Netflix has shared a trailer for its upcoming docuseries Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop, which will tell the history of the genre through a new lens, giving credit to the countless women who shaped it. Watch the trailer below.
The documentary will explain how Black women came to “dominate the charts” and become the “ultimate influences” of hip-hop culture, focusing both on pioneers of the genre as well as current-day superstars. Many influential rappers sit down for interviews, including Roxanne Shante, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Rah Digga, Tierra Whack, Saweetie, and more. Notably, as commenters on YouTube have pointed out, the trailer makes no mention of Nicki Minaj, the best-selling female rapper of all time, but with four episodes, it’s still possible the series itself will correct this omission. The series is set to premiere on Netflix on August 9th.
“This timely limited doc series recontextualizes the irrepressible women of hip hop and their role in the genre’s 50 years by reinserting them into the canon where they belong: at the center, from day one to present day,” a press statement said. “By giving flowers to originators like Sha-Rock and Roxanne Shante or hearing real talk from contemporary superstars like Saweetie and Coi Leray, Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop contextualizes the history of the music that changed the world within the wider social, racial, and political landscape of the times and, crucially, through a female lens.”
This isn’t the first time Netflix has produced documentaries on the history of hip-hop. In 2016, the platform began releasing Hip-Hop Evolution, another docuseries that traced the genre’s development from the 1970s through the 2000s. They’ve also dabbled in other hip-hop related media, including 2019’s Rhythm & Flow, a reality music competition show about finding hip-hop’s next superstar with Chance the Rapper, Cardi B, and T.I. as judges.