My Mic Sounds Nice [Review]

Things just ain’t the same for female emcees. Where there was once a
bountiful crop of women rappers, an ever-changing musical landscape
has rendered them scarce. In her beautifully directed film, Ava
DuVernay schooled us as to why female rappers are important and will
never fully disappear. Full of heart, honesty, and soul, ‘My Mic
Sounds Nice’ touched on a plethora of topics surrounding the ladies on
the mic. DuVernay threw gender emphasized differentials in the arenas
of promotion, branding, artistic capabilities. Also, she discussed why
the number of female rappers pale, in comparison, to the digits of
their male counterparts under a microscope.

Featuring interviews with artists ranging from MC Lyte to Jean Grae,
“My Mic Sounds Nice’ paints a vivid and robust portrait of the female
rapper. Journalists like Aliya S. King and Smokey D. Fontaine fill in
the blanks from an outsider’s point of view. The film showcases the
differences in the way female rappers are viewed. The Lauryn Hill
segment featured the male consensus feeling a bit let down with her
journey as a rapper. The women of the documentary seemed more
understanding. Lyte put it best when she said, “She was like,’F*ck
ya’ll, really.’”

While, the film is great at showcasing these women, there does feel
like a little push and pull went on between BET and Ava DuVernay. If
you read our recent interview with Roxanne Shante, you’d know BET was
hesitant to allow her in the documentary. It seems as if, DuVernay
demanded Shante be apart and BET relented, on the condition Nicki
Minaj be platformed as “the future of female hip hop”. There’s room
for Nicki, but I still think she needs to show and prove. But with her
verse on the new Kanye West song,’Monster’, she may have.

In the end, Ava DuVernay opened the floor for intelligent
conversations about the female emcee and the women in hip hop. ‘My Mic
Sounds Nice’ reminds us of our adoration of the female rhyme slingers
and why we should continue to pay attention to their journey. It might
be a man’s world, but who doesn’t love a good ladies night?