#BlackFemMusic Trends Globally, Missy Elliott Retweets #F
This post originally appeared on December 23, 2013 written by Hashtag Feminism’s first head writer, Kelly Ehrenreich.
Beyonce garnered lots of attention this week after releasing her latest album in secret. Many have pointed to Bey’s dominance in the last year. The highlights include: singing the National Anthem at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, SHUTTING DOWN THE SUPERBOWL, and winning her 17th Grammy, thereby becoming the third most honored female artist in Grammy history.
The latest tribute to Beyonce’s power came from News & Then, a PBS program that started a Twitter chat using the hashtag #BlackFemMusic, which then trended globally by this afternoon.
#BlackFemMusic is a chat w/ @dreamhampton @thetrudz @feministajones @Blackamazon@karnythia on Black feminism in music. 11 am EST, 12/23.
— News and Then (@NewsAndThen) December 20, 2013
#BlackFemMusic was inspired by the lively debate that #Beyoncé‘s latest album has sparked about what feminism is and who can be a feminist.
— News and Then (@NewsAndThen) December 23, 2013
That is, #Beyoncé is one of many Black women producing feminist/womanist texts through music, and part of a longer tradition #BlackFemMusic
— News and Then (@NewsAndThen) December 23, 2013
Beyoncé has always upset mainstream feminism; message isn’t “generic.” Does tend to speak to BW intersectional experiences. #BlackFemMusic
— Trudy (@thetrudz) December 23, 2013
The discussion about Beyonce and her role in the Black feminist music world led to further conversations about other influential #BlackFemMusic artists, what is means to be a Black feminist, and what the music of Black feminism represents.
#BlackFemMusic shows the world that Black women are beautifully diverse, amazingly talented, and have stories to tell.
— A$AP Feminist (@FeministaJones) December 23, 2013
The five invited experts and hundreds of Twitter users created lists of current and past inspiring #BlackFemMusic including Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Tina Turner, Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott, Salt-N-Pepa, TLC, Eartha Kitt, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Queen Latifah, Eve, Lil Kim, Nina Simone, Betty Davis, Tracy Chapman, Lady Saw, Joi, and Ashanti.
One of the mentioned #BlackFemMusic artists, Missy Elliott, even joined the conversation, RT’ing several fans who praised her influence and individuality in hip-hop.
RT @FeministaJones: @MissyElliott Defied beauty standards, brought raw sexuality/sensuality &writer, producer, emcee &singer #BlackFemMusic
— Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) December 23, 2013
What did you get out of the #BlackFemMusic conversation? Were some of your favorite artists and music genres missing from the discussion?
Is #BlackFemMusic solely R+B and Hip Hop? Where are our jazz and classical divas at?
— P. Mimi Poinsett MD (@yayayarndiva) December 23, 2013
What makes a #BlackFemMusic artist? Does Beyonce typify and/or misrepresent this generation of empowered Black women musicians?
Speak on it. Share your brilliance below and on Twitter with @hashtagfeminism. You can also tweet me @kellybycoffee!