Details: Clover Hope and Rachelle Baker, "The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop" Book (2021, Abram Image) 9" l x 7.6" w x 0.9" h, paperback.

Description: "The Motherlode highlights more than 100 women who have shaped the power, scope, and reach of rap music, including pioneers like Roxanne Shanté, game changers like Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott, and current reigning queens like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Lizzo—as well as everyone who came before, after, and in between."

Grade: M (new stock)

Full Description: "The Motherlode highlights more than 100 women who have shaped the power, scope, and reach of rap music, including pioneers like Roxanne Shanté, game changers like Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott, and current reigning queens like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Lizzo—as well as everyone who came before, after, and in between. Some of these women were respected, but not widely celebrated. Some are impossible not to know. Some of these women have stood on their own; others were forced into templates, compelled to stand beside men in big rap crews. Some have been trapped in a strange critical space between respected MC and object. They are characters, caricatures, and lyricists, at times both feminine and explicit. This book, with compelling full-color illustrations, profiles each of these women, their musical and career breakthroughs, and the ways in which they each helped change the culture of rap."

Author: Clover Hope is a music journalist. She was previously an editor at Billboard, XXL, and Jezebel. She is a contributing editor for Pitchfork as of 2020. Hope's debut book The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop was released in 2021.

Press: "To quote Queen Latifah’s 1989 anthem, The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop, is a book that puts “Ladies First.” The new offering from journalist Clover Hope covers the history of Hip-Hop queens, from Roxanne Shanté, Salt-N-Pepa, Lil’ Kim, and Missy Elliott to Nicki Minaj and Cardi B.

Featuring illustrations by artist Rachelle Baker, the book, which goes on sale today, not only explores the careers of women in Hip-Hop, but it also takes a look at their impact on the musical genre and society as a whole. Here, Hope talks to ESSENCE about which MCs personally inspired her, her favorite female rap verse, and when she fell in love with Hip-Hop."--Chuck Arnold, ESSENCE

"Hip-hop is usually told through the perspective of men and usually emphasizes a celebration of male legends. Music journalist Clover Hope wrote The Motherlode to tell hip-hop’s story through the perspective of women—something rather revolutionary."--Andrea Bossi, Forbes