flash flash flashback 88 copped my first tape third grade young girl banking roxanne shante around my way claude mckay disarray langstons of dark hues get bruised stored away hey caught in cage fought in the maze gave up and now i got dreams of being live on stage what turn up the volume uh me and my cousin doin the wop dreaming bout the salt n pepa haircut speakers bump light as the rock pumps the rhythm of my next double dutch jump what you want at once pecola breedloves uh we dreamed of ourselves knew when latifah showed us what a queen was i went from invisible to seen to on the smooth tip sweet tee to follow monie in the middle on the scene saw them saw myself vowed to rock mics when i m older pick up a pen and like antoinette this is for latifah for lyte for shante bahamadia lauryn hill heather b for jean grae e v e nikki d salt n pepa even me apani b for missy for kim and foxy this is for rah digga rage left eye for yo yo paula perry nonchalant da brat for jane doe rage mystic bo sparky d for those never seen on the search for female emcees the microphone fiends stomped in the 90s after school you could find me in the backyard begging for a beat box rhymin u n i t y and heather b blues frame the news of the death of phyllis hymen i rap to keep from crying taking mine now i m the bo recipe for a show they say no girls in the cipher so i rock solo then on the blackstreet ill na na get me home though i rap along to every song and ain t no playing with my yo yo check how i hit every note though even sung along to patois like in the joint she did with patra uh blank page callin i fantasized a crowd yes ya ll in nonchalantly in the trees at five o clock in the morning sported the kim hardcore wig then came lauryn she showed me the beauty and the natural cut amplified my rage growing out my afro puffs  this is for latifah for lyte for shante bahamadia lauryn hill heather b for jean grae e v e nikki d salt n pepa even me apani b for missy for kim and foxy this is for rah digga rage left eye for yo yo paula perry nonchalant da brat for jane doe rage mystic bo sparky d for those never seen on the search for female emcees the microphone fiends yo new millennium came of age while things stayed the same media forms changed new name from what what to jean grae we bootlegged the bootleg facebook or myspace put away cassette vhs tapes in vinyl crates fast forward album release dates hip hopalizing what we buy how we objectify in these days tell me what s the plight of a female emcee s fate or what s the worth of a woman s story to a dj uh downloadin everyone and all my heroes seemingly gone search and found lauryn hill unplugged guess i lost one some come and go self labeled bitch and ho and heretic of discourse i turn off the radio i can t relate nor can i hate for the ways we negotiate the sexist spaces that we navigate i stay reppin haunted by the ghost of hip hop s crescent it seems this is for latifah for lyte for shante bahamadia lauryn hill heather b for jean grae e v e nikki d salt n pepa even me apani b for missy for kim and foxy this is for rah digga rage left eye for yo yo paula perry nonchalant da brat for jane doe rage mystic bo sparky d for those never seen on the search for female emcees the microphone fiends the world is listenin the world is listenin the world is listenin 1