'Sisterhood of Hip Hop' Is Missing Something

Exciting news for rap fans: Variety reports Oxygen has announced that they will be launching a new docuseries in August called, Sisterhood of Hip Hop . The show will chronicle the journeys of five emerging “femcees” as they work hard to “make their mark” on the worlds of hip hop and rap. Because both hip hop and rap are traditionally male-dominated music genres, I think that it’s crucial to provide women with opportunities to showcase their talents. This is good news!

Sisterhood of Hip Hop’s eight-episode run will follow artists Brianna Perry (pictured above), Bia, Diamond, Nyemiah Supreme, and Siya. Rod Aissa, Oxygen’s senior VP of original programming and development, said of the new series in a statement:

The talented artists featured in Sisterhood of Hip Hop are vibrant characters that will resonate with Oxygen’s young, female viewers. The optimistic and empowering nature of the show is truly unique and we look forward to rooting for each woman’s success and giving fans the opportunity to follow along on their journey.

That sounds great. We've definitely made some progress in the United States (the number-one song in the country right now belongs to rapper Iggy Azalea), but there isn’t exactly a level playing field for women in hip hop just yet. For this reason, Sisterhood of Hip Hop could be a really important show. However, I would probably feel even better about the series if it were being produced by at least one woman.

Sisterhood of Hip Hop’s all-male production team includes rapper T.I., Christian Sarabia, Rabih Gholam, and Roy Orecchio. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still happy that the show’s being made, I just think that it would’ve been really cool to have a woman behind the scenes who would truly understand what these artists are going through — someone like Missy Elliott, Da Brat, Trina, or Lil’ Kim, for example. I can't help but feel like the women taking part in the series might have had a richer, more valuable experience.

Variety reports that rapper Eve will be making an appearance on the show in some capacity, presumably to mentor or guide the up-and-coming artists, but so will a slew of men: Pharrell, Lil’ Jon, Travie McCoy, Rick Ross, Tank, and Irv Gotti. Jeez. Was basically every female rapper who the show’s creators contacted not interested in helping out? I guess I find that hard to believe.

Oxygen will air a special preview of the series on July 22 to introduce viewers to the artists. Sisterhood of Hip Hop officially premieres on August 12.