I was excited to come across this all female hip hop group — Queens Edition and hear their debut single – BLXCK PRIDE, which was released on 29th November.
The formation of this group was completely serendipitous as it was discovered that this collective of six individually talented female MC’s in their own right had great energy together. The very notion of this had me intrigued. Listening to this track, I felt transported back to an era of hip hop where originality was a must and not a rarity. It reminded me of the days in which a track would feature various talented MC’s and you would wait to see who was on the next verse and how they would slay the same beat differently. I enjoyed the varying flows and delivery of each verse by a different MC over an engaging beat, I was spoilt for choice by styles. The beat itself is sampled from the Lover’s Rock ‘Black Pride’ by Kofi and produced by the UK’s very own Nutty P who has worked with the likes of Rodney P and Wretch 32 so it was pretty catchy.
These MC’s Coco 7, Dee Lush, Zara Sykes, Keesha Simpson, Min Ranger & SharnaCane do an excellent job in representing females with intelligence and skills, without having to reduce themselves to hypersexuality to attract attention or sales, it’s refreshing. Their skills speak for themselves and demand respect. It’s notable that this track is radio friendly and proves that you can be a rap artist with substance, and still go hard without vulgarity and remain authentic to the artform. Hopefully this will help them get exposure.
This single BLACK PRIDE paints a positive image of the black female and challenges the stereotype of the black woman, ‘we ain’t all just out doing crime’. Full of powerful messages its empowering. It fills you with a sense of pride in belonging to an ethnic minority, but at the same time it’s inclusive. It’s a celebration of black culture, more specifically black women or ‘Queens’, from a different perspective and everyone is welcome to join in on the sound.
A diverse and talented group, full of good vibes. I look forward to the full album — The BLXCK Playlist on Club FRSHRZ. I’m looking forward to hearing new music from these ladies in the new year!
Check them out!
Official Music Video
Faizah Cyanide
