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9 Jan

How Purse First Is Breaking Up The Boys Club

How Purse First Is Breaking Up The Boys Club
In the summertime of 2020, Sesali Bowen was working on her memoir Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes from a Trap Feminist. As she reflected on her experiences growing up in what she calls “the bad b-tch era,” she realized that while queer and female rappers were having a moment in Hip-Hop, there have been no podcasts to capture it. So Bowen went in regards to the business of making one. She reached out to Pierre Phipps, one half of the rap duo Freaky Boiz, to assist her co-host and the show, Purse First, launched that following January.  The phrase comes from a Black colloquialism which Bowen believes originated from street-based, sex work culture. The total phrase, “Purse first, ass last” speaks to...
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28 Dec

How Did Hip-Hop And R&B Change into One Genre?

How Did Hip-Hop And R&B Change into One Genre?
Welcome to The State of R&B, ESSENCE’s have a look at the past, present and way forward for rhythm and blues. On this piece, ESSENCE editor Rivéa Ruff reports on the mixing of hip-hop and R&B. With artists like Mary J. Blige and Kehlani currently selling out nationwide tours, the anticipation of SZA’s long-awaited sophomore project and classic producers like Babyface, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Jermaine Dupri refocusing their attention on the genre, R&B appears to be shining—at the least in a front-facing manner. But while R&B is clearly alive and thriving, nobody can deny that the genre has modified drastically within the last 30 years. Hip-hop’s influence stands out as the major difference.  Because the inception of radio and recorded music, charting platforms...
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4 Dec

How Purse First Is Breaking Up The Boys Club

How Purse First Is Breaking Up The Boys Club
In the summertime of 2020, Sesali Bowen was working on her memoir Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes from a Trap Feminist. As she reflected on her experiences growing up in what she calls “the bad b-tch era,” she realized that while queer and female rappers were having a moment in Hip-Hop, there have been no podcasts to capture it. So Bowen went concerning the business of making one. She reached out to Pierre Phipps, one half of the rap duo Freaky Boiz, to assist her co-host and the show, Purse First, launched that following January.  The phrase comes from a Black colloquialism which Bowen believes originated from street-based, sex work culture. The complete phrase, “Purse first, ass last” speaks to the notion...
Continue reading