Hot97’s Who’s Next Ladies Night Edition
By Moe Olivier
So this month, at #Hot 97s Who’s Next showcase they had to give it a special pseudonym for this specific line up: Ladies Night. As always the show was hosted by Shani Kulture, from Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning with Peter Rosenberg and Laura Styles. In addition to Shani Kulture there was a special guest appearance by the Legendary #DJEnuff, also of Hot 97. I gotta say legendary because Enuff was born out of that boom bap or classic hip-hop era, especially for his days of touring with the Notorious B.I.G. (rest in peace for ever).
So here’s the lineup and I gotta say-if I’m allowed to add my two cents into the pot- this was probably the dopest of the Who’s Next showcase that I’ve seen. However, I’ve only really seen 4 of these events, so what I’m saying here might not mean much, but whatever I was entertained even when I attempted to prejudge a few of these female emcees. (Please note: Further down in this post I will explain my attempt to adjust my use of the term “female emcee” to just simply emcees.)
Annalise Azadian (@annaliseazadian)
The first artist up was not a featured artist in tonight’s Who Next event. She goes by the name of Annalise Azadian. I kinda feel like she skipped the line in the grind to be on the Who Next ticket and she wasn’t hip-hop. But I’m not gonna argue that point because she was represented by the Legendary DJ Enuff – so outta respect for the god and his experience in the hip hop game I will remain somewhat silent! Anyway, Annalize from what I understand, is this kinda cute looking white chick from Middletown NY, where ever the fuck that is! Apparently she has now gentrified herself into #Brooklyn. Enuff introduced her on stage as a special treat for the people. Now if it sounds like I’m throwing shade, I’m really not. The chic is fucking dope, hands downs. At least from the few songs she performed that night. Not only is she fucking dope, she’s gonna win for several reasons:
- She can sing and got a unique sound
- She play the guitar
- The fucking deal closer over everything else, she’s WHITE!
Look! I could really write this whole blog about Annalise, my opinions about her talent and why I think outta every other female I saw she’s the only one that might really be next and not even cause the other artists weren’t dope enough, but that’s not what I’m here to do. Maybe next time!
Leaf (@itsmeleaf)
The first featured artist on the bill, who was actually the second that night, was a vocalist named Leaf. And somebody really need to say this to Leaf—I really think she needs to add something to her name cause when I Googled her shit, I was only getting information about a bunch of leaves. Sadly marketing is everything in this game. Now as far as what she presents, she wasn’t ready yet. Now there were a couple of hiccups in the beginning of her set that probably wasn’t her fault, but that’s not even what I’m talking about. First of all Leaf, and I hope you read this blog because you need to know: What was the whole point of having your two dancers on stage with you facing the wall and their backs to the crowd but not even dancing. It was like they were on punishment for the entire first song. It just seems foolish and you should change that part of your set. Now don’t get me wrong, I think Leaf can probably sing but stage presence was lacking. I even surveyed a couple of spectators after her performance just to see if it was me, but nope, they felt the same way. I mean Leaf is cute and I know they say sex sells but I couldn’t help but feeling that this chick is really trying to make me hard the way her ass shakes more than her vocal chords were. She may have some talent but her track selection and stage presence did not demonstrate much of it this night.
Nitty Scott (@nittyscottmc)
Next on deck was Nitty Scott. In terms of emceeing, stage presence, looks, content, and musicality of what she presented, she’s my number one chick for this night. Now I’m not saying that she had the best crowd response though and even though I’m saying that she’s super dope to me, unfortunately, I’m also saying that she’s not who’s next and I’ll tell you why later. Crowd response as a category would have to go Young MA, the artist after Nitty who I will talk about in a minute! But here’s what I like about Nitty and also why she’s not next. Yea yea yea! She’s pretty as fuck and yes if I had the chance I’d damn sure take it down! But, that’s beside the point. What intrigues me about her is that she’s not dumb and she’s not timid about showing that side of her in her music. She reps the hip-hop voice in this feminist movement and in #Blacklivesmatter movement. She asserts that feminine power like a weapon in this masculine dominated world. This was clear when she explained that the only difference between her and male emcees is that she has a vagina. For this reason, outta respect for these feminine gods, I will try hard to refer to my vagina totting emcees as just emcees. These examples of her proactive consciousness are precisely why I fucks with the Scott. However, on the same token you have to agree this is also why, sadly, she will probably only maintain an underground presence in this industry, sort of like Jean Grae. Wow! That would be a dope female power collabo: Jean Grae and Nitty Scott MC. Somebody put that together please!
Young MA (@hennynhoes)
Now let’s talk about the closer, the finisher, who, at the end of her set, should’ve just dropped the mic like President Obama did! Young MA! She did come late to her set and half way through her set she stepped aside and passed the mic to the infamous Cardi B. But, I ain’t gonna say nothing about Cardi B, because let’s just face it, ‘nigga she made it!!!!’ And this here is about Who’s Next. For Young MA, the crowd was definitely fucking with her hard. Her presence was loud like a beast on stage. I can’t even front if I wanted to, WORD! She was walking around the stage taking phones from the crowd and recording video or snapping selfies then giving them back. For anyone watching this performance, if her style wasn’t your cup of tea, you gotta admit that her presentation made you move. In one of her records she’s very reminiscent of Mr. Cheeks from the Lost Boyz. I don’t know the name of the record but the beat got that Hot Nigga vibe to it also. My only beef with Young MA’s performance was that she was rapping over her lyrics. In my view and from my era, this is just a no no! Plus, she’s lyrical and had some dope punch lines that I missed during the show. I had to go to the Youtube videos to get the full dose of what she was saying. All and all Young MA could probably be Next. She will absolutely have to smash through some barriers to get to the upper echelon of the industry. She’s a young lesbian broad that could very well make history in this hip hop game by changing the face and culture of this movement. The question is: are we ready for it yet?
At the event, in front of two table tops decorated in white cloths and handcrafted drawings of Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama, I was first introduced to Malcolm Penn, who appeared to be the mastermind behind the whole evening. He wore a black T-shirt with white letters and a red hand in the middle that read “STOP GUN VIOLENCE”; words so true to the essence of our culture. Ya’ll probably don’t remember that song “Self Destruction” which was produced by Boogie Down Productions; a song that was aimed at ending violence in hip hop and in our neighborhoods. But that is what true hip hop does and this event exemplified that, making it so connected to the original calling of the hip hop culture. The walls on both sides of the event space were laden with artwork signifying the various aspect of the culture. On one side they had a mural of vintage Air Nikes– from Bo Jacksons to Air Max and Jordan 3s; all are classic must-haves for any collection of hip hop footwear. There were several paintings that
showcased the infamous police crime scene tape that we’ve seen way too many times on the blocks where we from. However, hip hop takes the everyday struggle and transforms it into art, which at the same time, highlights the social injustices in our communities. Hip Hop is not dead. It Lives!
Following the Love Child brand was my favorite brand of the night which goes by the name 
Now here’s why Free Me brand is my favorite– the artistic expression I saw at this event is truly the missing element that could make 
