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'My Mic Sounds Nice' stands up for the female MC

7:58 AM on 08/30/2010

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In this picture made available on Tuesday, July 6, 2010, US singer Missy Elliott performs on the Stravinski Hall stage at the 44th Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, late Monday, July 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Keystone, Dominic Favre)

That's an understatement. The current state of the female emcee is beyond shaky; it's buried underneath a mountain of rubble gasping for air, desperately awaiting rescue. Right now, the Lil Wayne-endorsed Nicki Minaj seems to be the only "femcee" capable of putting an "S" on her chest to save it. And, for some, that's not a good sign. None of these issues are neglected in My Mic Sounds Nice.

Able to balance itself on various fronts, My Mic Sounds Nice covers a lot of ground. Speaking to numerous emcees including Missy Elliott, Eve, Yo-Yo, Salt-N-Pepa and MC Lyte in addition to well-known urban culture writers/editors Smokey Fontaine, Aliya S. King, Kim Osorio and Joan Morgan, My Mic Sounds Nice provides a historical context, giving props to early pioneers like Roxanne Shante, who also appears in the documentary, as well as Lady B and Sha Rock, the female member of Funky Four Plus One More, which formed in 1976. In fact, Funky Four Plus One More's 1981 Saturday Night Live appearance is credited as the first by a hip-hop group on a national television show.

But it's not all nostalgia and tribute-laden. Most of My Mic Sounds Nice is timely as it tries to pinpoint exactly when the female emcee began to disappear and why. Along the way, it provides a very thoughtful and nuanced overview of the female journey in hip-hop, noting the evolution from simple, around-the-way girl to glammed up sex kitten to just plain MIA. While the voices of Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill would have added a lot, their impact is not ignored. Rappers like LA-based Medusa, Brooklyn's Lil Mama and Atlanta's Diamond chime in on Latifah's influence while others like Roxanne Shante, Questlove from The Roots, producer Swizz Beatz, Public Enemy's Chuck D and former Def Jam executive Kevin Liles marvel at Lauryn Hill's incredible talent and her undeniable ability, when she actively rapped, to present the black woman as a multi-dimensional being.

Yo-Yo, Eve and Missy are candid about the pressure the hyper-sexualized personas of Lil Kim and Foxy Brown put on them and female emcees who followed them. The Lady of Rage, who was poised to be the female voice of Death Row, sheds light on how her golden opportunity went up in smoke. Underground femcees like Jean Grae and Tiye Phoenix speak up and let it be known that female emcees have not retreated.

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"I would say the state of the female emcee, it's very shaky. It's been very shaky for years," shares Miami rapper Trina, one of the few female rappers to enjoy a decade-plus career, to set up BET's first documentary _My Mic Sounds Nice_. That's an understatement. The current state of the female emcee is beyond shaky; it's buried underneath a mountain of rubble gasping for air, desperately awaiting rescue. Right now, the Lil Wayne-endorsed "Nicki Minaj":http://www.thegrio.com/specials/hip-hop-politics-from-the-beat-to-the-ballot/is-homosexuality-in-hip-hop-trapped-in-the-closet.php seems to be the only "femcee" capable of putting an "S" on her chest to save it. And, for some, that's not a good sign. None of these issues are neglected in _My Mic Sounds Nice_. Able to balance itself on various fronts, _My Mic Sounds Nice_ covers a lot of ground. Speaking to numerous emcees including Missy Elliott, Eve, Yo-Yo, Salt-N-Pepa and MC Lyte in addition to well-known urban culture writers/editors Smokey Fontaine, Aliya S. King, Kim Osorio and Joan Morgan, _My Mic Sounds Nice_ provides a historical context, giving props to early pioneers like "Roxanne Shante":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxanne_Shant%C3%A9, who also appears in the documentary, as well as Lady B and Sha Rock, the female member of Funky Four Plus One More, which formed in 1976. In fact, Funky Four Plus One More's 1981 _Saturday Night Live_ appearance is credited as the first by a hip-hop group on a national television show. But it's not all nostalgia and tribute-laden. Most of _My Mic Sounds Nice_ is timely as it tries to pinpoint exactly when the female emcee began to disappear and why. Along the way, it provides a very thoughtful and nuanced overview of the female journey in hip-hop, noting the evolution from simple, around-the-way girl to glammed up sex kitten to just plain MIA. While the voices of Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill would have added a lot, their impact is not ignored. Rappers like LA-based Medusa, Brooklyn's Lil Mama and Atlanta's Diamond chime in on Latifah's influence while others like Roxanne Shante, Questlove from The Roots, producer Swizz Beatz, Public Enemy's Chuck D and former Def Jam executive Kevin Liles marvel at Lauryn Hill's incredible talent and her undeniable ability, when she actively rapped, to present the black woman as a multi-dimensional being. Yo-Yo, Eve and Missy are candid about the pressure the hyper-sexualized personas of Lil Kim and Foxy Brown put on them and female emcees who followed them. The Lady of Rage, who was poised to be the female voice of Death Row, sheds light on how her golden opportunity went up in smoke. Underground femcees like Jean Grae and Tiye Phoenix speak up and let it be known that female emcees have not retreated.