Rapsody & RefinedHype’s Official Moratorium on the “Femcee” Posted by Lucas Garrison on 08/14/13 | Filed under Opinion, Rapsody, Femcee

In what I assume is a RefinedHype first, allow me to spit some philosophy to you. Now in college I was a philosophy minor, but to tell you the truth I hardly remember much. I have a very primitive understanding, but please don’t ask me to go in detail. One philosopher, however, who always stuck out to me was Simone de Beauvoir, a 20th century, French philosopher. What is unique about her is that in a largely male dominated space, she was writing about gender in a time when it was groundbreaking to do so. In her book, The Second Sex, de Beauvoir claims it is through men that women are defined, women are "the other", because man is the norm. This limits the social standing of women, because they are seen as non-human, instead of only being different but still human; “Thus humanity is male and man defines woman not in herself but as relative to him; she is not regarded as an autonomous being.” Now you might be thinking, “what the hell is he talking about” or “what site am I on” but while it might seem weird, take a second and think about how Du Buvoir’s thoughts are still true today, especially in the male-dominated space of hip-hop. Women who rap aren't considered emcees but female emcees or femcees wheras male rappers are just emcees. It is hard to believe something written nearly 70 years ago in France would still have a lot of power today.

Sadly, it does, indeed, reign true today. While there are many cringe-worthy hip-hop coinages, I think the worst one is “Femcee”. If someone can spit, why the fuck does it matter what gender they are? When you get down to it, it doesn’t, but in a space that is male dominated, a woman, like de Beauvoir said, will get defined because of her “otherness”. We don’t ever say Kendrick is the best male emcee because it is the norm and as men, we get to decide what the norm is, but female rappers are always defined by their gender. Often it is the sole focus of everyone that it becomes impossible for them to escape the female rapper dialogue. So what is to be done? Well, if there is a dope emcee who just so happens to be female, don’t even mention her gender. Which is why, this article will be the last one on Refined Hype to ever define female rappers through their gender (and I am only doing it for arguments sake). The same way there is a ban on the fat guy who yells there will be a ban on using femcee or female emcee. It isn’t fair to put dope emcees, like, shall we say, Rapsody in a box because of their gender. If you focus on Rapsody’s gender, you are going to inevitably miss out on some dope content when she drops her upcoming mixtape She Got Game; if there was ever an emcee to dead the “female emcee” conversation it’s her.



While she doesn’t have to prove shit to me—after The Idea Of Beautiful, its clear she is a bonafide emcee—I understand, that for much of the industry, the notion that a female emcee can transcend her gender is relatively unheard of. With features from Wale, Ab-Soul, Problem, Raekwon, Chance The Rapper, Mac Miller, and Common, Rapsody has put together an impressive looking tape that will prove she can go toe-to-toe with any male rapper and hopefully help to change the framework in which female emcees can operate. I have a good feeling that when she is paired up with some of these emcees people will really hear a intelligent, quality-oriented emcee instead of a female rapper. Now, obviously, with a title like She Got Game, Rapsody is acknowledging her gender too, but considering how unbalanced the industry is (seriously how many articles about a female emcee are framed by gender…all of em?) we need to have an outright ban in order to tip the scales a little bit.



Okay so from this point on, there will be no more talk about female emcees on RefinedHype. If Nathan can ban Drake bands and Fat guys who yell, surely I can ban putting emcees in a box because of their gender. It is a conversation hip-hop has needed for a long time and now, since we had, it, I don’t want to have it again. When we get bogged down in the details like race or gender, it becomes less about the music and more about the trivial and artificial details. The conversation about female rappers needs to change and I want that change to start with RefinedHype and end with Rapsody.

P.S.- In case you are curious, check out the tracklist for She Got Game below; I cant wait!

1. A Song About Nothing (Prod. by Eric G)
2. Coconut Oil ft. Raekwon & Mela Machinko (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
3. Thank You Very Much (Prod. by Khrysis)
4. Lonely Thoughts ft. Chance The Rapper (Prod. by Denaun Porter)
5. Caught Up ft. Raheem Devaughn (Prod. by Khrysis)
6. Generation ft. Mac Miller and Jared Evan (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
7. Special Way (Prod. by Khrysis)
8. Dark Knights ft. Wale (Prod. by E. Jones)
9. My Song ft. Mela Machinko (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
10. Complacent ft. Problem (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
11. Love After All ft. Gwen Bunn (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
12. Kingship (Prod. by DJ Premier)
13. Feel Like (Love Love) ft. Common (Prod. by Ka$h)
14. Never Fail (Prod. by Eric G)
15. Never Know ft. Nipsey Hussle, Ab-Soul & Terrace Martin (Prod. by 9th Wonder)

Update: NPR is featuring She Got Game on their "First Listen" series. Listen to the tape in full here.

See Also:  Rapsody’s “Non Fiction” Music Video Is About As Effortlessly Dope As Expected
See Also:  Rapsody’s “The Idea of Beautiful” Album, Now Even More Deluxer (Listen & Download)