A Unofficial Anthropology of Hip Hop: January 2016

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Canadian Indigenous Hip Hop: First Ladies

Even within the aboriginal hip hop community, there was some initial reticence to softer female voices talking about hard issues—and skepticism about their skills. ”Hip hop in general is a man’s world,” says Christie Lee Charles. “So it was hard as indigenous women, especially as young indigenous women.” But in the last few years, the First Ladies Crew members have been gaining notice both within and outside of their aboriginal communities as part of an uprising. Their audiences are bearing witness to the traditional sharing of aboriginal oral history through new music.

“We aren’t just rappers, we aren’t just MCs,” says Charles. “It’s not just us telling our stories. I am not just up there [on stage] spitting an ill verse. I am up there sharing our oral history.”

The First Ladies are encountering an interesting time on Canada’s timeline: Past wrongs against the nation’s aboriginals are being more openly acknowledged. For years, indigenous children in Canada were taught to deny their culture through a residential school system. The last residential school closed only a decade ago and, after a five-year inquiry, the process was deemed “cultural genocide” in 2015. Further, voters and activists have called on the Canadian government to address the thousands of indigenous women who have gone missing or been found murdered over the last decade. (The newly elected government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised an inquiry.)

...

The empowerment of the First Ladies is deeply rooted in the matrilineal nature of indigenous culture. “For me, JB the First Lady is bringing First Ladyship back to the rightful owners: indigenous women of Turtle Island,” said Webster. She speaks in reference to the role of aboriginal women in traditional politics and society and the legend about the creation of the earth by a female figure. “Not the queen, not the president’s wife, but indigenous women. That’s my name and that’s what I want to bring forward.”