our mission.
theKEEPERS Collective is a Black womxn-led collective of artists, activists, and scholars that amplifies
the voices of womxn and girls across Global Hip Hop culture. Through a range of publicly-accessible
resources, events, and programs we seek to undo the systematic erasure and silencing of womxn and girls.
SAMMUS | U.S.A
Azmera Hammouri-Davis | U.S.A
our collective.
Malkia Mutiri | BELGIUM
Kyra D. Gaunt, Ph.D | U.S.A
Mel Duarte | BRAZIL
Loreal Bell | U.S.A
Afia Akosah Bempah | SOUTH AFRICA
Rachida Aziz | BELGIUM
Jessica Balbino | BRAZIL
Across 8 countries and counting, we galvanize along the artistic, academic, & political spheres to reclaim and honor womxn's herstory in Hip Hop music/culture.
Nasir Marumo | U.S.A
Aysha Upchurch | U.S.A
Ina Thiam | SENEGAL
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Dr. Matthew Morrison | U.S.A
Yugen Blakrok | SOUTH AFRICA
Our goal is for theKEEPER Digital Archive to become the premier destination for fans, scholars, and other cultural workers, including researchers, and activists, to discover and actively engage with the rich legacy of womxn in Hip Hop.
Jölle Pettke | GERMANY
Preta Rara | BRAZIL
Karen Eaddy | U.S.A
C. Lionel Spencer | U.S.A
Gabriel Bryant | U.S.A.
Tassia Reis | BRAZIL
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Axel Zielke | GERMANY
Hadit Montero | VENEZUELA
We are currently raising funds via Indiegogo to support the development of theKEEPER Digital Archive; the first of its kind resource to visually map & document the vast worlds of womxn & girls throughout 5 decades of Hip Hop.
Dr. Ayla Güler | GERMANY
Marie Umuhoza | BELGIUM
Tati Villela | BRAZIL
Beà | BRAZIL
theKEEPER Digital Archive
We know that this project will serve as a meaningful step toward painting a more diverse
and complete picture of Hip Hop history. In its first iteration theKEEPER Digital Archive will offer users the following features:
A unique user interface with a geospatially-mapped artist timeline
A chronologically-organized master list of recorded works spanning near 50 years
Search functionality that enables querying by record label + writing and production
info
Comprehensive data lists on charting, sales, certificates, and awards searchable by
artist, year, label, and location
A vast print media repository
Extensive primary source materials such as digitized audio/video content
Oral accounts & corresponding transcriptions
Lyrical content and celebrity annotations
Original content such as podcasts, essays & reviews
Curated resource guides & syllabi from Hip Hop scholars and practitioners
TheKEEPER Digital Archive will also be a home for original editorial content
produced by theKEEPERS Collective (op-eds, longform essays, research articles, album reviews,
podcast episodes, short documentary projects, etc.). Our dream is to provide educational resources
and increase opportunities for K12 and college- level students through access to the wealth of
information in theKEEPER Digital Archive.
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The Best In Geospatial
Mapping
Geospatial-mapping is a method of managing and analyzing data that organizes layers of information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes.*
We believe that making a geospatial-mapping feature central to theKEEPER DigitalArchive will enhance the users experience by allowing for more dynamic ways of seeing womxn and girls through locating them in real time and space.
We will be working with Harvard Geospatial Technology Manager, Ben Lewis & team, to develop theKEEPER Digital Archive's unique & advanced mapping system.
*For an example of a geospatially-designed community archive, please visit the Community Futurisms project by Black Quantum Futurism, a Black women-led Afrofuturist collective that
we deeply admire.
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With your financial support we can complete PHASE 1 of theKEEPER’s development, building the end-to-end user experience for the archive and museum within six-months of the campaign's end
Your contributions will help us to cover the following expenses:
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The cost of building out the custom backend infrastructure and the frontend design of the archive’s unique interface (as well as any custom applications)
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Archival research costs (storage, digital scanning, recording equipment, shipping costs)
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Funds for support staff (researchers, curators, designers)
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Advertising on social media to raise funds for the archive
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Legal assistance (managing copyrighted material, non-profit development, etc.)
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Indiegogo fees
we need your help
why we need theKEEPER
Digital Archive
According to BuzzAngle’s 2018 annual report, Hip Hop accounted for 24.7% of all music consumption in the United States, surpassing all other genres. Hip Hop is the most listened to music in the world, as confirmed by digital streaming service Spotify in 2018.
Despite the global dominance of Hip Hop music and culture, these numbers have not translated to widespread success nor recognition for most womxn and girls who work or have worked in Hip Hop. Sexism, misogyny, and racism have always intersected to devalue and silence womxn's contributions in the public sphere; within Hip Hop, womxn and girls are frequently objectified and rarely considered to be serious producers of thought and culture.
*These gender disparities have persisted throughout Hip Hop's history, and in some regards have become more widespread since the 1980s and 1990s
peep these stats
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Of the 1,067 number-one singles recognized by the Billboard charts since its establishment in 1958, only two had been obtained by women rap artists as of 2018: Lauryn Hill’s 1998 classic “Doo Wop (That Thing)” and Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” in 2017;
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As of August 2020 only seven women rap artists have achieved a number one single on the Billboard charts, and of those, only three have done so without featured artists.
