Debbie D is Fresh, Bold and So Def
I was born in Harlem, one block from the Apollo Theatre. My first recollection of me on the mic is in church; reciting Easter speeches and singing lead in the choir. At 13 years old, my family …
Catfox is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Amy “Catfox” Campion is a dance artist and the founder and artistic director of Antics. Her vision is to unify diverse audiences through the transformational experience of hip-hop dance theater p…
Misa Hylton is Fresh, Bold and So Def
For over twenty-five years, Misa Hylton has been a “renaissance” woman at the forefront of seismic shifts in fashion, music, and culture. She is acclaimed for creating iconic looks that simultaneou…
Dr. Jamila Lyiscott is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Jamila Lyiscott is a community engaged scholar, a nationally renowned speaker and a spoken word artist. She serves as an Assistant Professor of Social Justice Education at the University of Massachuse…
Favianna Rodriguez is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Favianna Rodriguez is a transnational interdisciplinary artist and cultural organizer on a mission to create profound and lasting social change in the world. Her art and collaborative projects add…
Jada Pinkett Smith is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. A native of Baltimore, she studied at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where she befriended Tupac Shakur in…
Dr. E is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Elaine Richardson grew up in a poverty-stricken area of Cleveland, Ohio, to her Jamaican mother and American father. Being raped at 13, she became involved with what basically amounted to the same…
Jen Johnson is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Jen Johnson is an assistant professor of English Education at San José State University where she prepares students to become teachers of powerful Englishes in secondary schools. Her research and …
Traci Bartlow is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Oakland California native Traci Bartlow is a multifaceted visual and performance artist, consultant, and entrepreneur. She is proficient in many styles using African, Jazz and Hip Hop dance as a b…
Zeinixx is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Dieynaba Sidibé, known as Zeina or Zeinixx, is a slam poet, visual and graffiti artist from Senegal. Zeinixx is a self-taught artist who started painting in 2004 at the tender age of 14. In 200…
DJ Misbehaviour is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Born in London, now based in NYC, DJ Trish Mann aka Misbehaviour purchased her first record at the age of 9 and has been hooked ever since. Her eclectic ear for music allows her to satisfy diver…
Sheri Sher is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Sheri Sher is an American Hip-Hop pioneer best known as a founding member of the first all-female Hip-Hop group "Mercedes Ladies," formed in the late 70s. Born and raised in the "Boogie Down" Bron…
Maimouna Youssef is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Fresh off of her American Music Abroad tour throughout Central America where she served as a musical ambassador for The United States, Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh is ready to share her latest …
Chaka Pilgrim is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Chaka Pilgrim is a veteran music business executive with over 20 years of experience spanning music, touring, film, and management. Ms. Pilgrim is the former president and artist manager of Roc Na…
Regina Bradley is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Dr. Regina N. Bradley is a writer and researcher of African American Life and Culture. She is an alumna Nasir Jones HipHop Fellow (Harvard University, Spring 2016) and is the Assistant Profess…
EGR is Fresh, Bold and So Def
EGR (pronounced e•grr) is a contemporary visual artist based in Toronto, Canada. Always an artist with an edge, she picked up a spray can as a teen inspired by the many forms of art she was immers…
DJ Reborn is Fresh, Bold and So Def
DJ Reborn has been pleasing crowds across the country and abroad for over a decade with her mellifluous blend of Soul, Hip-hop, Reggae, House, Latin, Afro-beat, Nu-jazz, Classics, Rock and more. R…
M.I.A. is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A., is a British rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Starting her career as a visual artist, she got into documen…
Honey Rockwell is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Born and raised in the South Bronx, legendary b-girl Honey Rockwell began gymnastics and dancing at the Bronx Academy of Dance at the age of 7. In her teen years, she excelled, competing in …
Danyel Smith is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Danyel Smith is a Washington DC-based media creative, television producer, and author. She is currently culture lead—senior producer and editor— at ESPN’s The Undefeated. Recent fave projects incl…
Akua Naru is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Hailing from New Haven, Connecticut, Akua Naru’s journey to global poet began in an early upbringing in the Pentecostal church. Her powerful poetic lyricism, talent for storytelling an…
Shiro is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Shiro is a graffiti artist from Japan. Her vibrant imagery reflects her love for the Hip-Hop culture and old school graffiti, revolving around her original character “Mimi”, a dynamic and strong r…
DJ Laylo is Fresh, Bold and So Def
DJ LAYLO, also known as Loira Limbal, is a filmmaker, DJ, and activist who directed and produced “Estilo Hip Hop”, a video documentary that chronicles the rise of hip-hop activism throug…
Debra Harris is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Hush Tours is the premiere Hip Hop Tour Company offering celebrity guided excursions throughout the boroughs of New York City. Founded in 2000 by Debra Harris, devout hip-hop aficionado, ex-talent…
Faith Newman is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Faith Newman is a groundbreaker. She was one of the first five people to be hired at Def Jam, aged just 21, in 1987. Four years later, in the second week of her next job at Columbia Records, she sig…
Sister Souljah is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Born in the Bronx, New York and raised in the projects, Souljah is a fighter who came up from the bottom. A graduate of Rutgers University, she earned a degree in American History and …
Goldie Patrick is Fresh, Bold and So Def
With passion as her pedagogy, Goldie E. Patrick is a Detroit native, working, living, and building artistic collaborations in Washington DC. Goldie is a spirited playwright, poet, performer, and tea…
Violeta Galagarza is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Violeta Galagarza is a Spanish Harlem, born and raised, Latin Grammy Award-Winning choreographer, dancer, performer, inspirational role model, and artistic developer. In 1989, Violeta, a former La…
Raquel Cepeda is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Born in Harlem to Dominican parents, award-winning journalist, cultural activist, podcaster, and documentary filmmaker Raquel Cepeda is the author of Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina. Publish…
Mama Sol is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Mama Sol (pronounced Soul) is a poet, teacher, motivational speaker, lyricist, activist and front woman for the Neo/Soul Hip Hop act Mama Sol & Tha N.U.T.S. While sharing the stage such as Mo…
DJ Cocoa Chanelle is Fresh, Bold and So Def
DJ Cocoa Chanelle is a "Black Girls Rock" Award winning Deejay with over 10+ years experience with Emmis Communications HOT 97 in New York City. Receiving praise from everyone including Grammy awa…
Dr. Dia is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Adia McClellan Winfrey, also known as Dr. Dia, is the mother of 4, a pioneering psychologist, entrepreneur, author, and mentor to youth around the country. Described as “brilliant” by best-selling…
MadC is Fresh, Bold and So Def
MadC was born as Claudia Walde in Bautzen, Germany in 1980. Throughout 22 years of constant engagement with graffiti and street art she worked her way up from a teenager starting off with a spray …
Andreana Clay is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Andreana Clay is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology. Her research areas are youth of color, LGBTQ identity and sexuality, social movement activism, and popular culture. She spec…
Lauryn Hill is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Lauryn Noelle Hill was born in East Orange, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby South Orange. From an early age, Lauryn was fascinated by music. Her father, a computer consultant, and her mother, a te…
Christie Z is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Christie Z is the specialist you go to when you want your DJ battle or hip-hop event done right. Her attention to detail, high standards, fairness, and insistence on authenticity has led her to co…
JLove is Fresh, Bold and So Def
JLove is an activist, author, coach and a creator, producer and director of TV and Film. Storytelling is at the heart of her work. She is the author of That White Girl (Atria Books/Simon & Sch…
B-Girl Terra is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Hi, I'm B-Girl Terra and I am a B-Girl based in the U.K. I love to dance and I really want to be a Mermaid :). I won the Unvisti baby battle 2012 and got to the finals at Chelles Battle pro 2013. …
Sommer McCoy is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Regan Sommer McCoy is a music industry veteran, information technology professional, and active organizer of projects that bring artists, DJs, techies, and scholars together to preserve hip-hop histor…
DJ Rashida is Fresh, Bold and So Def
DJ RASHIDA has played her signature fusion of hip-hop, funk, soul, dancehall and house around the globe at music festivals, concerts, & private events. At the tender age of 18 she got her firs…
Snapshot and WandeePop are Fresh, Bold and So Def
Deena “SnapShot” Clemente & Wandee “WandeePop” Candelario share a passion and history created during the birth of a new era that evolved from our Native and African Ancestors thousands of ye…
P. Thandi Hicks Harper is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Dr. Hicks Harper has extensively studied and continues to research, explore and evaluate Hip-Hop’s influence within youth popular culture. She is the lead program developer of the Hip-Hop 2 Preven…
Mahogany Jones is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Mahogany Jones is a recording and performance artist, arts advocate, community activist and educator. A sensational performer and lyrical powerhouse, Mahogany embodies Hip Hop, femin…
Indie184 is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Artist Indie184, (born 1980) is a native New Yorker, has been active in the graffiti culture for over a decade and a half. Determined to express herself to the world through art, she quit business c…
Maya Jupiter is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Born in La Paz, Mexico to a Mexican Father and Turkish Mother, Maya Jupiter grew up in Sydney, Australia. It was in Sydney’s Western Suburbs where she first fell in love with Hip Hop. Maya’s love …
Shanti Das is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Shanti Das is an accomplished music industry executive, marketing executive, consultant, mentor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author. She is considered a literal hip-hop professional, as she …
Diamond Kuts is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Transforming her childhood affinity for music into a mainstream career, DJ Diamond Kuts is pioneering her way through the music industry. Not only is she the first and only female mixer to have a …
Gwendolyn Pough is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Gwendolyn D. Pough is Professor and Chair of Women’s and Gender Studies, Dean’s Professor of the Humanities and affiliate faculty in the Composition and Cultural Rhetoric Program at Syracuse Unive…
Miss Nicc is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Nicole Binggeli a.k.a. MISS NICC is a Bgirl and an event coordinator that has worked throughout Europe producing Bboy/Bgirl and Hip-Hop choreography dance events and tours. Together with…
Medusa is Fresh, Bold and So Def
“In one of the rooms in the hip-hop culture house engraved on the walls” Is a live account of the 1 Super Soul Sista, who has the blessing to be dubbed “the Angela Davis of hip-hop”. Starting off MC…
Thembisa Mshaka is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Thembisa S. Mshaka is a 5-time Telly Award winner and Promax/BDA Gold Award-winning writer who has served in the entertainment industry for over 18 years, spanning the areas of touring, management…
Cece Carpio is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Using acrylic, ink, aerosol and installations, Cece Carpio tell stories of immigration, ancestry, resistance, and resilience. She documents evolving traditions through combining folkloric forms, b…
Aisha Fukushima is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Aisha Fukushima is a Singer, Speaker, Educator, and ‘RAPtivist’ (rap activist). Fukushima founded RAPtivism (Rap Activism) a global hip hop project spanning nearly 20 countries and four continents, …
DJ Annie Red is Fresh, Bold and So Def
DJ Annie Red is an 8 year old DJ & Rapper from Brooklyn New York. She is also a musician, pianist and songwriter. A recipient of the 2017 Danny Glover Power of Dreams Music Award, DJ Annie Red …
Joan Morgan is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Joan Morgan is an award-winning journalist, author, and a provocative cultural critic. She began her career in journalism as a freelance writer for The Village Voice. The response to her first art…
Aysha Upchurch is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Aysha Upchurch, the Dancing Diplomat, identifies as a seed planter, soil agitator, and curious and passionate artist. Professionally, this translates to her working as a dancer, choreog…
Melina Matsoukas is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Inspiring. Ferocious. Provocative. Many words aim to encapsulate the maverick known as Melina Matsoukas, but her robust rebel sensibility is not easily contained. The New York native and G…
Bahamadia is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Born Antonia’ Reed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bahamadia was first introduced to Hip Hop culture as a DJ spinning at local house parties in the 80’s. A writer at heart, Bahamadia honed her skil…
Dawn-Elissa Fischer is Fresh, Bold and So Def
In the Department of Africana Studies at San Francisco State University, Dr. Dawn-Elissa Fischer is an Associate Professor and she teaches courses on international Black popular culture, informati…
Lady Pink is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Lady Pink was born in Ecuador, raised in NYC and currently resides in the countryside north of the city. In 1979 she started writing graffiti and soon was well known as the only female capa…
Tiffany Miranda is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Girls Make Beats was founded in December 2012 by singer-songwriter, producer, DJ, and Avid Certified engineer Tiffany Miranda. Tiffany Miranda started as a recording artist in the music industry …
Tish Jones is Fresh, Bold and So Def
A poet and emcee, Tish Jones speaks to communities about controversial topics through her lyrical art. Inspired at an early age, her love of people and her pursuit of truth have made her a vital p…
Wendy Day is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Wendy Day founded the not-for-profit Rap Coalition in March of 1992, out of disgust for the way urban artists are unfairly exploited in the music industry. Wanting to shift the balance of power to…
Lah Tere is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Lah Tere is a co-founder of Momma’s Hip Hop Kitchen: The Soup Kitchen for the Hip Hop Soul (MHHK), a multifaceted hip hop event designed to showcase women artists, especially women of color. MHHK …
Butterscotch is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Butterscotch, the retro-futuristic, voice percussionist virtuosa, is a force to be reckoned with in today’s music scene. Butterscotch has rocked stages worldwide and leaves audiences clamoring f…
Dr. Joyce is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Joycelyn Wilson is an Assistant Professor of Black Media Studies and Educational Anthropologist in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication in the Ivan Allen College at the Geo…
Kuttin Kandi is Fresh, Bold and So Def
DJ Kuttin Kandi also known as the "People's Hip Hop DJ Scholar" was born and raised in Queens, NY. She is widely regarded as one of the most legendary and accomplished womxn DJs in the world. Kand…
Ayumi is Fresh, Bold and So Def
From Kyoto, Japan, B-Girl Ayumi is a member of the animated and energetic, Body Carnival crew. She started breaking at the age of 21, inspired to try dancing after watching her older sister, B-Gir…
MC Lyte is Fresh, Bold and So Def
First female to perform hip hop in the White House and first African American female to serve as the President of the Los Angeles chapter of the Recording Academy (Grammy Organization): these are …
Bettina Love is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Dr. Bettina L. Love is an award-winning author and Associate Professor of Educational Theory & Practice at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on the ways in which urban youth nego…
Chelove is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Cita Sadeli CHELOVE is a multi-disciplined art director, muralist, Illustrator & designer who straddles the urban art, illustration, and interactive design worlds. Her work is a reflection of …
April Walker is Fresh, Bold and So Def
April Walker is a pioneer in the urban fashion world who set the stage for many of the designers and brands to come after Walker Wear. Straight out of Brooklyn, Walker Wear is a heritage lifestyle…
Salt-N-Pepa is Fresh, Bold and So Def
In the mid–1980s, Brooklyn–native Cheryl "Salt" James met Queens–native Jamaican rapper Sandra "Pepa" Denton, both studying nursing at Queensborough Community College. The pair became close friend…
DJ Spinderella is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Dee Dee Roper, internationally known as DJ Spinderella, is a Grammy award winning DJ, producer, rapper, writer and world class mother. Spinderella is one of the original pioneers of hip hop music …
Aruna is Fresh, Bold and So Def
ARUNA VERMEULEN is an award winning b-girl from Rotterdam, a city in The Netherlands known for its rich b-boy culture. Aruna has been breaking since 1998 when she was introduced to the b-boy scene…
Erica Ford is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Erica Ford remembers what it was like growing up in Jamaica, Queens back in the 1980s, where crack use and gun violence was an everyday occurrence. A resident in the high crime neighborhoo…
Genesis Be is Fresh, Bold and So Def
In 2016, Genesis Be (G.Be) captivated America with a bold theatric protest against the Mississippi State Flag that went viral. Publications such as Billboard, NY Daily News, ABC News, VICE Impact …
Piper Carter is Fresh, Bold and So Def
PIPER CARTER is a freelance Fashion Photographer. She was featured on Tyra Banks’ VH1 show “The Shot” and came out as one of the final 7 contestants. Carter had the best picture four times (out of…
Rapsody is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Rapsody is a North Carolina emcee signed with super producer 9th Wonder for Jamla Records. With the release of seven projects in just three years and a critically acclaimed debut album in A…
Shamsia Hassani is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Shamsia Hassani born in 1988 (Iran) is an Afghan graffiti artist, and teacher at Faculty of Fine Arts, Kabul University. In her graffiti, Shamsia often paints women in Burqas, and fishes, symbols …
Va$htie is Fresh, Bold and So Def
As a New York based director, filmmaker, artist, designer, creative consultant and DJ, Vashtie Kola is truly a renaissance woman. She has cultivated the Downtown New York City scene for over a dec…
Rosa Clemente is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Rosa Clemente, a native of the South Bronx, is one of the most raw, honest, political, social, and cultural voices in the country. From Harvard to prisons, Rosa has spent her life dedicated to sch…
Michele Byrd-McPhee is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Michele Byrd-McPhee is the executive director and founder of Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival (LofHHF). Also former directing cofounder of Montazh Performing Arts Company. Montazh Performing A…
Queen Latifah is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Born on March 18, 1970, in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of a police officer and a schoolteacher, Latifah the moniker "Queen" came with the launch of her rap career was in high school when she …
Cindy Diggs is Fresh, Bold and So Def
In 1995, the genre of Hip Hop music was still relatively young and centered almost entirely around its birthplace of New York City with a growing presence in Los Angeles. Just under 200 miles to t…
Angela Yee is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Angela Yee started her career in radio thanks to a combination of good timing and great relationships. She heard that Sirius was hiring in their marketing department, and reached out to Eminem’s m…
TooFly is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Toofly’s journey into the world of art began with her commute to public school from her Corona, Queens neighborhood. Her trips were filled with adventurous sketches as she immersed herself in the …
Yo-Yo is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Yolanda Whittaker aka YO-YO is a Grammy-nominated American rapper and actress. Much of her music has advocated female empowerment, denouncing the frequent sexism found in hip-hop music. She is the…
Dr. Rachel Raimist is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Dr. Rachel Raimist is an award-winning filmmaker whose most known for Nobody Knows My Name, the first documentary about women in hip-hop. She is co-editor of Home Girls Make Some Noise!: Hip Hop Fem…
Jazzy Joyce is Fresh, Bold and So Def
The Legendary DJ Jazzy Joyce has been in various facets of the Hip Hop industry for over thirty years; her primary role has been a DJ and producer. She started young and was already traveling and …
Asia One is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Nancy “Asia One” Yu is one of the best-known and most-respected b-girls in the world, the founder and CEO of the annual B-Boy Summit event, a member of Fame City Graffiti Crew, President of the Mi…
Donnie Smith is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Donnie Nicole Smith is the Executive Director of Donda’s House, Inc., a writer, wife of Multiple Grammy- & Oscar-award winning artist Che “Rhymefest” Smith, and step-motherwho surfs the winds …
Monie Love is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Born in London, England Monie Love got her career started in her early teens as an M.C after listening to people like Melle Mel, Roxanne Shante, Big Daddy Kane and Rakim. She is the younger sister…
Panmela Castro is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Panmela Castro: Brazil's graffiti queen, delivering justice through the nozzle of a paint can. Panmela is a Brazilian feminist, human rights activist, art collector, cultural entrepreneur and a pr…
Syreeta Gates is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Syreeta Gates is a Culture Creator with a focus on hip-hop and digital archiving. As founder of The Gates Preserve, she curates innovative experiences like Write On! The Legend of Hip-Hop’s Ink Sl…
Sophia Chang is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Sophia Chang is a music business matriarch who has managed ODB (RIP), RZA, GZA, Q Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, Raphael Saadiq, and D'Angelo. Her extensive record company experience include…
Martha Cooper is Fresh, Bold, and So Def
Martha Cooper is a documentary photographer who has specialized in shooting urban vernacular art and architecture for over thirty years. In 1977, Martha moved to New York City and worked as a staff ph…
Beverly Bond Is Fresh, Bold, and So Def
Beverly Bond first came to New York when she was 17 years old to pursue a modeling career, eventually landing at Wilhelmina Models, where she was booked by such clients as Diesel Jeans, Guess, Nike an…
Rokafella is Fresh, Bold and So Def
Ana "Rokafella Garcia" was born in Spanish Harlem where she grew up with a strong Latin background. She represents the positive image of a woman confident in both her Puerto Rican and Hip-Hop cultures…
Roxanne Shante is Fresh, Bold, and So Def
Roxanne Shante (born Lolita Shanté Gooden) is an American hip-hop pioneer. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects, Shanté first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and her association with…