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- Forget Dizzee and Tinchy – female MCs are back on a street corner near you
Female MCs used to get a bad rap, but a new generation is taking things back to the street. And if you don't like them, they don't care – because they know they're good
Grating vocals, cheesy lyrics, constantly overshadowed by male counterparts ... British female MCs haven't always had the best reputation. But that could all be about to change.
On Saturday, BBC radio presenter MistaJam premiered the much-hyped Female Takeover remix of Tinchy Stryder's Game Over, leaving fans to debate which artist delivered the hardest bars – and we're not talking the hardest to decipher. You see, the new graduates of post-grime are taking it back to the streets.
Lioness, one of the UK underground's most respected female lyricists, took a hiatus to go to university but has since bagged management from DJ Ace and can now be heard recording ferocious comebacks to match the male bravado so often played out on rap and grime tracks. "I'll never feel like the underdog/ I'll run up on your set like I'm a don/ And if anyone gets brave then they won't live to tell the story like once upon …" runs her skippy retort on a rejig of Wiley's 1,2,3.
From a similar school of thought is RoxXxan, a fiery spitter of Irish-Jamaican descent who grew up in inner city Birmingham and will be releasing her debut next year. A quick Google search reveals her recent Fire in the Booth freestyle, recorded for BBC 1Xtra, which includes lines such as: "My neck of the woods is like a slap in the face and getting left with no goods/ Back in the day we used to make dens but now they spray lengs to be the star in the hood/ It's not good."
Other ladies waving the "keeping it real" flag include NoLay (London's original bad girl), Chronz (the MC with Polydor's new girl trio Ruff Diamondz), Lady Chann (bashment's leading lady), A.Dot (a PR by day), Mz Bratt (Queen B of Wiley's A List Records), Envy (Manchester's finest), Lady Leshurr (who recently signed a publishing deal with EMI) and Ms Darks (a rising favourite among teen tastemakers).
"I think we've got more of an idea of where we want to go and where we don't want to go," explains RoxXxan, during a break from filming more ammunition for YouTube. "We don't want to wear certain things or act a certain way to get the attention. We're just trying to be the best artists. With men people will sit there and rate their flow, they don't look at us the same, but we don't care any more. We know we're good."
And you can forget a nod in the direction of our biggest rap export, Monie Love. She might have broken America in the late-80s but she's not an inspiration to the new breed of inner-city verbalists.
"Realistically its Dynamite we look to," says RoxXxan. "Becoming a woman can be emotional, a lot of us were inspired to get things out because of her. I mean shit, look at me – I'm only 21 and trying to find my way. Writing your shit down is the kind of journey it's worth taking yourself on."
Thankfully, it's a journey worth listening to.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsПереслать - Ask the indie professor: Why do so many bands drink Red Stripe?
You might think nothing about the beer you guzzle at gigs. But your choice may reflect indie's rejection of bourgeois values
While alcohol is rejected in hardcore punk it is celebrated in indie. Why? And why does indie favour certain brands (I'm thinking Red Stripe, which seems to be the indie band drink of choice since the 90s)?
Adam, via email
Did you ask this question because my Twitter account says "I'm the anthropologist of everything fun except beer"?
Music genres often express strong attitudes towards altered states of consciousness. As straight edge manifested the most strident Protestantism, all forms of hedonism or anything that would inhibit sobriety were rejected. Reggae is deeply connected to Rastafarianism. For reggae, the drug of choice is cannabis (referred to as ganja). Alcohol and preserved or chemically altered foods are to be avoided. Rastafarianism rejects Babylon, an idea that western civilisation is corrupt and materialistic in contrast to a spiritual Zion. Ganja, is seen as a sacrament that aids in a relationship with God (Jah). When one considers the apathy engendered by smoking cannabis, you can see how well ganja dovetails with the rejection of a Protestant work ethic and capitalism's drive towards material acquisition.
Alcohol, however, is the drug of choice for the indie community. But why Red Stripe in the UK or Pabst Blue Ribbon in the US? I haven't found a definitive answer, but I have several hypotheses that correspond to explanatory paradigms in the social sciences. The first would be a Marxist interpretation of economic motivations. Both Red Stripe and Pabst Blue Ribbon are relatively inexpensive. As indie audiences tend to be younger, less expensive options are preferred. However, there are several inexpensive beers to choose from, so the Marxist approach seems only partially satisfactory. Another explanation is historical particularism. This theory, associated with Franz Boas, posits that historic incidents, culture contact and the environment are the chief determining factors in cultural manifestations. Indie's antecedents can be found in post-punk . The Clash were famously pictured drinking Red Stripe. The influence of Jamaican music in areas where punk emerged – such as Ladbroke Grove – made drinking the lager a way to express affiliation with other oppressed groups and movements in opposition to British imperialism.
Additionally, Red Stripe was sold at the London Astoria, a major venue for touring indie bands in the 90s. The beer served at a favoured venue is taken up as a favourite by the bands that play there, by fans drinking there or fans emulating the artists. The companies selling the product embrace the clientele. Red Stripe sponsors a breakthrough artist award and associates its brand with music in marketing campaigns. In the US, Pabst Blue Ribbon regularly advertises on All Songs Considered, National Public Radio's music wing that despite its title is strongly skewed toward the contemporary indie aesthetic. What the historic antecedents are for Pabst Blue Ribbon I wouldn't know, but it was originally brewed in Milwaukee, a city viewed as hardy and working class. It was also a dollar a can in the 90s, which appealed to low-income drinkers. The brand capitalised on its perceived working-class identity by funding contests between bike messagers in Portland and skateboarding exhibitions. This association with the perceived authenticity of the non-bourgeois has meant that Pabst Blue Ribbon is no longer the least expensive brand, but it's still the lager of choice for American gig-goers.
Another intriguing possibility is the symbolic approach. Both brands have simple designs featuring national colours – red, white and blue for the US, and red and white for England (sorry, Scotland and Wales). Simplicity is a dominant motif in indie practices. Indie's puritan foundations lie in rejecting embellishments and a return to the basics of worship. Both brands have simple lines and colour schemes making the products mirror the sonic aesthetics of purity and simplicity. Both are lagers, the weakest of beer. The tastes are often characterised as "basic". It's as if the notions of "effete" and "back to basics" had been reproduced in the beverage itself. Rarely have I heard someone say they think Red Stripe or Pabst Blue Ribbon tastes the best, but rather something like "Pabstenance", the basic necessity that one needs to survive on beer. I am sure there are other theories that may explain the phenomenon. Feel free to share your insight. I'm still not the anthropologist of beer, but if you want to know anything about cheeseburgers or the culinary proclivities of indie bands, just ask.
Ask Wendy about cheeseburgers or anything else indie-related by commenting below or emailing theindieprofessor@gmail.com
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsПереслать - New music: David Lynch – Good Day Today
The cult director branches further into the world of music with this satisfying slice of electro-pop. Christmas No 1, anybody?
This isn't cult director David Lynch's first foray into music – he's worked on soundtracks to his own films as well as collaborating with producer Danger Mouse and the late Mark Linkous on Dark Night of the Soul. Good Day Today – streamed here for the first time and released on iTunes today – shows Lynch dipping his toe into the pop mainstream. After an explosive opening, the song settles into a minimal electro groove that recalls Crystal Castles, before Lynch's heavily treated vocals continue the sense of emotional detachment. The track finds Lynch in a pleading mood, just wanting to have a pretty good day, which seems fair enough. There's a brilliant bit where his downbeat robot voice sighs "send me an angel, save me" and then intones "so tired" before sudden bursts of gunfire and explosions. While probably not catchy enough to be Christmas No 1 (although, if we can start a Facebook group, who knows?), Good Day Today is a surprisingly immediate and satisfying slice of electro-pop.guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsПереслать
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