More than 45 years after hip hop got its start in the Bronx, a new wave of women are dominating the charts and challenging the hypermasculine culture by embracing their agency. Artists like Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, City Girls, Rico Nasty, and Doja Cat are changing the game with their fearless style, bold personas, and lyrical flow—transforming their fierce, feminine energies into cold hard sales.
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Though there have always been women in hip hop, it was, and largely remains, a boys club. But the success of female artists represents a significant shift in the culture, revealing there are fewer limitations for women than ever before. “Nowadays, women are more empowered. They can move through the world and operate however they want,” says Vikki Tobak, curator of Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop, a new exhibition and book that features iconic works by women photographers includingJanette Beckman, Angela Boatwright,Martha Cooper, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Sue Kwon, and Sheila Pree Bright, among others.
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Contact High showcases the contributions of women on all fronts, whether in front or behind the camera, styling the shoots or designing the clothes. “I saw myself as the Lone Ranger in my lane,” says trailblazing entrepreneur April Walker, the mastermind behind the iconic ’90s apparel line Walker Wear, worn by celebrities including The Notorious B.I.G., Aaliyah, Tupac Shakur, Run-DMC, and Snoop Dogg. “I remember deciding that I was not going to let the world know that there was a woman behind a men’s brand. It was really unheard of at that time. Instead, I let the product speak for itself and get out there before I started doing interviews. Looking at the trajectory of hip hop, women have had to fight tooth and nail in every space that we existed.”
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Today we stand on the shoulders of giants and pioneers, women whose love of the culture inspired them to create, innovate, and contribute. Here, Tobak, Walker, and Boatwright share their memories of being a woman in hip hop during its formative years.
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