And while some of us are bonded by the trials and tribulations we face in this industry, we're also united by our passion to keep hip-hop alive and well. Without them, POPSUGAR's celebration of women in hip-hop could not exist. To share space with these women, to me, is one of the most gratifying aspects of being part of hip-hop journalism.

King? Dedicated journalists, our 'Brown Sugar' Sidney Shaws, who have held hip-hop accountable while reporting on its many contributions to the world, as well as the artists who represent it. Joan Morgan, Dream Hampton, Danyel Smith, Dee Barnes, Angie Martinez, Kierna Mayo, and Aliya S. Where would we be if not for women like Dr. While we may not always get our flowers for it, women hip-hop journalists are the trailblazers and tastemakers who have aided the advancement of the culture's legacy by putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and voices to microphones. Our skills and knowledge are always under a microscope in this 'boys' club,' as we've oftentimes been seen as the ill-informed who stumbled our way into this space and not as the revered who helped build, refine, and make it better as those who've made it safer to tell ours and others' stories. Thanks to sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny, we don't get that luxury. The role of women hip-hop journalists, unfortunately by today's standards, is not just to report on the culture earnestly. But seeing how far hip-hop has come, times have changed, and so have the rules for those documenting it - namely, us women. Author Raquel Cepeda once said, 'The role of hip-hop journalists is to document hip-hop with integrity.' Fifty years ago, that esteemed role did not yet exist, for the culture was too young and too niche to find its way into literary archives and journalistic coverage.

Women in hip hop history