"Clover Hope has offered up here such an engaging, enlightening, addictive book. It's one of those reading experiences where you say to yourself, 'Okay, let me just read one more chapter,' and then two hours later you're sitting there having accidentally read a third of the book swearing to yourself, 'Okay, but for real this time, just one more chapter.' I wish I could read it again for the first time." Shea Serrano, New York Times bestselling author of The Rap Year Book
The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop illustrates the stigmas, career breakthroughs, highs and lows of hip hop to show how these iconic women helped shape and change the culture of rap.
The book’s infographics and beautifully illustrated portraits by Rachelle Baker are made to reel readers into every next page.
"This book is achingly overdue. Women in hip-hop, as musicians, journalists, and executives, have always dealt with a staggering and sobering truth. Hip-hop, which we love and hold dear, does not always love us back. With The Motherlode, Clover Hope loves on us. She peels back the layersthe joy and painand makes sure our untold stories are now told and retold." Aliya S. King, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Keep the Faith
Over the course of the book’s 238 pages of essays, factoids, interviews, and gorgeous illustrations by Rachelle Baker, Hope leaves very, very few stones unturned in pursuit of a fuller, richer, more in-depth history of women’s contributions to hip-hop music than has ever been attempted before.
The author and journalist Clover Hope’s enthralling book gives female architects of hip-hop their long awaited dues.
"This is the quintessential, comprehensive book about women in the rap industry that I've been waiting for. It shines a bright light on a history of overlooked female talent and breaks down the ingenuity of our current generation of stars." Issa Rae, creator and star of HBO's Insecure
"This is the quintessential, comprehensive book about women in the rap industry that I've been waiting for. It shines a bright light on a history of overlooked female talent and breaks down the ingenuity of our current generation of stars." Issa Rae, creator and star of HBO's Insecure—Issa Rae
"This book is achingly overdue. Women in hip-hop, as musicians, journalists, and executives, have always dealt with a staggering and sobering truth. Hip-hop, which we love and hold dear, does not always love us back. With The Motherlode, Clover Hope loves on us. She peels back the layersthe joy and painand makes sure our untold stories are now told and retold." Aliya S. King, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Keep the Faith —Aliya S. King
"Clover Hope has offered up here such an engaging, enlightening, addictive book. It's one of those reading experiences where you say to yourself, 'Okay, let me just read one more chapter,' and then two hours later you're sitting there having accidentally read a third of the book swearing to yourself, 'Okay, but for real this time, just one more chapter.' I wish I could read it again for the first time." Shea Serrano, New York Times bestselling author of The Rap Year Book—Shea Serrano
"This book is a lively colorful celebration of the flyest formidable forces that keep rap music flourishing into the future." Elliott Wilson, music journalist, chief content officer of TIDAL —Elliott Wilson
“The author and journalist Clover Hope’s enthralling book gives female architects of hip-hop their long awaited dues.”—The New York Times
“The book’s infographics and beautifully illustrated portraits by Rachelle Baker are made to reel readers into every next page.”—Forbes
“The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop illustrates the stigmas, career breakthroughs, highs and lows of hip hop to show how these iconic women helped shape and change the culture of rap.”—The Root
“Over the course of the book’s 238 pages of essays, factoids, interviews, and gorgeous illustrations by Rachelle Baker, Hope leaves very, very few stones unturned in pursuit of a fuller, richer, more in-depth history of women’s contributions to hip-hop music than has ever been attempted before.”—UPROXX
“An appealing survey that highlights many unsung heroines along with the superstars. For hip-hop fans and music historians alike.”—Library Journal
03/05/2021
Rap hadn't existed for long before women were sidelined, struggling for a place in an art form—turned—cultural juggernaut—turned massive media industry. Drawing on years of interviews with hundreds of rappers, journalist Hope (New York Univ.) emphasizes how much these women are already a part of hip-hop history, acknowledged or otherwise, through their individual and collective achievements. The book includes the expected success stories of the artists who are recognizable even to casual fans across the decades—Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and more—but a thread of histories of missed chances and lost potential also winds through the book. Most intriguing are the profiles of rap's early innovators, before the internet, especially social media, made the genre's development accessible to mass audiences in real time. Hope also argues that the rise of social media has not necessarily leveled the playing field, but has made it more accessible to women artists. Baker's dynamic portraits of the artists enhance the volume. VERDICT An appealing survey that highlights many unsung heroines along with the superstars. For hip-hop fans and music historians alike.—Genevieve Williams, Pacific Lutheran Univ. Lib., Tacoma