Recognize - Invincible

If you didn't know, March is Women's History Month. I've been wanting to do a post about them for the longest and I just couldn't figure out when the right time was to do it, until now. Many times, this breed of rapper is overlooked and highly slept on, I'm talking about the Femcee [female emcee].

I know some female rappers have a problem with being called that, but I personally think it is the coolest term that may segregate them, sure, but to me, it's a term of respect for them. People often limit the female rap game to Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj, Trina, Eve and the like, but none of them are true MC's, they're all nicely packaged label products. Do I listen to them? Yeah, but they don't truly embody the craft of rhyme, rhythm and patterns.

I know some of you reading are probably a little confused, if they aren't femcee's then who are?

Well you have Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu who have all (with the exception of Erykah) been pretty inactive these last few years.
Zoning in a little closer to home, a lot closer actually, are four femcees who could make your favorite rapper evaluate his own bars.

First up, we have Invincible.
If you follow me on Twitter or have seen my Facebook status you have seen this line:

I'm striving to be one of the best period, not just one of the best with breasts and a period.

I swear that is my favorite quote and nothing can replace it. This is what I love about Invincible, besides dope lyrics and tracks with substance she has turned down major label deals, started her own label (Emergence) and went ahead and self-released her album ShapeShifters in 2008.  Invincible has gotten major kudos from the likes of Metro Times and XXL Magazine and rappers like Talib Kweli. Besides being a lyrical monster, Invincible definitely holds down the Detroit fort well, in town and out. Last year after going to SXSW for the first time, she got the idea to hold a showcase at this year's SXSW. You may remember seeing Ro Spit and Marv Won tweeting about it, Detroit by Southwest was the biggest showcase for 313 musicians down in Austin this year with Slum Village and Black Milk headlining, and Invincible made it happen. She used the connects she made for herself at 2009's festival to make things happen for everyone else in 2010. How many people can say that?

Next we have Mae Day. I've posted joints by her a time or two before on this blog. Mae Day seems to be what I like to call a silent killer. No, she's not posted on top of the Fisher Building with a sniper rifle, what I mean is she does her thing without saying anything. Maybe that doesn't make sense either, but I know every time I see something released by her, it kind of hits me from the left. You never really know what she's working on, but all you can bet is that it's going to be ill. Her mixtape, 'Cherish the Day' released back in February of 2009 and served as a sort of ode to Sadé and was recently re-promoted on hip-hop blogs and sites when Sade released her album 'Soldier of Love.' In recent news, Mae Day performed at SXSW and dropped lines on Rhianna's "Rude Boy." If MC Lyte realizes how stupid dope she is, where is everyone else at?

"I can't believe I'm hearing all this raving and ranting, from Vanessa, up in here at New Detroit stamping," after reading that line you immediately know what movie and what scene I'm talking about. If not, that's a line from 8 Mile's "Lunch Truck" scene featuring rhymes by Eminem, Xzibit and our next femcee Miz Korona. Even if you never heard her (well, you probably think you haven't heard her) you know who she is. Korona has performed at SXSW, opened for Eminem, collabed with Trick Trick, it's quite impossible to say she's "just another MC" when her resumé is as sharp as one of her bars. She just dropped a mixtape of recently unreleased joints including a "Dilla-lude," a few bars dedicated to her favorite producer (and mine) J Dilla. Currently, she's on the grind working on her debut album 'The Injection' and of course doing performances whenever she can.


Like a Zoo - Miz Korona

Last, we have Chacity with lyrics that cut as deep as the scissors she does hair with. She dropped her Set it Off-themed mixtape 'It's My Turn' in Decemeber and is currently in the studio working on her next mixtape that is supposed to be released in June. From what I gathered from her tweets and FB status updates, Chacity has been in the studio with Royce Da 5'9 and will presumably be featured on his upcoming 'Bar Exam 3.' Chacity is indeed a force to be reckoned with, anyone that can not be overshadowed and can keep up with Royce, Kid Vishis and Miz Korona on a track must be nice.

There we have it folks, four femcees that I think deserve a lot more credit than they are given. I know there are more out there (like the young Lady Te who just filmed a video to her song "Shut It Down" not too long ago). You can call it a movement, you can call it a trend, but you can't call it a joke.


Respect the Femcee.