God Save the Queens: The Essential History of Women in Hip-Hop

by Kathy Iandoli

Overview

An NPR Best Book of the Year

"Without God Save the Queens, it is possible that the contributions of dozens of important female hip-hop artists who have sold tens of millions of albums, starred in monumental films, and influenced the direction of the culture would continue to go unrecognized." —AllHipHop.com

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop meets Girls to the Front in this essential and long overdue history of hip-hop’s female pioneers and its enduring stars.

Every history of hip-hop previously published, from Jeff Chang’s Can’t Stop Won’t Stop to Shea Serrano’s The Rap Yearbook, focuses primarily on men, glaringly omitting a thorough and respectful examination of the presence and contribution of the genre’s female artists.  

For far too long, women in hip-hop have been relegated to the shadows, viewed as the designated “First Lady” thrown a contract, a pawn in some beef, or even worse. But as Kathy Iandoli makes clear, the reality is very different. Today, hip-hop is dominated by successful women such as Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, yet there are scores of female artists whose influence continues to resonate.

God Save the Queens pays tribute to the women of hip-hop—from the early work of Roxanne Shante, to hitmakers like Queen Latifah and Missy Elliot, to the superstars of today. Exploring issues of gender, money, sexuality, violence, body image, feuds, objectification and more, God Save the Queens is an important and monumental work of music journalism that at last gives these influential female artists the respect they have long deserved.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062878526
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/22/2019
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Kathy Iandoli is a critically acclaimed journalist and author. She has written for Vibe, The Source, XXL, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Pitchfork, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, Maxim, The Guardian, Vice, and many other publications. She has held editorial positions at top hip-hop/urban websites, including AllHipHop.com, HipHopDX.Com, and BET.com. Iandoli is an alumna-in-residence of Music Business at New York University and has appeared across the media, in television and on radio and panels discussing hip-hop and gender. She lives in northern New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

10/01/2019

Intended to be a narrative homage to women in hip-hop, this latest work by Iandoli (coauthor, Commissary Kitchen) is that and more. Iandoli recalls the mid-1980s Roxanne Wars and traces the evolution of pioneers MC Lyte and Salt-N-Pepa along with Queen Latifah and later TLC, who incorporated singing into their rhymes. In explaining how women were the genre's greatest assets and causalities, Iandoli examines the First Lady model—for example, Eve with Ruff Ryders—in which a label wouldn't always make room for more than one. Iandoli sees 1996 as a pivotal year, with Missy Elliott, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, and the Fugees topping the charts. The author considers the success and later noticeable absence of Lauryn Hill, especially during the music industry's transition, in the 2000s, to focusing on proven artists in a singles-driven world. Male rappers, including Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G., loom in the background, as they molded women's public personas, often as sexy or violent, to varying success. Final chapters succinctly cover the rise of stars Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. VERDICT Iandoli gives female artists the recognition they deserve, while showing that there is still work to do. Place this book in the hands of fans of Hanif Abdurraqib and Jeff Chang.—Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal

Library Journal

09/16/2019

Iandoli (Commissary Kitchen) explores the role of women in hip-hop from its inception in the early 1970s up to the present in this insightful music history. Women have always struggled to get mic time, Iandoli writes: when early groups formed, “only one woman per male crew could exist,” and, in the 2000s, “record labels started placing a cap on the number of female rappers they signed.” Even today, Iandoli notes, feuds between stars such as Nicki Minaj and Cardi B send the message there’s only room for one woman at the top. Throughout the history of hip-hop, women climbing the ranks have often been forced to choose between two archetypes: the “Sex Kitten” and the “Nubian Goddess,” who “embraced pro-Black beauty.” And over time, artists who found success adopting personas “who loved sex, violence, and designer fashion” forged an even narrower standard: “women now had to be sexy—the dirtier the better.” Iandoli gives attention to talented women who were lost in that shuffle, to the big names who opened avenues for others (such as Roxanne Shanté, Lauryn Hill, Monie Love, and Queen Latifah), and to contemporary artists including Megan Thee Stallion who continue to evolve the genre. Music lovers will celebrate this much-needed exploration of the overlooked experiences of women in hip-hop. Photos. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Iandoli's book is rigorous, insightful, and authoritative — but it's also deadly personal." — NPR Books

"In writing God Save the Queens, Kathy finally does what dozens of histories of Hip-Hop have never even attempted, telling the stories of women in the genre…Without God Save the Queens, it is possible that the contributions of dozens of important female hip-hop artists who have sold tens of millions of albums, starred in monumental films, and influenced the direction of the culture would continue to go unrecognized." — AllHipHop.com

“Music lovers will celebrate this much-needed exploration of the overlooked experiences of women in hip-hop.” — Publishers Weekly

"Intended to be a narrative homage to women in hip-hop, this latest work by Iandoli is that and more. . . . Iandoli gives female artists the recognition they deserve, while showing that there is still work to do. Place this book in the hands of fans of Hanif Abdurraqib and Jeff Chang." — Library Journal

From the Publisher

"In writing God Save the Queens, Kathy finally does what dozens of histories of Hip-Hop have never even attempted, telling the stories of women in the genre…Without God Save the Queens, it is possible that the contributions of dozens of important female hip-hop artists who have sold tens of millions of albums, starred in monumental films, and influenced the direction of the culture would continue to go unrecognized."

AllHipHop.com

"Iandoli's book is rigorous, insightful, and authoritative — but it's also deadly personal."

NPR Books