![]() ![]() If you told me that’s how he actually recorded the song, I would absolutely believe it. “Brown Sugar” is effortlessly cool: In the music video, D’Angelo struts into a dimly lit lounge, sits at the piano, and instantly busts out the sweetest serenade, with smoke from a joint still coming out of his mouth. Listen: Brandy / Monica, “The Boy Is Mine” It’s one of the great duets of our time, even if they couldn’t stand each other. Neither Brandy or Monica outshine each other, as their voices line up like two puzzle pieces. Rodney Jerkins’ beat is the perfect backdrop, a harp buildup that could heighten any melodrama and a shimmering and shaking feel that gives the song more edge than it already has. It’s fiction, but as they trade stingy jabs, that line between reality and story is blurred, and the way Brandy airily coos “He said without me, he couldn’t make it” probably hurts more than any punch could. “The Boy Is Mine” has a simple driving idea: Brandy and Monica have found out that they are dating the same man. That they’ve only sung the soap opera-ready R&B classic once together live-on that same night Monica punched Brandy in the face-is reason enough to go with the latter. ![]() Some have said it’s because their voices weren’t meshing others have said it’s because they couldn’t stand each other. Listen: Allure, “All Cried Out” Ītlantic Brandy / Monica: “The Boy Is Mine” (1998)īrandy laid down her feathery sweet vocals in California, while Monica recorded her tough and soulful melodies in Atlanta. As they sing in beautiful misery towards the end, “Don’t you know my tears will cause an inferrrnoooo?” –Julianne Escobedo Shepherd With Bad Boy heartthrobs 112 playing foil on the second verse, the whole affair is a devastating emotional bonfire, one that meets the moment for your messiest, most melodramatic goodbyes. Allure were fresh out of Manhattan’s famed LaGuardia performing arts high school, but they had the resonance and harmonies of a more mature group. Allure’s revival a little more than a decade later revealed what Lisa Velez’s voice, which was better suited to dance music, didn’t quite illustrate: In the hands of two profoundly raw quartets who could sing their faces off, “All Cried Out” is masterful storytelling, chronicling the pain of a breakup in heart-wrenching, minute-by-minute detail. “All Cried Out” was initially released in 1985 as a piano-tinged power ballad by freestyle icons Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, characterized by weepy theatrics and huge AquaNetted bangs. ![]() So without further ado, here are 10 Women's Rap Anthems the '90s that will make you nod your head and raise your fists.Crave Allure: “All Cried Out” (1997) As hip-hop continues to evolve, new female MCs (Nicki Minaj, Remy Ma, Cardi B, Tink, Rapsody, DeJ Loaf and more) continue to emerge in the rap game. In honor Women's History Month, The Boombox salutes female rappers who made some noteworthy anthems womanhood and empowerment in the 1990s. Her 1998 debut, The Miseducation Lauryn Hill, fered a solid voice in womanhood as she revealed the many challenges she faced as a woman in growing up in hip-hop and in life. Meanwhile, Lauryn Hill recorded an album that would bring a new femininity in hip-hop. ![]() In a moment female solidarity, in 1997, Angie Martinez, Lil' Kim, Left Eye, Da Brat and Missy Elliott teamed up for "Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)," a glorious posse track. Other rappers were in-your-face with their feminism by denouncing, broke-ass dudes (TLC's "No Scrubs") and challenging gun-toting rappers to a rap battle (Heather B's "All Glocks Down"). Her good friend Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott took it to another level with "She's a Bitch," using the word as a term empowerment. Turning a slur into a term empowerment, Lil' Kim boasted proudly that she's a "Queen Bitch" and established a brand that exudes sex with an extra dose lyrical bravado. On the West Coast, Yo-Yo told men that she wasn't a toy to be played with, while the rap trio Salt-N-Pepa boosted women's self-esteem and creativity with "Expression."īut in the mid-90s, a post-feminism wave exploded with artists like Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown owning their sexuality through their music and not apologizing for it. In the 1990s, rappers like Queen Latifah pushed feminism in hip-hop to the forefront by demanding that it's "Ladies First," and then years later urging women to embrace "U-N-I-T-Y" and not negativity. Since then, women have become a powerful voice in the culture, ten standing toe-to-toe with their male counterparts. One the earliest MCs was Pebbles the Funky 4+1 More back in the '80s. Women have always been a part hip-hop culture since its inception. ![]()
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