CNN | It has long been believed that the birth of hip-hop happened on August 11, 1973, when DJ Kool Herc threw a party in the Bronx that brought together the sounds, the culture and the dancing that would come to define the genre.
In honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary of hip-hop, this week’s newsletter is all about the music.
Something to sip on…
Michelle Joyce and LaJoyce Brookshire aren’t just friends, they are partners in raising awareness about the contributions of women in the music industry.
Joyce, former director of marketing for Bad Boy Entertainment and Brookshire, former publicity director for Arista Records, are the architects of “Women Behind the Mic,” a book series, panel conversations and a planned docuseries.
Joyce told CNN that she and Brookshire felt a sense of “erasure” in 2017, when the documentary “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story” came out. Though women led many of the departments within the Bad Boy record label, they felt the contributions made by those women weren’t reflected on screen.
“We started to look at the different biopics and documentaries that were coming out, and the women who worked on them, on those projects in the music industry, were being left out,” Joyce said.
They are working to change that and reach future generations.
“Women Behind the Mic” recently partnered with New York City’s Department of Education for “Attaining A Seat At The Table” at The Apollo Theater, a master class about careers in the entertainment industry that attracted 1,200 junior and senior high school students.
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Read the whole story here:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/29/entertainment/women-mic-hip-hop-plc/index.html
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Women Behind The Mic: Curators of Pop Culture Volume One “Word To The Wise” contains the stories of 22 veteran Executives who were the engines behind the most iconic artists of all time. They are the industry “Sheroes” who quietly toiled in the trenches curating what is known as Hip Hop and Pop Culture today. Propelled by a Sisterhood that personifies excellence and the importance of maintaining a positive self-esteem while working in a male-dominated industry, the Women Behind The Mic (TM)share their front row seat stories while working behind-the-scenes with some of the biggest names in entertainment.
Mary J. Blige, Salt-N-Pepa, The Notorious B.I.G., SWV, A Tribe Called Quest, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Run DMC, Too Short, and Aaliyah are just a few of the names found on these pages. After finding themselves repeatedly left out of recent Documentaries and Biopics, theWomen Behind The Mic(TM) Movement/Book/Docu-Series/Lecture Series was birthed. These women now tell their own stories about the contributions women have made in significant ways to popular music and culture collectively. They have not only developed and made stars, but their joint efforts have led to trillions of records sold worldwide.
About the Creators:
LaJoyce Brookshire was a high-powered entertainment radio producer, program creator, and Director of Publicity at Arista Records in the 90s, handling artists such as “The Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Toni Braxton, Kenny G, OutKast, Monica, Deborah Cox, Craig Mack, Total, Faith Evans, 112, Usher, TLC, Whitney Houston, and The Notorious B.I.G., to name a few. Today, she is a New York Times Bestselling author and Naturopathic Doctor with a series of books residing in Pennsylvania with her husband and a college-aged daughter.
Michelle Joyce is affectionately known as “The Digital Chick”. Her stellar career began in music when she worked alongside Sean Combs as the Director of Marketing for Bad Boy Entertainment, with Mark Pitts at ByStorm Entertainment, and MCA Records. Over the course of her career she has conceived, developed, planned, and executed the marketing blueprints for artists like The Notorious BIG, Craig Mack, Faith Evans, Total, 112, Ashanti, Ghostface Killah, and Jaguar Wright to name a few. Today, she creates uber-successful digital strategies for clients residing in New Jersey with her husband.
https://www.amazon.com/Women-Behind-Mic-Curators-Culture/dp/158441006X
Ladies First: “Women Behind the Mic” and Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary
