Rah Digga - Classic

Rah Digga is definitely one of the nicest female MCs out there. Like most of the other Flip Mode crew, she got caught up in whatever ridiculousness Busta is wrapped up in contractually and has been without a full-length release since 2000's Dirty Harriet. That's some Rakim time off the mike, and in the mercurial world of hip-hop that can be a death sentence. Digga had a deal with J Records, but the record that was slated to drop in 2004 (Everything Is A Story) went the way of Saigon, RA the Rugged Man and a gang of too many others that had entire albums shelved indefinitely through label ridiculousness.

It's a real shame, as there have been a dearth of female MCs out there worth their salt. Trina is ok, but Foxy and Kim have more than overstayed their welcome in my eyes. Shawnna does alright, as is Diamond sometimes, but I would say they are much more rappers than MCs. Jean Grae is a titan, but I'd like to hear here do more boom-bap stuff. Currently, Nicki Minaj is the brightest hope out there, here's hoping that she doesn't leave the MC skills behind with this whole Barbie thing she's got going for her. Digga could be argued to have been the Minaj of her day, playing the Black Dorothy in that De La video and playing the gutter card with the video for her debut single Imperial. It will be interesting to see how she's received by the heads in 2010. The entirety of this record is produced by VAs Nottz. It's well done. I'd expect that the boom-bap set will embrace her readily, but I'm not sure that there will be a huge single behind Classic to get Digga into the mainstream limelight. I'd argue the moniker is more aptly applied to the Digga style than her sophmore release, but tracks like Backin' Up do yeoman duty in reminding the hip-hop scene that Rah Digga is still a force to be reckoned with. The remix with Redman is defintely worth checking out, too.

Classic drops on 9/14. While you're waiting, read the Rah Digga webblog here that your boys over at HHDx are hosting in the days before it becomes a lot harder for self-proclaimed femcees in 2010.

R