I've said it before and I'll say it again, Mae Day is one of my favorite MCs.
#Period
It could be because she doesn't feed into the stereotype of the female rapper or the fact that she can (and has) held her own on a track full of guys— Take the Michigan Remix to P.L.'s "Blue and Yellow" for example.
Mae Day has been in the studio working on a new project, which last I heard was still untitled but expected to release this fall/winter.
What I really admire about Mae Day is she takes her time with her music, which is something that many don't do. I asked her about it while working on the Fab Four story for Real Detroit Weekly and she said:
I don't like to rush out material because I set the bar so high for myself, so I hope the listeners are patient with me. I'm putting my soul into this thing.
Admirable right?
She released some old tracks that aren't going to be on her next project but are definitely still worthy of a listen.
Both were produced by De Notes and I can't help but wonder: If these are on the cutting room floor* , what have they cooked up for her album.
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?
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.
Mae Day is one of my favorite, most underrated MCs period.
Her mixtape 'Cherish the Day' has gotten love from everyone and if you still don't have it, you truly are sleeping heavily. It's no secret that women have to fight tooth and nail to be heard without compromising their image (think Barbie, b*tch). Anyway, Mae Day has been endorsed by the likes of MC Lyte and hopefully she is in the studio cooking up something else for 2010 (actually I'm almost sure of it). She released a track today that tackles a stupid dope beat that isn't "Over."
