Where Are They? The Lack Of Females In Hip Hop

I spent a week in the Dallas, Fort Worth (TX) area over the holidays and being that I love the culture I had to check out a local Hip Hop event. What better place to catch the essence of the culture than “open mic night”, right? Well…

I walked in a bit before the first artist went up and went to the bar. I ordered a Grey Goose and tonic, tall, because talls are usually poured heavier. The bartender told me that they only had one size and proceeded to talk me into the “special” of
the night, which happened to be a kind of smooth vodka, and made the drink in a small plastic solo cup. This made me think that maybe this isn’t the crowd to be around. If I can’t get a glass, glass, then what’s really going on? So I smashed the
drink quick (the mix was good (the bartender was good)) and turned around to face the back of the crowd and the stage.

So I will take you through my line of sight. Big ass head with, small ass hat… On purpose. Super tight shirt, really big bubble goose vest. Jeans that were almost leopard print Wayne tight with shoes that very closely resembled moon boots. Then I
looked around and realized that this was the attire of 83.6% of the people in attendance. Past the sea of half Wale, half Wayne, and half Wiz Khalifa (3 halves… I know) was the stage. In classic open mic fashion there was a mic… And a DJ. The part that was a bit refreshing was the presence of a live drummer.

The way they had it set up was that the artist would spit about a minute or so worth of freestyle to the beat of what the drummer wanted to play then they could perform one of their own songs. The crowd was supposed to clap and/or cheer for the act(s) they like. Just like every other instance of an open mic attempt, the host “nudged” the audience to vote in favor of their crew.

The spot was halfway packed. What made me laugh is that for every 8 guys there was 1 girl… maybe. I wonder is it because women don’t like this type of event, the men don’t invite the women, or do we somehow hold this sacred to the point of not
wanting women to intrude? My question is “Why?”.  The other problem I noticed was that the vast majority of the people in the crowd were waiting to get on stage. What benefit does this open mic have? There is no real gain for the artist. They weren’t performing in front of any label reps or a&r’s. They weren’t even gaining any new fans. There was no “fan” type people in the crowd.

What’s the point? Where is the benefit? It seemed like it was a waste of time. I watched for a bit and then left. I started wondering if every other place in America was going through the same type of situation. No women and no fans at Hip Hop shows seems less and less appealing.

Before you get mad at my opinion, remember, its just my opinion. I’m jus ranting.

We need more women in Hip Hop. On both sides.

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