Founded in August 2015, Madame Rap is the first media dedicated to w*men and LGBTQIA+ in hip hop. Since January 2016, Madame Rap is also an NGO based in Seine-Saint-Denis, France.
Our goal: highlight female and LGBTQIA+ artists in hip hop, show that rap is not the most sexist and LGBTphobic music, fight against discriminations and pay tribute to this inclusive and pluralistic culture by celebrating “out-standing” hip hop that transcends categories.
On the free online media www.madamerap.com, published in English and in French, you will find n interactive map, a database of artists listed by name and by country, articles/videos, interviews, and the podcast Madame Talk.
At the same time, the NGO organizes different outreach initiatives to visibilize women and LGBTQIA+ in hip hop, promote gender equality and fight against sexist and LGBTphobic discriminations.
Thus, Madame Rap programs international artists at concerts, festivals and events, organizes awareness, writing and rap workshops for various audiences (young people, schools, residents, emerging artists…), trainings for professionals, conferences and discussion panels about women 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, wowen, 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 and a freelance journalist.
