Philadelphia’s Bahamadia has connected with Canadian producers Potatohead People and their fellow countryman, singer-rapper Slippery Elm for “Up Close.” The ’90s underground legend’s flow is still smooth and unbothered after all these years. She maps out the plan for an intimate relationship with each step explained verse by verse. The vibe of “Up Close” is very similar to Slum Village’s flavor and Slippery Elm even enunciates like Young RJ. The single is included on Potatohead People’s Emerald Tablet album that comes out on July 11th. 

Ladies First: A Story Of Women In Hip-Hop is a new docuseries coming to Netflix. Women’s history in hip-hop is chronicled from early emcees like Sha-Rock to current rappers like Latto and Coi Leray. Hip-Hop is having its 50th year of existence and this docuseries is a timely contribution to all the canonizing celebrations. The trailer features MC Lyte who is also an executive producer, along with other women such as Tierra Whack, Rapsody and Queen Latifah sharing their perspectives. Viewers have already complained about the absence of Nicki Minaj and Missy Elliott but Shawn Allen who worked on the series posted. on Twitter that both artists refused to license their music and videos. Ladies First will debut the first of a four-part series on August 9th. 

Rah Digga and Bahamadia will share their wisdom as guest lecturers at the Pendulum Academy’s Second Annual Women’s Month. The school is celebrating women in hip-hop during the month of August with special events, courses and workshops. The former Flipmode Squad member will be the guest speaker for the academy’s Rhymecology course which explores mental health through the usage of rhyme. Bahamadia is teaching the Evolution Of Rhyme course that examines the history of word flow. Wendy Day, SJ Henderson, Baegod, Jaz The Rapper, Casey J, Official and celebrity publicist Chanel Rae are also on board to teach classes in August. They will instruct students on media training, battling rapping, creative writing and networking. Shawnna, who was the First Lady of Ludacris’s Disturbing Tha Peace label, is the guest teacher for the Advanced Rhythm & Style class. The Criminology In Hip-Hop class will be co-lead by attorney Devon Douglass and it will look at Remy Ma’s 2007 case. Students will receive feedback on their work from an all-woman panel of judges. Rah Digga expressed her enthusiasm in a statement:

“Being in this business for 25+ years professionally and actually growing up in the culture, I am looking forward to passing on some of the knowledge that I have learned in hopes that aspiring artists from the next generation can learn something useful that will hopefully be as life-changing for them as this journey has been for me.” 

All women can enroll in the Academy for half of the normal price in August. New students are currently being accepted and those interested can apply pendulumink.com or email the school at info@pendulumink.com. Songwriter Mickey Factz and battle rapper Chilla Jones founded the Pendulum Ink Academy. The school aims to prepare rappers for the music industry by providing guidance from industry experts and professional rappers. The academy had its first graduating class on February 26, 2023, and Bun B was the commencement speaker. Anyone can purchase the school’s textbook, A Lexicon Of Elite Rap Techniques online. Big Daddy Kane wrote the foreword of the book that has songwriting strategies used by some of rap’s greatest storytellers. HipHopEd founder Dr. Christopher Emdin wrote the afterword. 

[youtube id=”jvGs0_BBxKA”]Bahamadia’s “We Here” comes along at the same time that Jermaine Dupri’s recent comments about mainstream women rappers sounding like strippers is still getting a lot of reactions. The Philly veteran wrote the song in 2006 but the issue of women still not having the same support as their male counterparts is still relevant. Numerous women rappers appear in a moving photo album as Bahamadia reminds listeners that women who rap have always been on the scene. “We Here” will appear on Bahamadia’s first album since Good Rap Music in 2005. The new album simply titled HERE comes out sometime in the fall.