Comments on: A Woman’s Real Place in Hip-Hop

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By: toscana

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By: Mrs.Jones

Mrs.Jones — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 18:39:07 +0000

THATS SOME GOOD ADVICE! AND ALL THA IS MAD TRUE…BUT BIG UPS TO THA GOOD FEMALE RAPPERS.

By: lady c

lady c — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 15:15:22 +0000

that’s an interesting article…and interesting feedback?!

i’ve met a lot of really dumb male rappers and a lot of lovely male rappers through interviewing them.

some dumb rappers it is maybe best to be ‘heinious’with as they are too thick to distinguish friendliness but other rappers are just straight up nice people i have respect for on a political/personal level.

maybe it is different in the u.k?

By: Dreux Dougall

Dreux Dougall — Sun, 28 May 2006 17:43:10 +0000

Its sad that this article needed to be written, yet it was so crucial that it was. The jobs as female journalists in hip hop are increasing everyday, but it seems as if men have not yet grown accustom to this so they still adhere to the fact that all females are sex objects. But for a budding journalist like myself who hopes to become a hip hop writer…this article could not have come at a better time.

Good post.

By: J

Thu, 18 May 2006 11:09:34 +0000

Well said, Susana. Much respect to you AND Tara. Great post.

By: Susana

Susana — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 15:50:39 +0000

yow, you’re quite a piece of work.

“why [are] you writing (negative)comments on her blog instead of calling her up.”

because a public posting in a public forum begs public discussion. private correspondence undermines the purpose of a public blog. constructive negativity is still constructive – people are people, and we’re naturally going to disagree on some things. i disagreed with the overall portrait painted in this blog posting, and stated my case. was it a personal shot? no – i was musing on the overall situation of females in the industry. we’re all grown folks here, and it really should not be that big a deal.

amor.

By: gingerale

gingerale — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 06:51:30 +0000

All straight men would believe that it is natural for all black women who are slippery and succulant; to show off their beautiful body.
For all highly evolved women (and men), sex is a “nine times a day” thing.
The women in XXL Magazine are the highest evolved Portuguese-Azteken women on the planet. These women are also 100% hetero-sexual, and need men who are structurally-built the same as themselves.
Highly evolved men are difficult to find.
So, to all these women, XXL Magazine is the Cure to all your problems.
It’s the only magazine that any of us are willing to buy.
Some day XXL Magazine will allow these women to show us what we cherrish most. You call complete nudity soft-smooth-naked skin but I call it marriage.

By: Tipper Gore's Inner Sex Pot

Tipper Gore's Inner Sex Pot — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 02:36:58 +0000

someone has stolen my inability? That’s almost a double negative. Here I’ll try :You don’t not call yourself a writer?

If you and Tara are so tight “we’ve spoken about this very subject before” why you writing (negative)comments on her blog instead of calling her up. Weird way to communicate with people who belong to your “journalistic community”.

peace.

By: Susana

Susana — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 13:14:20 +0000

Tipper Gore – apparently someone stole your inability to read properly and distinguish a conversation from flaming (or “bickering” as you put it). nowhere did i whine, misspell, or shoot down her overall stance on the topic. i said i thought it was incomplete, which is why i tried to add to it, dig? it’s called dialogue, and it’s what journalism and community are built on – and Tara and i happen to belong to the same journalistic community. we’ve spoken about this very subject before, and my comment (part of a longer conversation on hip hop writing that we’ve been trading ideas on for a while) was addressed to her and only her. supporting is important, but so are checks and balances. it makes all of us better at what we do, and improves the overall climate for every female that’s struggling to have their work taken seriously.

eeeease up, ferreal. put away them teeth and claws. and i’ll ease up on the caps, promise.

peace.

By: Tipper Gore's Inner Sex Pot

Tipper Gore's Inner Sex Pot — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 06:06:27 +0000

Hola! Thank you for not contributing to the raging, irrational, nonsensical, belligerent self-righteous feminist sect! You crack me up and empower me all at once! Keep up the great work. Good luck with the Nun plan! Don’t listen to all the haters.

SUSANA-
Enough, why don’t you go whine on Bol’s blog and trade ill-developed arguments with the rest of the nerds. Apparently someone stole your sense of humor along with your ability to spell correctly and form solid opinions. Describing your comment as a tangent is a wild understatement. You can’t even decide whether or not you agree and then you contribute #8?
I’m going to jump on the “obvious” band wagon and say that I love Tara’s sense of fun and I applaud her witty ability to laugh in a tense professional situation, be it in hip-hop or, for that matter, any other industry where women have to battle against all sorts of ludicrous obstacles. To bad you missed out on the tongue in cheekiness of the post, it seems like you could use a laugh. I think time would be better spent supporting the few women who are successful in hip-hop (or anywhere) than bickering and cutting each other down. Lighten the “f” up and LAY OFF THE CAPITALS

By: staxwell

staxwell — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 02:19:22 +0000

You got Bol to admit that one of his offensive-ass posts was a joke! We knew that all along, but good job.

By: Vanna Whyte

Vanna Whyte — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 23:48:54 +0000

Er, so how do you expalin the shit interviews in XXL from the female staffers that play up to all the stereotypes you’re rallying against? i.e. ‘Hey Member Of G-Unit! You’re Cute! Do You Think You’re Cute?’ etc.

If you’re that bothered about it all you should prolly take your blog to another outlet.

By: hattie

hattie — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 10:08:15 +0000

Tara, that isht is on point. As a female journalist in this game I have been told to my face and via my blog that I’m just in this to ‘suck black dick.’ Literally. Don’t know what’s wrong with Em’s bits but I guess I’m racist too, huh? Too often we women in the game are viewed as being ‘in it for the wrong reasons’ (that came via a ‘collegue’ btw) when perhaps we’re just into the music and want to write about it so other people can listen with the same pleasure we do. I’ve listened to, written about and DJd hip hop and R&B for over 15 years now and I love it as much now as I did when I was a kid taping Tim Westwood on a Friday night or rocking to What’s The 411 on the bus to college. That’s why I buy Remy Ma or Lil Wayne albums the second (ok, slight exaggeration) my feet touch US soil – cos I want to hear that isht so bad but it’s not available in the UK. But you know what? I don’t actually care if people do think I’m in this for whatever reason they imagine, despite never having met me or spoken to me. All I know is I couldn’t have a better job; I get to talk to people whose music I love, hear their material in advance and travel the world in order to do this. That’s not to mention the gigs, the CD’s, the promo’s and the freeness in general. Put it like that, I guess you can see why people have to hate. If I weren’t me, I’d hate me too!

By: Susana

Susana — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 18:08:54 +0000

ehhhhh… i hate to say it, but this “guide” seems to lean more towards fear-mongering than actual preparation. i’m hesitant to go against your overall post here because i know that things ARE tough for women in this business, and i would never want to make light of something so serious — i’ve experienced the sexism, the sexual advances, the intimidation, the disrespect, etc first hand myself in the five years or so i’ve been in the industry. but at the same time, i don’t think you’re painting a very fair portrait. this is ridiculously over-simplified and somewhat incomplete, and like one of my colleagues says, “rappers are people too”.

off the top, i’ll add to the interviewing how-to by saying — #8 don’t ever arrange to interview someone after their show. post-show interviews are a doo-doo bad idea. not only will you get a shit interview, but people are people, and any dude with that much sweat and adrenaline running through his system is going to have… uh, certain things on the mind. and none of those things involves holding a quiet conversation about the state of hip hop over some tea. you’ll avoid a lot of stupidness just by being smart about where and when you interview someone.

it’s true, even now, there still aren’t enough of us in the industry. beyond that, i’d go so far as to say that there aren’t enough of us that are GOOD AT IT innit. a writer is a writer, but there’s a difference between someone stringing sentences and Biggie quotes together, and someone actually making thoughtful and impactful contributions to the culture. taking risks, blazing paths, speaking up. i don’t know how a lot of y’all feel about her, but Julia Beverly, regardless of whether i agree with everything she prints or all of her approaches… she is a dang hero in this regard. i respect her.

i have a big problem with #4 — “Be a heinous bitch. If you aren’t, you are sending out mixed messages. Acting warm and friendly is a luxury that only male reporters can afford.” — not only because it contradicts with your “don’t bruise egos” advice nugget, but also because i hardly think it’s necessary. everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, and walking into a fresh interview situation with your full battle gear and screwface on is just unhealthy. maybe it’s just a matter of semantics; where you say “bitch” i say “assertive”. self-respect is #1. no job, no interview, no article is more important than your self-respect.

another thing — nowhere do you encourage these aspiring journalists to be themselves, which is the most important thing, above all. leave the frontin to the stage performers. if you don’t come real with it, how is anyone going to respect you? masks are easy to see through, and if anyone is good at spotting the fakeness, it’s the rappers, djs and producers on the other side of the interview mic. they’ve been around.

if they (the aspiring female journalists you’re addressing) are smart, if they know how to carry themselves with confidence, and above all IF THEY KNOW THEIR SHIT, they will earn respect. hell, just knowing how to connect with someone and carry on a conversation is probably the most vital thing any journalist can carry with them — and that’s not necessarily something you’re taught. some people have it, some people don’t. and i definitely admire and applaud those who do.

ugh, this comment has exploded into a rant. i feel like i’m all over the place here, but i hope i’ve made some sense. peace.

By: Caroline [Thoro]

Caroline [Thoro] — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 23:54:18 +0000

I am loving the article.I completely understand where you’re coming from.I am getting started on my own magazine and I’ve been wanting to do it since I was 11.I am 19 right now and from what I’ve seen in the industry and world itself,a woman have to work as hard as a man does to get where she wants to be.And,fight hard like a man as well.And,I completely agree with pointing out the groupies.We are women striving to the top and not girls finding an easy way to get a dirty “fame” within the industry.I really like this article.Much respect,

Caroline

By: David

David — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 22:54:49 +0000

Real talk, Tara

By: daesonesb

daesonesb — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 21:34:56 +0000

You know, I’m gonna go out on a limb here. I’d say the sexism isnt limited to hip hop and indie rock … its the whole world, and i think that this advice prolly applies to any field.

Except maybe the public school system … but then again, Teachers: female/ Admins: male. Cafeteria people, office people: female. College professors: more often male.

Yeah and i didnt believe that Bol actually thought that … But xxl’s PR people must be on your ass now huh?

By: bluerid

bluerid — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 17:04:37 +0000

to much trouble to be a hiphopchick.
i am shy so i better shut the fuck up.omg