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.H I P H O P M AT T E R Sthe cultural experiences of black girls.Even as hip hop projects images of black youth onto a glitzy global media stage, certain images emerge as more popular, pervasive, and probable than others.A lookat the films that hip hop has inspired reveals a strong bias toward the plight of young black males.Likewise, corporate rap is dominated by the stories that young male MCs create.And despite the proliferation of hip-hop magazines there are virtually no empowering images ofblack women.The degree to which hip hop fails to speak to and un-derstand the world that girls in the hood inhabit is striking.Amaz-ingly, at a time in which teens are a constant and primary target of corporate media, few films, television programs, music genres, ormagazines aggressively target black girls.In essence, they remain re-markably indiscernible and underserved in a youth-obsessed mediaculture.Despite all of this, black girls are deeply immersed in pop culture; they consume, adore, and live it.When she was twelve years old Kenya Jordana James, like millionsof young girls, was an avid reader of teen magazines.But none of the magazines reflected the images, interests, and stories of black girls like her.After conducting research and studying other magazines,she devised a plan—as well as an editorial vision—to launch herown book, Blackgirl.The mission of the magazine was simple.“I want Blackgirl to be the voice for black girls everywhere,” says James.“It’s a magazine that reflects the multidimensional African-American teen.My goal is to enlighten, inspire and entertain teens while en-couraging them to excel and be leaders.” James used $1,200 that sheearned from selling homemade cakes and other baked goods to pro-duce the first issue.In preparation for launch she did it all—design, writing, and editing.Several record companies dismissed her re-quests for interviews, but persistence earned her a feature with hip hop’s dynamic duo, Outkast.That interview gave her confidence andthe feeling that the magazine was legit.When all 3,000 of the premier 20-page issue sold out, she knew she was on to something.Her next big coup came for the second issue of the bimonthlypublication, when she scored an interview with Lauryn Hill.At the220 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]