- Film And TV
- 26 Jul 23
Netflix's new documentary, Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop will tell the stories of past icons and current trailblazers alike, with a focus on how women of colour have pioneered the genre.
Following the success of music documentaries and biopics like Miss Americana, Amy, and most recently, Wham!, Netflix has expanded farther into the music film genre.
A new documentary, titled Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop, is set to premiere August 9, with appearances from icons like Queen Latifah and Saweetie, Coi Leray and more.
The film will focus explicitly on the role of women of colour in the genre, and the challenges of overcoming the specific intersection of racism and sexism known as misogynoir.
“By giving flowers to originators like Sha-Rock and Roxanne Shante or hearing real talk from contemporary superstars like Saweetie and Coi Leray, Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop contextualizes the history of the music that changed the world within the wider social, racial, and political landscape of the times and, crucially, through a female lens,” reads the official press release.
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Female artists have spoken openly for years about the difficulties of being a woman in a male-dominated industry like the music, regardless of the genre.
Last year, Megan Thee Stallion received a letter of support from the Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortium, that read in part, "Black women ... are left unprotected by the system and the community alike. If someone as influential as you can be belittled and mocked as nothing but a liar for standing up for herself, that speaks a volume about what a woman who doesn’t have your resources or fame can expect to endure when she’s found herself in a similar position."
Ladies First aims to highlight not only how women of colour have pushed the genre forward, but also how these women have supported, inspired, and mentored each other.
"We will always be stronger together than we are apart. That's just how it is," remarks Queen Latifah in the official trailer, available here.