Hip-Hop Needs More Women: We’re Looking at You Def Jam 25 Years and Counting.

Ann linked this piece from Davey D’s blog of an interview with KRS-1 where he discusses the lack of women in hip-hop:
CP: What do you think is missing in hip-hop today?

KRS ONE: “I am not just saying this because you [a woman] are asking the question, this is my real answer: More women. More women. Not just emcees or b-girls, but women taking control of hip-hop. Let me be culturally-specific- hip-hop’s women should teach hip-hop’s men how to speak to them. Because when we learn how to speak to you, we can learn how to speak to the whole business world. It’s not just about respecting you…it is…but it’s deeper than just respecting another human being. Everytime you degrade a person, you degrade yourself, because you are standing next to that person. You can’t diss a person, and not diss yourself…I should say ‘she’s a queen.’ And what does that make me? A king. So now at the end of the day, what’s missing in hip-hop? Knowledge of self, that should only come from women. I know that sounds feminist, but that’s real talk.

And KRS is right, mainstream hip-hop (as in the stuff that is on the radio and sells the most) should take a cue from feminists, from the women that also broke hip-hop ground and take to task some of the blatant sexism and misrepresentation offered by mainstream acts such as Lil Wayne, Jeezy, Fabolous, Nelly, etc. But blaming individuals is not always productive, suggesting women should teach men and men should listen, dig deeper, empower themselves and empower the women around them are great suggestions, but that can’t happen successfully if record companies don’t show some diversity in the acts they push and the women they support.
Last month legendary music label Def Jam was honored for 25 years of producing some of the most amazing (and not so amazing, let’s be real) hip-hop. Nylon notes that in an article in CNN honoring Def Jam, they left out Rihanna, along with some of the other women that have been signed to Def Jam over the years, including Amerie and Foxy Brown. They also left out honoring the first woman signed to Def Jam, Nikki D. Via Urban Daily,

Nikki D, the first female rapper signed to Def Jam Records posted a video on Facebook expressing her displeasure with this year’s Hip-Hop Honors broadcast.
“You talk about creating history, 25 years of Hip-Hop and we begin to erase it ourselves,” she says via her video blog.
In 1989 Nichelle “Nikki D” Strong was signed to Def Jam and in 1991 released the album, Daddy’s Little Girl which contained the hit single of the same name.
“I’m really disappointed in the people who put together the Hip-Hop Honors. I’ve known you Nelson George (the producer of the show) forever. I’ve known Russell (Simmons) even longer. So it baffles me that no one called to ask me if I wanted to go to the (expletive) show. Nobody even sent me an invite to the show.”

Also, at the bottom of the article a dope little slide show of female hip-hop acts over the years.