Women In Hip-Hop Ensemble

The Women in Hip-Hop Ensemble is dedicated to celebrating the contributions of female hip-hop artists while also examining their legacy within the context of hip-hop culture at large. Each class concentrates on the career and impact of two female hip-hop icons followed by rehearsal of live arrangements of their works. Students learn the "5 elements" of hip-hop, the socioeconomic and political influences that birthed hip-hop, and biographical information of the artists covered in class. To build performance technique, students study the artists’ audio and video recordings to incorporate the elements that designate the era and regional sound from which that artist and her work hails. Students consider how their historical knowledge reveals itself through stylistic integrity, movement, lyrical pronunciation and/or delivery as well as attire. At the end of the semester, the students perform a full set that pays homage to female artists, complete with produced backing tracks, live arrangements, choreography, and costume authentic to the era and artist. This course studies the music and contributions of past and current artists such as Queen Latifah, Salt-n-Pepa, Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, Lauryn Hill, Rapsody, Nicki Minaj, Noname, and more.