At a time when women rappers are more visible than ever at award shows, on songs and on the Billboard music charts – with superstars like Doja Cat, Sexyy Red and Ice Spice having a moment – writer Nadirah Simmons says it’s important to remember who paved the way.
Her new book “First Things First: Hip-Hop Ladies Who Changed The Game,” which hits stores on Tuesday, aims to do that. It’s an overview of women’s accomplishments in hip-hop and features stories about artists such as Lil’ Kim, Nicki Minaj and Lauryn Hill.
Simmons, 29, said women have been overlooked in the industry for decades and have often been reduced to their sexuality.
She founded the online platform “The Gumbo” in 2018 to celebrate women hip-hop artists, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, and said her new book is an extension of that work.
“When it comes to women who look like me and even the women who were part of creating this culture, you run the risk of not having your story told,” she said. “I want to have a place for Black women to tell these stories about other Black women in hip-hop.”
Gothamist caught up with Simmons to talk about the book and the challenges women in hip-hop face. The conversation has been edited.
Why did you focus on women in your book “First Things First?”
I am a Black woman in America and there are things about myself that I don’t even know because I’m not able to research. And I don’t have the paperwork or the archive.
I want people to know that this culture, with all that comes with it, is very beautiful. And the women who have created within the space are awesome, very cool, amazing, funny, fun and talented. And I want that to be at the forefront.
You mentioned how misogyny, sexism and ageism have played a role in hip-hop. How do they manifest?
It manifests in lack of opportunities, lack of access, seeing women being shut out from certain spaces.
Even the way people talk about specific women and the way they dig at them. There are so…
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