that it encompasses intertwined with my identity as a female. What I love most about Hip-Hop is what it has always stood for: providing a voice to the voiceless and educating us with interesting and new perspectives. My hope in doing this blog is that I will introduce you to some fresh female voices you've probably never heard of before and demonstrate that females can, and mos def do, hold their own on the m-i-c without the aid of gimmicks nor sex appeal.

My interests don't revolve entirely around female emcees so I may periodically include book reviews and thoughts on tracks by male artists. I haven't blogged in many years and don't have skills in graphic design so what you see is pretty much what you get. Thanks for stopping by and let's see where this goes. Stay tuned...

- Ho1ogramz