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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We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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