LEAVE IT TO rapper/activist Glenn Waco to work toward lifting up the women of Portland hip-hop, even after relocating to Long Beach, California. The third installment of his We Take Holocene summer jam series will showcase four artists from the "Portland Female Cypher," a continuous freestyle video featuring Blossom, Karma Rivera, Alia Zin, and the cypher's organizer, Vytell.And no, Waco won't be performing a set.
"It's all them," he says. "I'm not getting paid or anything. I'm trying to put people in a position to make moves."
Waco says he will, however, make a cameo performance during his girlfriend Zin's set.
While dudes tend to be critiqued on their lyrics, rap skills, and stage presence, female artists are pressured to pay attention to other aspects of their performance. Zin nails it in these lines from the "Portland Female Cypher":
"I don't give a fuck about blood diamonds on your wristwatch. I'm pissed off, double standards have me sitting fucking crisscrossed. Gotta keep an hourglass while you niggas look like Rick Ross."
Being part of Portland's tight-knit hip-hop scene presents unique challenges for women—unwanted attention from their male counterparts (under the guise of professionalism), drama brought on by too-obvious sub-tweets, the pressure to be sexy but not a ho. Still, these four ladies are the antithesis of how popular culture often portrays female friendships—they vary in experience, style, and personality, but they're united by their mutual support. Rather than waste time competing, they celebrate each other's differences.