This is an unexpected twist in the Last Dayz of 2013: being called out by that lad with the often-noted bizarre fetish for Female Rappers™ who writes for such bastions of quality Rap journalism as The Guardian and FACT Magazine. Being that this is the season of goodwill, it's possible to forgive Alex MacPherson for his rather pitiful coverage of modern Rap music in The Guardian even though he's the paper's token ‘urban expert’, and one can even let it slide that MaxPhearson appears to be unfamiliar with this website's stripes in the Rap feminism wars (breaking Katie Got Bandz to the world and causing Das Rapist to break up; highlighting the hypocrisy of fake thinkpiece-feminist careerists like Brendan Soderberg and Kitty Pryde), but unless MacPearson can provide any evidence to the contrary, then Katie Got Bandz was the only Female Rapper™ who released any great music over the past 12 months, bar the guest spots from Trina on Wowzers, Kreayshawn on Pu$$y Magnet, Princess on Call It Like You Want It (an omission from my year end list, tbf) and Nicki Minaj on the otherwise abominable Freaks.
I don't think that's an unreasonable stance to take: Lady and Nicki didn't drop any new songs this year; Gangsta Boo released an ill-advised mixtape of Eternal Sunshine of the European "EDM" producer-Rap which unfortunately had more in common with M.I.A than Mia X; None of Sasha Go Hard's 2013 songs clicked for me and I'm assuming they mustn't have clicked for anyone else either since Sasha ended the year relegated to the Cloud-Rap scrapheap recording tracks with Tumblr flotsam & jetsam like Ryan Hemsworth and Kitty Pryde; Eve was decent over top dollar production in her Ruff Ryders heyday but I'm not really checking for her 13 years later in the same way that I'm not listening to any new music by DMX or Drag-On; LadyKilla by Cocc Pistol Cee was an aiight album deep cut on DJ Mustard's Ketchup but certainly not list-worthy; Lauryn Hill now makes music which sounds like something off Conspiracy SBU's MySpace page; Azelia Banks is on some Rap Game Kelly Brook type shit the way she's a deplorable hack at her profession who's loathed by women and only kept in business by wanking teenage lads; Iggy Azalea is an Australian with a fucking A$AP Rocky tattoo who clearly never received the memo that states Marmaloid is the only Sheila with a Rap pass; Lil' Kim's B.E.T cypher freestyle revealed she's undergone the most bizarre voice transformation since Shyne because she now sounds like J-Zone's alter-ego Chief Chinchilla, which doesn't particularly bode well for any new music from her in 2014; if you're a grown man who's ever sat through a full song by Boosie's rapping pre-teen daughter then you're another Ian Watkins in-waiting, imho; and Angel Haze makes terrible performance art alt-Rap for broadsheet journalists with double-barreled names, gender politics students, and other assorted demographics of mollycoddled posh people who'd turn their noses up at Pussy.
Naturally, Brendan Soderberg also chimed in on the matter by peddling his usual "HEY GIRLS, I'M NOT LIKE THESE OTHER ICKY-WICKY-STICKY-PRICKY GUYS!" blowhard routine in the vain hope some naive 21 year old writing major from Nebraska who's just moved to D.C will buy into his faux-Captain Save-A-Girl's-Feelings shtick and travel to Baltimore to have sympathy-sex with him. Das Rapist's BFF Soderberg is such a brain dead stoner troglodyte that he's probably already forgotten he broke kayfabe a couple of months back by flipping from Duckie into Steff the moment Katherine St. Asaph exposed him as a lying sack of shit and then spent the next 48 hours bullying her on Twitter and the ILX message board as she repeatedly begged him to leave her alone. Evidently, Soderberg views women's feelings as little more than an instrument to be brought into use when writing
LMAO
ReplyDeleteFYI Lex is a rap critic who hadn't even heard of DJ Mustard until a month ago and there were no songs by female rappers on BSod's 50 favorite songs list on Tumblr either
http://no-trivia.tumblr.com/post/68702262693/50-favorite-songs-of-2013
I like this one -
ReplyDeleteSasha Go Hard:
''Bringing The Heat''
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNpvIfVvsTs
So, what you're saying is that MacPearson is one of those "aren't the Neptunes and Timbaland brilliant?" type of rap critics?
ReplyDeleteNo surprise that a piece of shit like Soderberg has such underlying contempt for female rappers that he'd rather listen to a rapping male performance dressed as a woman like Mykki Blanco than any female rappers.
Pretty much
ReplyDeleteLex also admits he doesn't care enough about rap in 2013 to make an eoy rap list which kinda nullifies him calling out anyone else's list
I recall MacPhaerson writing a blurb about a Young Dro song in The Guardian once but that was in the days when Anne Billson was writing about movies every other friday so it must have been at least 2 years ago.
ReplyDeleteSMH @ Petridis getting rid of Anne but still hiring this lazy motherfucker MacPhearson.
LYRICISM IS BACK!
ReplyDeleteDat ether.
ReplyDeleteBrandon was also complaining about rap "specialists" who love "aggro street shit", which is kinda ironic when he's championing albums by Young Scooter, Rome Fortuna, Migos and the Three 6 Mafia reunion redux (Gangsta Boo made up for that wack mixtape with her verses on this)
Ivan from HipHopIsRead dropped an 150 song list with zero female rappers too
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hiphopisread.com/2013/12/the-top-150-hip-hop-songs-of-2013.html
I'm the only rap blogger with a song from the fairer sex in my 2013 songs list so far, guys!
ReplyDeleteI didn't listen to that Three 6 Mafia thing because I'm not too into their 90s shit so I don't wanna hear them trying to recreate it in 2013 over SpaceGhostPurrp beats or whatever.
Until Gangsta Boo procures some beats like DJ Paul and Project Pat have been rhyming over these past 2 years (eg: Cocky or Buck Nah remix by Paul and Where The Fuck?, Gas or Be A G by Pat) I'm not interested.
Alex Macpherson is the poor man's British version of Jordan Sargent and he thinks Trina is more important than Public Enemy.
ReplyDeletelol love how thorough this is.
ReplyDelete"I'm not too into their 90s shit" I imagine youve been a fan a lot longer than me, whats your fav then, Unbreakables or When The Smoke Clears? like iirc Stay Fly sparked my interest but after fully catching up a few years back I prefer mid 90s by far. Its ridiculous how well horrorcore double time rap held up, Esham and teh jaz got a bit ripe.
and jesus that "specialists" comment is mental.
ReplyDeleteSomeone should drag up MacPherson's old ILX posts about how tube workers should be fired if they go on strike because he was late to a Britney Spears concert, especially funny since he flip-flopped into pretending to be a LEFT-WING ACTIVIST later on because he got some Dan "A pint? That's nearly an armful" Hancox RTs.
ReplyDeleteJean Grae and Rapsody dropped decent EPs and a mixtape (respectively) in 2013.....Y'know, Jean Grae?....OK, I'll get me coat.
ReplyDeleteIf you want some Kill Whitey 2013 Sister Souljah shiz, check out Aisha Sekhmet.
that was the blog post equivalent of Game's '300 Bars' (which is a good thing imo)
ReplyDelete**Game on 300 Bars voice**
ReplyDeleteDudes on ILX saying me accusing Alex Mac of having a bizarre fetish for Female Rappers™ is "problematic"
You know who told me Alex Mac has a a bizarre fetish for Female Rappers™? Dudes from ILX.
you are trash
ReplyDeleteDonal, Da Unbreakables is my favourite Three 6 Mafia album.
ReplyDeleteTbh, Ghetty Green is the only 90s Hypnotize Minds album I really like.
Brandon blocked me on Twitter because I told him us black folk find his writing condescending too and then didn't publish my question on Tumblr when I asked him if he realizes he's the Mackelmore of the rap internet.
ReplyDeleteI love how it was Alex Mac that started it all but it was Brandon that got bodied in the end.
ReplyDeleteNo respect.
Ayo 2$hin, do you find it problematic that a fellow azn like Alex Mac completely ignores Jackie Chain and Katie Got Bandz in his meagre coverage of Rap music in The Guardian?
ReplyDeleteLMAO @ Soderberg as Mackelmore. That's a great analogy if we consider Tom Breihan as Atmosphere and Soderberg as the sinister devolution of the persona.
For all Macpherson's huffing and puffing there isn't a single album by a female rapper in his year end list for The Guardian
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/dec/23/best-albums-tracks-2013-writers-votes
I'm deeply sorry that my post of rap songs I've personally enjoyed in 2013 didn't cater to Alex MacPartlan's every whim/doesn't tally with his own lofty criteria of what constitutes as good rap music in 2013 (the 2 Chainz album and Gangsta Boo as A&R-ed by the Mishka staff, as far as i can tell?), in much the same way that I imagine the working-class staff of London Underground who just wanted to secure better working conditions for themselves were deeply sorry that they interrupted Alex's social life when they made him late for a Britney concert due to their strike action.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pity Alex Mac wasn't listening to Sasha Go Hard when she was actually good, and feels the need to overcompensate now he's just discovered her in 2013.
Post and comments are gold.
ReplyDeletePeople actually listen to Angel Haze?
LMAO.
ReplyDeleteChoderberg died inside when he was rejected by a black person on the internet.
Lex's 2013 writing for The Guardian.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/alexmacpherson
No coverage of female rap artists
Arf!
ReplyDeleteSo, basically, Alex MacPherrin actually cares so little about female rappers that he's not written about them once professionally this year, and he refuses to make his own list of great 2013 songs by female rappers because he's "a generalist", but he expects everybody else to feature Angel Haze in our year end lists out of a sense of gender equality?
Oh, ok.
Isn't Diamond on that Crime Mob song too?
ReplyDeleteNope, it's two back-to-back verses from Princess. Diamond isn't a member of Crime Mob anymore.
ReplyDeleteDiamond is another Female Rapper™ who didn't release anything this year after dropping a handful of great songs in 2012.
Lex is a mediocre writer/thinker. He's only employed by The Guardian because he kills 2 of their requirements with 1 stone as an ethnic gay male.
ReplyDeleteFor nearly a decade on ILX his trick has been to call male writers out for misogyny and then play the victim card by accusing them of homophobia whenever they respond to him.
Haha.
ReplyDeleteForgot about Soderberg going nuts on Asaph. What made that situation even worse was the original anonymous question about P4K pay rates was obviously Soderberg sockpuppeting on his own Tumblr because he wanted to take shots at Ryan Schreiber.
I'm surprised/saddened that no one has mentioned Tink a.k.a. Tink G in this whole "where are the female wrappers?" debate. Blunts & Ballads, and especially her last release, Boss Up, were awesome. I don't see why the latter didn't end up somewhere in the 20s on someone's year-end mixtape list. Now that's just ignant.
ReplyDeleteOh, and for what it's worth, Fake Shore Drive consistently covers female artists, and I believe you can find more than a few mentions in their year-end lists of songs/albums.
Props on the Pugwall reference, m8
ReplyDeleteNew Nicki is ridiculous
ReplyDeletehttps://soundcloud.com/nickimnewspaper/nicki-minaj-ft-ptaf-boss-ass
Yes it is.
ReplyDeleteHah. I always thought Tink and Western Tink were the same person, and since Western Tink makes painfully bad 3rd generation Tumblr Cloud-Rap I paid him/her no attention whatsover. Will check her out and try to forget he ever existed.
So, Rarris & Rovers by Tink is some A++, just listened to 10 times in a row in the bath Rap & Bullshit.
ReplyDeleteThx, Habibi.
http://www.factmag.com/2013/12/31/2013-in-review-critics-round-table/
ReplyDeleteLex is part of this 2013 round-table for FACT. 5 pages and 0 mentions of female rappers from him.
Great post.
ReplyDeletePeople expressing pseudo-outrage on the internet over meaningless bullshit so that they can make themselves feel superior is the worst thing to happen to the internet. I truly believe the main reason why your blog is one of the last remaining rap blogs in which words are written is because rap music has become such a touchy subject and is filled with people itching to accuse writers of being racist or sexist.
As you perfectly pointed out, there isn't much quality female rap out there and even if there was, are you somehow obligated to write about it or include it in your lists because women are the minority? Making sure the minority is always included for the sake of "equality" rather than merits is far more sexist than any female-less rap blog list.
Keep up the great blog.
I really liked Tink's "What U Drivin"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.complex.com/music/2013/02/deepcuts-the-best-new-mixtape-tracks/tink
She did some great shit with DGainz early on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P0Hw0j4p28
This shit w/ Herb & Bibby is fire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT-C0zSKQH8
and her latest video, "Bars," features Chase Davis, most underrated Chicago beatmaker (behind the big Lil Mouse song & "Why U Lyin" etc.)
also Dreezy has bars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQIpyAtfkkk
I think it wasn't the strongest year for female rappers, but a lot of it is the problem w/ rookie artists across the board—we're getting a lot of them in the 'developing stages.' I think Tink is only like 17, so while she's got joints, her voice and focus is still in development. There's still hints of Nicki stylistically, and her approach of mixing R&B and hip-hop and different beat styles is still a little all over the place.
Also just in browsing around I found this which is pretty dope & has a Tink feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Lj-bsgRHQ
Oh Boss Up is def her best yet, fwiw
ReplyDeleteThomas, exactly. Your year end songs list is supposed to be an honest splurge of what you've listened to. If you use it as a gender/race fetish box checking exercise then you have some very suspect issues.
ReplyDeleteILX Snitch, lolz. So this Paul Lester teaboy's shtick is pretty much a total sham? Particularly loved the bit about "going on strike as a Beyonce fan" from the guy who thinks all London Underground workers should be fired for striking. Sorry to hear that Beyonce kept Alex out of thinkpiece material for most of 2013 because was too busy tending to her kid/playing private shows to dictators for millions of tax free dollars.
Drake, that What U Drivin' track is nice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXpxsLjXbb0
ReplyDeleteGhetty Green is a masterpiece in fairness, I was way too late on that one and Unbreakables is my favourite 00s one myself.
WHOS GONNA BREAK RAP BARRIERS IN 2014 LADS BUT REALLY THO WHOS GET DIBS ON THE THINKPIECE
i kinda liked this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNpdvzyjjAo
ReplyDeleteIn hindsight, I think I was right not including that Crime Mob song. Decent comeback track, though.
ReplyDeleteI CAME OUT OF PHYSICAL THERAPY, ARM BONES POKING OUT MY WOUNDS AND SHIT, TO SAY THAT GANGSTA BOO WAS ALREADY WORSE THAN EVEN CRUNCHY BLACK BACK WHEN 3-6 WERE RELEVANT, WHY SHOULD I REWARD HER FOR HER RAPPING NOW?!?
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I saw Sasha's new tumblrwave persona got her in lists as a member of the "queer rap scene" in typically abysmal rap listicles. I know that's just Noisey rejects failing to get up off the drugs and think before they write, but to mistake Sasha, someone who's like... Y'know, done songs with people other than Brooklyn house producers once in her life, with that whole field, shows that her management are the most desperate ppl out there. Especially now that Tink stole that whole lane for her and they're both painfully ignorant to the fact that KGB is actually doing much better than either of them career wise by NOT courting fucking friends of friends of Diplo.
~ The SpaceGhostPurrp Guy
SpaceGhostPurp Guy's year end list doesn't include any chick rappers either. Clearly another sexist rap internet bro.
ReplyDeletekinda odd how alex mac named cornball rappers but he didn't mention azn cornball rapper awkwafina. dudes clearly a self hating azn in the mould of a ken jeong or jon moy. terrible.
ReplyDeletethis is why the rap game needs me
Werd, dude is definitely a race traitor as well as a hypocrite and a hater of working class people.
ReplyDeletefor that matter why does the feminist rap think piece mafia consistently fail to mention honey cocaine? outside of nicki and the drill chicks she seems like the only female rapper with a tangible fanbase comprised of contemporary rap fans who do know who dj mustard is.
ReplyDeletei mean snow the product and angel haze and awkwafina basically only exist in think pieces and/or on reddit right?
KEEP THROWIN SALT ON US! THATZ SEASONING 2 A STEAK!
ReplyDelete(The end)