Ladies and Hip Hop<\/strong>: part 1 of 2 part series
\nDisclaimer: There were no men injured in the making of this article, we love men here at Brown Sugar \ud83d\ude09
\nAsk a music lover when they fell in love with music and the look in their eyes will let you know they found real love. Even reading people talk about music gives you an idea of just how deep their love runs. What\u2019s funny is it doesn\u2019t matter if you talk to a man or a woman a music lover is a music lover. This lead me to wonder why there still seemed to be such a difference between men and women in the music industry, especially in hip hop. I decided to interview a few key women in the hip hop scene here in Hampton Roads and hear what they thought about how women are viewed and treated in the local music scene.
\nI decided to interview a prominent DJ, an emcee, a radio personality, and a marketing events impresario.\u00a0 Gangalee is an amazing pioneering lyricist in VA.\u00a0 DJ Erika B is a deejay in demand on the east coast. Keja Davis is a marketing expert in Hampton Roads, the DMV, and beyond, and Dominique the Diva is Hampton Roads newest female radio personality. These women range in age and experience but one thing they have in common is that they thrive in a male dominated industry. I asked them everything from when they fell in love with music (yeah I know its just like Sid Shaw in Brown Sugar, hey that\u2019s my inspiration lol) to whether or not they felt like they were held to a different standard than their male counterparts.\u00a0 We also spoke to Fresh Radio\u2019s creator DJ Bee on his thoughts about women in hip hop.
\nWhen did you fall in love with music?
\nKeja- \u201c\u2026my mom gave me an a.m. radio when I was 5 and I would listen to it every night before I fell asleep.\u201d
\nDominique- \u201cI can\u2019t even remember when I fell in love with music \u2026 [it\u2019s] always been a part of my life\u2026\u201d
\nErika B- \u201cooooooooooh on the TLC Tip Circa \u201992. I remember songs before that year but TLC is what made me be glued to music.\u201d
\nI asked the ladies how they felt being told they were \u201cgood for a woman\u201d was a diss or something different-
\nGangalee- \u201cI do think so [it\u2019s a diss] because women can do anything men can\u2026so why should we have to be segregated.\u201d
\nAnd then Gangalee said this- \u201c\u2026GIRLS ARE BORN HIP HOP BABIES SOME TURN IN TO VIDEO CHICS OTHERS TURN INTO EMCEES AND CEOS!\u201d — That\u2019s it in a nutshell isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s a choice what you do with your love of hip hop and how you\u2019re perceived, isn\u2019t it? I wanted to ask a male for his point of view. Fresh Radio\u2019s creator shared this \u2013
\nBrown Sugar- Do you think true success and respect is possible for females in the music industry?
\nBee- I think it\u2019s possible\u2026I wish the percentage of possibility was higher!
\nBrown Sugar- In your opinion is there something naturally masculine about working in the music industry?
\nBee- It\u2019s an industry where assholes rise to the top\u2026I think females would put more feelings and emotions more than men will into the game. It\u2019s an emotionless industry.<\/p>\n

Emotionless? Hmmm so apparently women\u2019s innate predisposition to displaying emotions is a problem in the music industry. Don\u2019t tell that to Diddy, Big Red (5 heartbeats) or Drake, all have definitely displayed emotions in the past but hey Wayne also wore jeggings. Not saying women don\u2019t have a more overtly emotional side but6 I don\u2019t think it\u2019s any more liable to get in the way than any other music industry insider.
\nIn part 2 of Ladies and Hip Hop Brown Sugar explores what it takes to stay on top and advice from the ladies and Bee on how females can thrive in this cut throat industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ladies and Hip Hop: part 1 of 2 part series Disclaimer: There were no men injured in the making of this article, we love men here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brown-sugar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsfreshradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsfreshradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsfreshradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsfreshradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsfreshradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2821"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/itsfreshradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2822,"href":"https:\/\/itsfreshradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2821\/revisions\/2822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsfreshradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsfreshradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsfreshradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}