August 28, 2019

Rapsody’s New Album Honors the Generational Power of Black Women

Homages include Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Sojourner Truth

Rapsody

Jose Gongora

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You know them by their first names: Oprah. Serena. Michelle. Sojourner. Influential black women who have shaped cultural moments and historical movements across generations. These icons—among others you’re sure to recognize—were the inspiration for Grammy-nominated rapper Rapsody’s latest studio album, Eve.

As Mother Jones Podcast host Jamilah King describes her, Rapsody is probably your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper. The North Carolina native has been one of the most prominent voices in hip-hop over the last decade. Her raps are melodic, full of witty puns and nods to her self-described “tomboy femininity” and Southern traditions. She’s been defying the stereotypes often applied to women rappers since she burst onto the scene in 2007. 

On this week’s episode of the Mother Jones Podcast, King sits down with Rapsody to discuss art, politics, representation, and what keeps her going in these turbulent political times. 

Listen to the latest episode of the Mother Jones Podcast below:

“There’s a way I can add to the movement because we can’t afford to be silent anymore,” said Rapsody. “Desperate times call for desperate measures, and it really pushes a culture forward, and I think hip-hop is at the forefront of that.”  

Rapsody’s third studio album, Eve, was released last Friday. While it isn’t explicitly a political anthem, its empowering messages are not hidden either.

“Representation and what we see in the media—they don’t show the balance and range that is black women all the time,” said Rapsody. “We’re all different and it’s okay to be different. This is what the world looks like, so that’s beautiful.” 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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