Classifieds

Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com

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www.michigandaily.com

WEBSITE.

ACROSS
1 Notebook
memory devices
8 “The butler did it,”
maybe
15 Tuna preparation
16 Revolutionary
War mercenary
17 Getaway driver,
e.g.
18 Sets right
19 Suitor
20 Sediment
21 War on Poverty
org.
23 __ Chess: video
game
24 Gains quickly, as
weight
28 Opening track on
Madonna’s
album “I’m
Breathless”
33 First name in folk
34 Book after Micah
36 Simba’s mate
37 Fruit cocktail
ingredients
39 Little
troublemaker
40 __ child
41 Symposium
group
42 Children’s author
Asquith
43 Raison __
44 Attack
46 Aids to sure
footing
47 Employee with a
skimmer
51 Sputnik reporter
55 Target of blue
sky laws
56 Egg holders
60 __ chamber
61 Item graphically
depicted by this
puzzle’s circles
62 Tennis legend
63 Bakeware item
65 David’s “X-Files”
co-star
67 Sanitation service
68 Gym suit
69 Inducers of more
groans than
guffaws
70 Strengthens the
spine of

DOWN
1 Educational gp.
2 Fleet on the
street

3 J. follower
4 “__ girl!”
5 Pi and others
6 Lecture boringly
7 Sun. delivery
8 “Nurse Jackie”
network, in TV
listings
9 Fixed expense
10 Underworld deity
11 “Of course”
12 Duck tail?
13 Greasy spoon
sign word
14 OR personnel
22 Studio caution
23 Gives a Dixie
lickin’
24 __ al pomodoro:
Tuscan soup
25 Regions
26 Blood groups?
27 Former country
on its own
peninsula
29 Year abroad
30 Wide swimmer
31 Warn
32 Rhinoplasty
concerns
35 Aetna offering
38 Omission, say
40 How casual
thoughts are
offered

45 Hitting up
46 Tylenol 3
component
48 Sumatran
swingers
49 Curie workplace
50 Durum wheat
cereal
51 AT&T, e.g.
52 “His nose ... is
like __ of fire”:
“Henry V”
53 Broken piece

54 Generous
feature?
56 1972 missile
pact
57 Like India and
Pakistan
58 White option,
briefly
59 FedExes
64 __ Maria
66 Bldg. where
much research is
done

By Jeffrey Wechsler
©2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
03/11/16

03/11/16

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

RELEASE DATE– Friday, March 11, 2016

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

xwordeditor@aol.com

NEAR CAMPUS APARTMENTS 
Avail Fall 16‑17
Eff/1 Bed ‑ $750 ‑ $1400
2 Bed ‑ $1050 ‑ $1425
3 Bed ‑ $1955
Most include Heat and Water
Parking where avail is $50/m
Many are Cat Friendly
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LARGE FURNISHED TWO bedroom 
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6 BEDROOM FALL 2016‑17
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Parking, Laundry, Lots of Common area
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$3250 + $100/m Gas & Water
+ Electric to DTE, 3 parking spaces 
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The Island House Hotel and Ryba’s 
Fudge Shops are looking for help in all
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SUMMER OF YOUR LIFE! CAMP 
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Counselors, 
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4, 5 OR 6 BEDROOM HOUSE
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SERVICES
FOR RENT

HELP WANTED

SUMMER EMPLOYMENT

6 — Friday, March 11, 2016
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

“

Y’all see, how these bogus 
n****s try not to notice the 
dopest bitches?”

The question, posed by Da Brat, 

alludes to a fact rap fans are all 
far too familiar with: the hip-hop 
industry is 
male-domi-
nated (in other 
news, water 
is wet). Brat’s 
point is that 
no matter how 
dope a female 
rapper may be, 
it’s unlikely 
for her to get 
the credit she 
deserves.

And with 

that, the visibility of women in hip 
hop dwindles. And when you aren’t 
seeing (because you aren’t exposed 
to) many female rappers, you notice 
a pattern and construct this notion 
in your mind of what a rapper 
should look like — a man. The cycle 
continues and even the “dopest 
bitches” fall by the wayside.

The question asked by Brat-tat-

tat-tat comes from her opening 
line on “Not Tonight (Ladies Night 
Remix).” A summer anthem back 
in 1997, the hit was Lil Kim’s third 
consecutive number one on Bill-
board’s Rap Songs chart. It’s not 
surprising if you look at the all-star 
line-up: Lil Kim, the “Queen Bitch” 
of Bad Boy and, at one point, the 
Queen of Hip Hop as well; Da Brat, 
So So Def superstar whose Funk-
dafied rhymes led her to become 
the first female solo rapper to go 
platinum; the late, great Lisa “Left 
Eye” Lopes, known for the color-
ful commentary she contributed 
as a member of the best-selling 
American girl group in the his-
tory of American girl groups, TLC; 
multifaceted Angie Martinez, who 
has a string of hits to her name, but 
is more so revered for her role in 
radio, historically being Hot 97’s 
leading lady. Oh, and Missy fuck-
ing Elliot, whose ’97 debut Supa 
Dupa Fly still sounds like some shit 
straight out of 2050. Still.

So what gives? There’s tons of 

talented, boundary-breaking rap-
pers out there who happen to be 
women, yet their contributions 
(which are massive, and we’ll get to 
that) go unrecognized.

Some of the struggle to be 

acknowledged is due to socializa-

tion telling us to only take male 
rappers seriously. On her CRWN 
interview with Elliot Wilson, 
Nicki Minaj let the music journal-
ist have it when he brought up her 
verse on “Monster,” objectively the 
most impressive verse on the track 
(this is the same song where Hov 
babbles off the names of a bunch 
of creatures of the night and calls 
it a verse, and we all collectively 
decided to suppress that from our 
memory). Some people (me) would 
say Nicki not only stole the song, 
but the album. But this isn’t the 
first time Nicki both graced and 
put the fear of God into us with her 
lyrical prowess.

“I feel like a lot of people only 

accepted it because Kanye and 
Jay were on there,” Nicki said. 
Elliot shared that Nicki’s animated 
approach and use of alter-egos 
didn’t resonate with him … until 
“Monster.”

“Because if I were on there by 

myself, y’all wouldn’t have given 
me my props,” she said. “I been 
ill… I didn’t get ill [from] ‘Monster,’ 
I was ill before.” Nicki implied 
that “Monster” was the first time 
many people flirted with the idea 
of being Nicki fans because it was 
the first time many people really 
listened. And they listened because 
people they respected (referring 
to Ye, Hov and Ross — a.k.a. men) 
co-signed.

Another obstacle that delays 

recognition, stemming from 
gender biases determining cred-
ibility, has to do with support. If 
you aren’t taken seriously, there’s 
a likely chance you won’t receive 
a sufficient amount of support to 
breach the mainstream and attain 
an audience adequate enough for 
you to really eat off of.

In the music industry, this looks 

like your albums being shelved in 
favor of a man’s. If you’re at the 
bottom of the totem pole, you’re 
going to have to wait. And this 
waiting either ends or seriously 
limits the longevity of what could 
otherwise have been a flourishing 
career. Case in point: the afro-
puff-wearing, “unfucwitable” and 
lethally lyrical Lady of Rage.

Brat was the first female rap-

per to go platinum, yet it very well 
could have been Rage. But Death 
Row fucked up. At this point in 
time, Dre’s classic Chronic had 
been released; Snoop can be heard 

on what feels like every song, and 
this was purposeful. The place-
ment was an introduction — a way 
of catapulting Snoop onto the scene 
and implying that he had next.

As planned, Doggystyle debuted 

a year later, solidifying Snoop’s 
place in the game. In similar fash-
ion, Dre used Doggystyle to prepare 
listeners for who would follow 
Snoop. Thus, “R-A-G to the moth-
erfuckin E” is the first to spit on “G 
Funk Intro.” But this time, the plan 
fell apart.

Rage’s Roughness was shelved 

and, instead, Daz and Kurupt got 
to ride the wave of attention and 
acclaim with their release of Dogg 
Food. Roughness wouldn’t see the 
light of day for two more years, and 
by that point, Dre left, Suge was 
incarcerated and Pac was mur-
dered. In other words, Death Row 
was falling apart.

Rage shared, “I didn’t have the 

conductor and I didn’t have the 
same help that everyone else had 
when it was time for their albums 
to be produced … Everybody came 
in and contributed for The Chronic, 
Doggystyle and Dogg Food. Every-
body came in for ‘Above the Rim’ 
and ‘Murder Was the Case.’ When 
it was my turn, it was just me.”

It should be stated, though, that 

Rage was brought on to the label 
with good intent. She recorded 
some bars for an L.A. Posse tape. 
Dre heard her verses and immedi-
ately flew her out to California, and 
she was inducted into Death Row. 
Though her career was misman-
aged, the significance of men with 
power in the music industry high-
lighting, and thus normalizing, the 
presence of women rappers is vital 
and should be encouraged.

Ice Cube did this with his pro-

tégé Yo-Yo. She went toe-to-toe 
with him on “It’s A Man’s World” 
from AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted 
and held her own. She demanded 
respect in her verse: “Give us credit 
like you should / If I don’t look 
good then you don’t look good.” 
And she demanded respect in real 
life, letting Cube know he wasn’t 
going to get away with referring 
to her as a bitch in his bars. And 
he listened. A year after she was 
formally introduced via her guest 
feature, Yo-Yo released her debut 
Make Way for the Motherlode, 
chock full of uplifting messages, 
sharp delivery and one of the best 

rap joints of all time: “You Can’t 
Play With My Yo-Yo.”

Without such support, some of 

our favorite artists would still be 
working the underground circuit, 
waiting for their chance.

Imagine if the Ruff Ryders 

dismissed Eve when she flew out 
to New York to audition for a spot 
in their crew. Eve wrote her own 
rhymes — rhymes that stung. 
After all, she was introduced to 
hip hop through battle rapping 
on the block with friends. And 
though she did have to work twice 
as hard at first to prove herself as 
a woman, Ruff Ryders made sure 
their first lady got the attention she 
deserved, making sure to not only 
include her, but also oftentimes 
center her.

Whether it’s fellow male rappers 

in the game like Ice Cube, or leg-
endary label executives like Sylvia 
Rhone — who played a crucial role 
in launching Missy Elliott’s career, 
all the while encouraging Misde-
meanor to preserve her progressive 
and eclectic style — the support 
of gatekeepers is crucial. Because 
when women rappers don’t receive 
the recognition they deserve, one 
of two things (oftentimes both) 
happens: either their impact on 
the culture is overlooked or we, as 
listeners, miss out on some purely 
dope content. Both suck — whether 
it’s their loss or ours.

A great example: Before Cube 

put Yo-Yo on, he himself played a 
role in the neglect of female rap-
pers’ contribution to the culture. 
Most people’s conception of Ruth-
less Records is limited to N.W.A. 
and Bone Thugs, but before N.W.A. 
could introduce themselves to the 
world, the credibility of Ruthless 
had to be solidified. J.J. Fad, an all-
female rap group, were integral in 
doing just that. In ’88, their debut 
album was a smash. It was easier to 
digest than gangsta rap — and this 
was the motive — but it proved to 
be phenomenal in its own right.

The album would become War-

ner’s first platinum hit, while the 
single “Supersonic” had an impact 
beyond the rap scene; an interpola-
tion of the track was used for Fer-
gie’s “Fergalicious.” Don’t give Ferg 
too much credit for her flow in 
her song either — sounds awfully 
similar to Fad’s. Sadly, J.J. Fad 
wasn’t included in the “Straight 
Outta Compton” biopic last year, 
which many people felt was plain 
foul. Thus, Juana, Juanita, Fatima, 
Anna and Dania’s names are for-
gotten, even though their impact is 
undeniable.

And to my last point — about 

how we as listeners deny ourselves 
of some of the best content out 
there by maintaining a limited 
concept of who or what a rapper is 
and looks like — well, there’s too 
many examples to list. Though Eve 
got to shine, fellow Philly native 
Bahamadia is criminally under-
rated. Her debut Kollage consists 
of wordplay that doesn’t let you 
rest, complemented by laid-back, 
bohemian beats. Guru describes it 
as “a collection of lyrical and musi-
cal art that brings forth a masterful 
contribution to the hip-hop world” 
on the interlude. And he’s not over-
selling it a bit.

Whether it’s cool and composed 

Ladybug Mecca and Lauryn Hill, 
or southern superstars Diamond, 
Princess and Gangsta Boo, women 
rappers offer the same range and 
versatility, if not more so, than 
male counterparts. Women like 
Jean Grae have established a 
capacity for longevity, while up-
and-comers like Junglepussy con-
tinue to push creative boundaries 
and infuse rap with the radical and 
forward-thinking dynamism that 
critics claim corporatization wiped 
out of it.

While most of us aren’t in the 

same position as the gatekeepers 
I mentioned, we do occupy a posi-
tion that is just as important: the 
listeners, lovers and consumers of 
the genre. If we deconstruct our 
conceptions of who belongs in rap, 
expand our palate and expose our-
selves to dope women rappers, we 
could realistically initiate a move-
ment starting at the grassroots 
— one that shakes the structure at 
its core and demands the incorpo-
ration and recognition that female 
rappers deserve.

A bit optimistic, I admit, but 

how much longer could we go 
without noticing the dopest 
bitches?

Y’all dudes should notice 

Bajgoric. Give her a glance by 

e-mailing lejla@umich.edu 

HIP-HOP COLUMN

Where my ladies at?

LEJLA 
BAJGORIC

EVENT PREVIEW
Showcase of 
student work

By MARIA ROBINS-SOMER-

VILLE

Daily Arts Writer

No Michigan student is a 

stranger to the flurry of flyers 
and enthusiastic cries on the Diag 
at rush hour. 
In their open-
ing scene, the 
cast 
members 

of the Writers’ 
Showcase play 
off that, promis-
ing everything 
from 
bikini 

bodies, to a life-
time supply of 
pizza, to Donald 
Trump’s blood. 
They create the 
zany from the familiar location of 
the Diag.

The Writers’ Showcase, a col-

laborative project spearheaded by 
LSA freshman Christine Covode 
and LSA sophomore Maggie Lott, 
features student-written works 
adapted to the stage. The scenes 
mix drama and comedy, with a 
focus on themes that appeal to the 
average University of Michigan 
student.

They address first loves, obses-

sion, frat-bros, turtlenecks and 
football players, all in the space 
of an hour and a half celebration 
of undergraduate writing. Some 
pieces are clearly written for the 
stage, while others are poetry or 
spoken word, which have a more 
abstract narrative outline.

Covode and Lott brought the 

idea of a Writer’s Showcase from 
their high school in Evanston, IL, 
which has a yearly production 
that is written, directed and acted 
by students. Both participated as 
performers and now have decided 
to found and co-direct a similar 
project here at the University. 

The directors started the pro-

cess by soliciting writing from 
peers and writing some of their 
own scenes as well.

“We asked for pretty much 

any type of written work, poetry, 
dialogues, monologues, narra-
tives, anything. A lot of them were 
scenes. Maggie wrote a few. I 

wrote a few. We co-wrote some of 
them together, ” Covode said.

The process of putting together 

the showcase has been completely 
student-led and flexible, allowing 
space for dialogue and revision 
between students.

“The whole thing is pretty 

much a collaborative process. We 
ask our crew ‘what do you guys see 
in this scene?’ We are not going to 
sit there and say ‘this is about this 
and that is it,’” Covode said.

The rehearsal process reflects 

this mentality, as Covode and 
Lott sometimes take a backseat 
to allow actors and writers to 
take agency over their decisions 
regarding how they would like to 
convey the emotion and story of 
their work.

The showcase mixes physical 

comedy with more still and slow 
moments of spoken word to sim-
ply honor the visceral emotion of 
the writing.

“We develop an interpretation 

as a group and we just kind of 
stage it out. Some of them are just 
people standing on a stage and 
some are more acted out,” Lott 
said.

The technical aspects of the 

show are minimal. There are 
hardly any sets and the actors 
wear simple uniform costumes 
that allow them to play different 
roles in different scenes. Lott and 
Covode intend to celebrate stu-
dent writing through stage adap-
tation and although they value 
their hardworking and imagi-
native crew of performers, they 
hope to convey a message that 
goes beyond the humble scope of 
the production.

Covode said through partici-

pating in Writers’ Showcase, she 
realized the heart of the project-
was the work.

“You are so small compared to 

what this person is saying. It’s a 
tribute to this person’s writing.”

Through the empowerment of 

collaboration and the vulnerabil-
ity that comes with letting your 
own writing fall into the hands 
of others, The Writers’ Showcase 
creates an honest and dynamic 
community.

Writers’ 
Showcase: 
A Play

Sunday, Mar. 
13 at 2 p.m. 
and 8 p.m.

Keene Theatre

Free

