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Women Journalists Get Real About Hip-Hop Media: “We’ve Always Carried [It] on Our Backs”

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Women Journalists Get Real About Hip-Hop Media: "We've Always Carried [It] on Our Backs"

Author Raquel Cepeda once said, “The role of hip-hop journalists is to document hip-hop with integrity.” Fifty years ago, that esteemed role did not yet exist, for the culture was too young and too niche to find its way into literary archives and journalistic coverage. But seeing how far hip-hop has come, times have changed, and so have the rules for those documenting it — namely, us women.

The role of women hip-hop journalists, unfortunately by today’s standards, is not just to report on the culture earnestly. Thanks to sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny, we don’t get that luxury. Our skills and knowledge are always under a microscope in this “boys’ club,” as we’ve oftentimes been seen as the ill-informed who stumbled our way into this space and not as the revered who helped build, refine, and make it better; as those who’ve made it safer to tell ours and others’ stories.

While we may not always get our flowers for it, women hip-hop journalists are the trailblazers and tastemakers who have aided the advancement of the culture’s legacy by putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and voices to microphones. Where would we be if not for women like Dr. Joan Morgan, Dream Hampton, Danyel Smith, Dee Barnes, Angie Martinez, Kierna Mayo, and Aliya S. King? Dedicated journalists, our “Brown Sugar” Sidney Shaws, who have held hip-hop accountable while reporting on its many contributions to the world, as well as the artists who represent it.

To share space with these women, to me, is one of the most gratifying aspects of being part of hip-hop journalism. Without them, POPSUGAR’s celebration of women in hip-hop could not exist. And while some of us are bonded by the trials and tribulations we face in this industry, we’re also united by our passion to keep hip-hop alive and well.

So in honor of that, and hip-hop’s 50-year anniversary, POPSUGAR spoke to a group of seasoned and rising women journalists all together: Clover Hope, the author of “The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop” and who has writing credits in everything from Vibe and XXL to Billboard and Vogue; Kathy Iandoli, the author behind “God Save the Queens: The Essential History of Women in Hip-Hop,” “Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah,” and Lil’ Kim’s upcoming memoir, “The Queen Bee”; Kim Osorio, the author of the exposé book “Straight From the Source” and the first-ever editor in chief of The Source magazine; Rolling Stone staff writer Mankaprr Conteh, who has credits in Vogue, Elle, and Pitchfork; and Kia Turner, an Okayplayer writer, content creator, and music historian.

We talked to them about their experiences documenting hip-hop, the challenges they’ve endured, and their hopes for future generations of women journalists. Read the roundtable discussion ahead.

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POPSUGAR: What is the role of the woman hip-hop journalist today?

Kathy Iandoli: I feel that at this stage in the game, there’s even more of an onus placed on women hip-hop journalists. Because it feels like, in so many capacities, male hip-hop journalists are trying very hard to pivot in their storytelling and not in the approach; in the way of how to change the narrative that’s being presented or change the type of storytelling that’s happening as an artist’s career changes or as they get more notoriety.

So right now, women are really at the forefront of being able to handle the brunt of that storytelling, because, personally, I’ve always been a fan more of when women interviewed hip-hop artists. Now more than ever, we have a bigger job to do, especially with the rise of female rappers. I’ve read some horrible conversations where men have interviewed female rappers in the past and I’m just like, “Man, the result would’ve been so different had a woman been doing the interview.”

Kim Osorio: The role of female hip-hop journalists, first and foremost, is the same role as male journalists. I think it’s important for us to do our homework, report responsibly, and make sure that we are covering all POVs in our coverage. But I also feel like it is our role to make sure that we are not erased in these stories, either. As a woman, I’ve had a lot of conversations about how our interests change as we grow but we’re still reporting on the culture. We’re still a big part of hip-hop and the conversation pieces around where we are.

“I think it’s important to make sure that we are heard as women.”

Men and women, you could say that we mature differently. So as we grow older and we start to cover things, we have a different POV. And I think it’s important that that POV remains within our culture. Sometimes that means we’ve got to diversify the way that we’re doing what we do. So whatever your talent is, or however you want to approach storytelling, I think it’s important to make sure that we are heard as women, that we keep our voice, and make sure that we are in positions to be able to tell these stories and that we’re not erased.

Mankaprr Conteh: We have the ability, from our lived experiences, to provide important context to the history and also how it’s impacting today. I can’t help but think about what it was like to be a woman in hip-hop in the ’80s or ’90s or what it was like growing into the culture as a little girl into a full-grown woman.

Kia Turner: There are a lot more opportunities and space for us to write, to be at the forefront, because a lot of the men in hip-hop journalism, they are pivoting. They want to do podcasts, fun content, but when it comes to having those real conversations, when a woman is fronting them, they tend to just be better. And not because of a woman and woman relationship, just, historically, we’ve always carried hip-hop on our backs. But with that being said, I think it also puts us in a weird place because there are certain places that really don’t trust women covering hip-hop in a full capacity. Maybe they’re like, “Oh, you should only stick to talking about the women.” And it’s like, OK, but I could talk about EST Gee, too. I could talk about [NBA] Youngboy. I could do that as well.

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