Founded in Paris, France, in August 2015, Madame Rap is the first media to amplify the voices of female and LGBTQIA+ rappers worldwide.
Its aim is to:
- visibilize international female and LGBTQIA+ rappers;
- demonstrate that rap is not the most sexist and LGBTphobic music out there;
- promote gender equality and the links between hip hop and feminism;
- fight stereotypes, sexism and LGBTphobia;
- and pay tribute to this inclusive and plural culture by celebrating “out of the box” hip hop that transcends categories.
It is available in English, French and Spanish, features an interactive map, a database of artists listed by name and by country, articles/videos, interviews, and the Madame Talk podcast.
At the same time, Madame Rap carries out a range of grassroots initiatives:
- programming artists from all over the world for concerts, festivals and events;
- awareness-raising, writing and rap practice workshops for a variety of audiences (young people, schoolchildren, local residents, emerging artists, etc.);
- training courses for professionals;
- and conferences and panel discussions on the themes of womxn and LGBTQIA+ in hip hop, masculinities, gender equality and sexual violence.
For Madame Rap, cultural, educational and social outreach initiatives are essential as they allow to forge links between hip hop, womxn, LGBTQIA+ and other spaces or audiences a priori unaffected by these issues. As for the media, it falls within a global artistic and humanistic approach beyond stereotypes and borders, between popular education and the fight for equality.
Founder of Madame Rap, Éloïse Bouton is a writer, a freelance journalist and a queer feminist activist.
