Females on the FM

Inside the WMUC studios early Sunday morning, it's all about hip-hop - with a twist.

Instead of Soulja Boy and T-Pain, though, the playlist was all Run DMC and Jean Grae. Unconventional? Sure. Educational? Definitely.

From 12 to 2 a.m. Sundays, junior early education major Danielle Armstrong and junior African American studies major Cybille St. Aude host the "Beauty & the Beatbox" radio show, the first all-female, all-hip-hop radio show on the campus. For the two friends, the show has one clear goal: getting women excited about hip-hop by playing music that they can listen to without being offended.

The hip-hop community has long been criticized for its often negative depiction of women, with the most recent example of national backlash coming last year when radio host Don Imus called the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos." In response, the University of Chicago held a panel, "Does Hip-Hop Hate Women?," which drew hundreds in April 2007. But in an industry whose mainstream music has been anything but kind to women, this task may seem daunting; according to co-hosts Cybille and Danielle - their monikers on the show - changing the status quo is not only possible, but necessary.

"Women in general feel that because they are women, they can't associate with hip-hop," St. Aude said. "We're just letting women know that it's OK to be fans of hip-hop and that they don't have to be limited to the roles of video vixens."

St. Aude and Armstrong, both from Long Island, met during their freshman year at the university and "have been inseparable since," they said. The friendship adds to the casual atmosphere of the show, which is less like a traditional radio monologue and more like a chat between the hosts and listeners.

For Armstrong, the show is a creative - and logical - way to reach people and change their opinions on music.

"This show is definitely a form of outreach," Armstrong said. "Although education will always be my first love, I hope the show will be a success and, in a way, I think it is a form of education."

The show appeals to its listeners by playing songs from lesser-known female artists; underground and independent male artists; oldies tracks; and old-school hip-hop, most of whose messages focus on the lyrical and narrative aspects of rapping as opposed to the bling-out and pimped-out messages often splashed across mainstream radio and MTV. On the duo's playlist now? Jean Grae, a South African-born artist who is "just all about the music," according to St. Aude; Run DMC, who Armstrong describes as an example of "definitely the foundation of what we're trying to bring back;" and other varied artists such as Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, A Tribe Called Quest, Nina Simone and Earth Wind & Fire.

"Without them, there'd be no hip-hop," Armstrong said of the latter two artists.

Both women say they are now disgusted with mainstream female rappers such as Lil' Kim, who they say have sold out to an industry that forces women to become sex objects.

"I used to listen to Lil' Kim," St. Aude said, "but then she got a lil' too crazy."

And when callers aren't clear about the show's anti-misogyny rules, St. Aude and Armstrong do not hesitate to remind them.

"We once had a caller request Soulja Boy's song, 'Yahhh!'" Armstrong said, "but we told him we wouldn't play it." The song, which repeatedly refers to women as bitches and hos, is the opposite of the message the girls hope to send to viewers.

"Overall, we keep women in mind in the way we produce and run the show," St. Aude said. "Listeners now make sure not to request certain songs."

St. Aude and Armstrong also don't shy away from discussing offensive song lyrics, they say, and will further tackle the issues in a special segment for Women's History Month during which they will have a round-table discussion with local female hip-hop artists. But all this advocacy doesn't mean the hosts are anti-fun, friends say.

"They're serious about it but are also able to be light-hearted," said Laura Reading, a senior American studies major and host of her own show, "radiobolical!"

And the show's balance between laid-back and determined is something listeners have embraced, they said.

"It feels like you are in the studio with them, just hanging out," said Sasha Allen, a sophomore neurobiology and physiology major. "I don't usually listen to the station, and I haven't listened to any of the other shows, but I think the fact that this is a hip-hop show hosted by two women will broaden the selection of listeners."

In fact, the show is so popular that it has even received several out-of-state calls from areas as varied as Miami and New York. Between the show's Facebook and MySpace accounts and intense online promotion, the show has been able to draw in hundreds of new listeners in just the first three weeks.

But what remains most important to the women is that they are reaching out to a young, female audience, they said.

"A girl in high school called in on our first show," St. Aude said. "She was a hip-hop enthusiast and said she was really happy and expressed gratitude that there were two women hosting a show on hip-hop."

It should come as no surprise that St. Aude and Armstrong are also fans of '90s female group Salt-N-Pepa. In fact, the show's name, "Beauty & the Beatbox," is derived from a similarly titled song on the group's first album.

"The thing with Salt-N-Pepa is they are two different personalities, like us," Armstrong said. "And they were females getting into the hip-hop game, and we're also entering an all-male arena and showing that we can do as good a job, if not better."

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