Freshman Poll, German Nurse Rap, & Match Your Mink To Your Mane
Monday 4/20/20
Happy 4/20 everyone, for those who celebrate. Here’s the latest playlist, and also it’s time for another poll, so see below and cast your vote!
Stop Drop n’ Poll Time! Pick Your 2020 XXL Freshman:
Since 2007, XXL, one of the industry’s leading hip hop magazines, has put out its annual "Freshman Class" list. The list features ten hip hop artists-to-watch, who the magazine deems will be the next big things, and all ten artists appear on its cover. The list showcases creates significant buzz around unknown or underground rappers as well as artists at the beginning of their ascent. Often, the list is credited for giving many now successful rap artists their first taste of fame and the boost to take them to the next level. Last year, the list contained a record 3 female rappers out of the 10 (Tierra Whack, Rico Nasty, and Megan Thee Stallion) and this year a vote is currently open online to fill the 10th spot, which features 16 eligible femcees. So I have relisted those 16 below along with a significant track of theirs—be sure to vote for who you think is the next big thing!
Global Outlook: German Hip Hop Began With A Nurse
Germany has been in the news a lot this week, what with it being lauded as a leader among Western nations (big ups to Angela Merkel) in figuring out how to control the spread of COVID-19 and already planning its steps towards reopening. In an odd coincidence, it is interesting to look into the history of female rap in Germany at this time, since one of the country’s earliest known rappers was not only a female, but also a medical nurse. Like much of Western Europe, American hip-hop culture began to diffuse in Germany in the mid 1980’s, and a former nurse turned hip-hop artist named Cora E. (born Sylvia Macco) emerged as one of the first known underground rappers in German hip hop culture. As one of few females in the industry, she is also considered one of its originators—and is today deemed a pioneer in German hip hop’s history.
Cora E. went on to be one of the first and few old-school acts signed by a major record label and was unique in that she wrote her own lyrics and preferred working solo. While many pegged her as a rapper, Cora E. preferred to be called a "hip hopper", despite insisting that rap and hip hop were inseparable. Cora E.’s first produced single, "Schlüsselkind" (Latchkey Kid), was released in December 1996 and was a hit. The song featured traditional early rap delivery, old school production sound, and lyrics full of social criticisms. Meanwhile, after seeing Cora’s success, her record label EMI signed another female artist, the group Tic Tac Toe, taking them in a totally different artistic direction.
Tic Tac Toe was an all-female trio who performed pop-rap music, likely inspired by the success of the likes of TLC in the States. TTT’s first two albums, Tic Tac Toe and Klappe die 2te, were million-album selling commercial successes and spawned major hits such as "Ich find' dich scheiße", "Verpiss' dich" and "Warum?". Like many girl groups of the time, however, the trio split in 2000 due to numerous scandals and infighting between the group members. The early success of both of these artists though gave rise to many more emerging female rappers, including the likes of Sabrina Setlur, who had a series of hits through the 90’s and early 00’s that established her as Germany’s best known and highest-selling female rap act to date. Thanks to these pioneers, today the German femcee scene is much more widespread and diverse, and one can find a plethora of artists to explore. Worth checking out are: Shirin David, SXTN, Schwesta Ewa, Juju, Loredana, Nura, Fiva, Pyranja, Kitty Kat, Namika, and Hava...Links to a few faves below!
The Lewk: Matching Minks & Manes
Back in 1997, Lil’ Kim dropped an iconic music video for her hit single “Crush On You”, off her debut album, Hard Core. In the video, we first get a blurry glimpse in the far background of what looks to be a fuzzy blue muppet. Not until were 1:20 in do we finally get the dramatic closeup shot—revealing that the muppet is Kim, donning a royal blue fur coat topped with matching royal blue hair. But that’s not all. Almost immediately, the vid cuts to a new scene—Kim’s now in a fire red fur with, again, a matching red up-do. Then the rest of the video ensues, revealing two more monochromatic looks; one’s lemon yellow, the other lime green.
It is at this point, right at the beginning of her solo career that Lil’ Kim solidified her place in both the fashion world and hip hop culture, essentially starting two trends simultaneously: colorful furs and colorful hair, often paired together. Kim would continue donning this type of look throughout her career, and to this day many celebrities from Beyonce to Karrueche Tran have recreated Kim’s iconic, original looks. But comb through other music videos, red carpets, and album covers that came after 1997—and you can find matching minks and manes everywhere.
While it’s certainly known that both expensive furs as well as expensive hair play integral roles in the hip hop community as status symbols, it’s hard to say exactly why the trend of neon hues in the two categories blew up and have since remained a constant. Perhaps, donning the unnatural colors is tied to elevating one’s status portrayal to the next level—a statement that reads ‘not only can I afford the fur, but I can fork over the extra dough to get it dip-dyed head to toe too’. Regardless, one has to admit that when coming across this kind of look in a photo or video, it is nearly impossible to say that the image isn’t immediately striking, turning the outfit’s wearer into an exotic bird or rare creature. Your eyes become hooked in focus, all attention shifting to her for that fleeting moment, and perhaps, that is exactly the point of it all. Walk into the room head to toe in highlighter yellow, and all eyes will surely be on you. Check out a collage of looks below!
