A league of their own: part one

July 1, 8:26 PMLA Hip-Hop Music ExaminerRegina Q

Rece Steele is pretty nice, repping the Boogie Down Bronx! Since winning MRS didn’t include a record deal she is still rhymin about tryna get "On." "Chicks do do this/I can prove it."

Shawnna the only female member of Ludacris’ crew DTP (Disturbing the Peace) is out of Chicago is lyrical killer and set to release an album with Ludacris, Battle of the Sexes (release date keeps changing) but you can hear "Everybody Drunk" below (she bang, she bang). Video Disclaimer: Language/Content

Iyadonna in Boston by way of Virginia has a track "Respect" that is getting some much earned play on Music Choice (for those that venture WAY up there in the cable channels) and her other tracks are just as nice and full of the lyrical complexity most "heads" enjoy.

Rye Rye representing the teenaged ladies is a high schooler out of Baltimore she really rips a quick verse on one of the MANY “Paper Planes” remixes that you can catch on YouTube, just click on the link. What she is doing now is what you would expect from a girl her age but she definitely has potential (keep watchin').

Jean Grae out of NY with music in her veins (both parents celebrated South African musicians) has been at it since 1996, six releases (of course not counting all the collabs) and you can still run into folks that don’t know anything about her! Tragic. Cake or Death will drop eventually but just take a listen to "Not Like Me" from This Week (2004!!) and really..what’s up?

Tiye Phoenix from B’more out of Dirty Jersey is on FIRE, just dropped a new album last month, Half Woman, Half Amazing And as she says on her blog, "This album is the missing part of a well balanced hip hop diet, and even more importantly, it has been delivered to you through the vessel of a woman, (something which the world has been denied in recent times)."