Documentary on women in Philly’s hip-hop scene celebrating 20 years with screening, panel
Filmmaker Maori Karmael Holmes’ 2005 documentary ‘Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip-Hop’ will be shown Friday as part of the BlackStar Film Festival.
Lady B | Photo by Max Bennett
Philadelphia is an underdog city, though its star has risen in recent years for its standout food, art, sports, and—most importantly to us here at WXPN—music.
But some aspects of Philly’s music scene have historically been overlooked, and that’s what filmmaker Maori Karmael Holmes aimed to remedy with her 2005 short film Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip-Hop. The film debuted in 2006, and for its 20th anniversary, the 45-minute documentary will be screened at the BlackStar Film Festival.
The film highlights local hip-hop figures such as Lady B, Schoolly D, Monie Love, Rennie Harris, Bahamadia, Ursula Rucker, Jazzyfatnastees, Ms. Jade, and Lady Alma, Versus, Keen of Subliminal Orphans, and Michele Byrd-McPhee of Montäzh.
You can catch the film at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Get tickets here. Holmes will also be joined by Dyana Williams, Mercedes “Merce” Martinez of Jazzyfatnastees, and filmmaker Tina Morton for a panel on the film at 2 p.m. Saturday at The Daily Jawn Stage at the Kimmel Center. Former White House Social Secretary Deesha Dyer will moderate.
Holmes told WXPN she was inspired to make her debut film after writing her undergraduate thesis on hip-hop. She initially planned to make her film about women in hip-hop across the country, but focused on Philadelphia while attending graduate school at Temple University.
”I was studying performance studies with Dr. Kariamu Welsh and learning about this kind of idea of looking at the ‘other’ and things that are othered, in an orientalist sense, as feminine,” she said. Examining othering from a feminist political perspective led her to feel as though Philly itself was being othered, and the women in the scene were being othered on an additional level.
“So much of that early hip-hop wouldn’t happen without the contribution from Philadelphia artists,” she said. “You hear about the Bronx over and over again, you hear about the things that bubble up in LA, you hear about what happens in Miami or Atlanta, Memphis even. But you almost never hear about Philly.”
More than 20 years after the film was completed, Holmes says many people are unaware of the film, with most knowing her only as BlackStar Projects‘ Chief Executive and Artistic Officer who founded and previously programmed the film festival.
Recently, she’s had folks congratulating her on her “first film.”
”They don’t know all the things that I did before, or how, I got to BlackStar, which is I think why some of my colleagues wanted to both share the film and the panel,” she said. “There are a lot of people who will be seeing it for the first time, or there’ll be people who haven’t seen it in a really long time.”
Those who do see the film will be treated to an upscaled version, as it underwent a 2K transfer and some video sweetening, Holmes said. “Hopefully it looks a little better than copies that people have seen in the past.”
And on Saturday, attendees will hear from Holmes and her esteemed panel.
Dyer was a hip-hop journalist when the film debuted.
Martinez, a founder of Black Lily, was added to the panel because she’s been instrumental to Holmes personally. Her husband, the late Richard Nichols, was the longtime manager, friend, and “guiding spirit” of The Roots.
A Temple classmate of Holmes’, Morton helped her shoot the film and also taught her how to edit. “I thought it was really important for her to be [at the panel],” Holmes said.
Lastly, Williams is an “iconic Black broadcaster and supporter and advocate,” who Holmes is currently making a film about, and appears in Scene Not Heard. “ I want the opportunity to make that through line with her presence,” she said.
The panel will also feature a question-and-answer session.
See the full schedule of the BlackStar Film Festival here.