Sektion Red Presents The ARTEMIS Documentary

Date: 31/12/69

Author: Administrator

Of the 50 biggest selling hip hop albums of all time - 1 was by a female artist. Salt and Pepper. Hip hop reflects life. It's no secret that our culture and society are misogynistic and sexist insipidly, so hip hop being the culture sponge that it is will reflect that. As does rock music, as did jazz and other musical genres throughout the past. When big business saw the profit in hip hop in its early days, it naturally enforced the 'braggadocios' and 'swagger' filled side of the genre that sold so well with gangsta rap. Attitude became the USP and it's no surprise that strong confident women were and are less drawn to that side of it (and who could blame them). And also no surprise that as the genre grows and opens up, that it will become less narrow minded and they will feel more inclined to take part. Boundaries will break over time, and i think if anyone in any walk of life still presumes that women can't 'do it as well as men' in this day and age, then they're probably not worth our time.

Beastie Boys

I wanna say a little something that's way overdue
That disrespecting women has got to be through
To all the sisters and mothers and the wives and friends
I wanna offer my love and respect to the end

ARTEMIS | Female Rappers in UK Hip Hop

Lowkey | Something Wonderful

You're judged as a man by everything you amount to,
and respect that you show to the women around you.
So think about that when you diss her,
that's somebody's daughter, somebody's mother and somebody's sister

ARTEMIS focuses on 9 current female MC's in UK Hip Hop, exploring various ideas as to why there are not more prominent female voices in the genre, both on stage and behind the scenes. Directed by Oliver Whitehouse & Produced by Laura Green the flm stars: Bobbie Johnson, Genie Marie, Holly Flo Lightly, Jaz Kahina, MINX, Oracy, Seraphim, Shay D, TrueMendous, with behind the scenes filmed by Fleur Wild.

I could call this documentary brave. I could say it's breaking boundaries, but the truth is that a female presence in hip hop is not only missing, but it's sorely needed. Someone makes my favorite point of the documentary by saying that by having only half of our society working within the genre, we're excluding half the story. I'm not here to debate feminism or to pioneer a movement, but more to do my job as a journalist and make you aware of the level of skill and passionate art we're missing out on. During the documentary we're treated to snippets of flows that are as good as any i've heard in the scene. The subjects stretch not only through the perception of female MCs but also female fans, and how they play their part in the prejudice, and contains interviews with plenty of superb soundbites. The views here are passionate, informed and of great value to the scene as a whole. But most of all this entire documentary is a celebration. A showcase of a side to the genre and culture we should be proud of and relish in. A well thought out and beautifully put together piece and well worth your time, whether male/female, fan/artist. I'm off to google some of those names...

Invokal - Verbalist Journalist

Make sure you head over to the Sektion Red website for copious amounts of homegrown hip hop! For all those aspiring females emcees out there who want to pick up the mic and express, peep Mistress Of Rhyme! We’re going to list a couple of the official videos from the MC's who featured in the doc, enjoy!