Sha-Rock

"I'm Sha-Rock and I can't be stopped for all the fly guys gonna hit the top" when Sha-Rock walked into her first Kool Herc jam and took in the massive new sounds and energy of the yet-to-be-named culture, she knew there was no turning back. In 1978 the teen became the first female to join an all-male crew, Funky 4 +1 More. Sha-Rock stood out: She famously held her own in battle circles and was an innovator in quite the literal sense, as she was also the first MC to use an echo chamber behind her voice. Eventually, she made such an impression that other young girls/lunchroom MCs starting calling themselves Little Sha-Rock. Luckily for her and the entire first wave of female MCs, there was not yet an internalized second-class citizenship for women within Hip Hop. Yes, they were coming into the rap game after the fellas, but they were late by only a New York minute. In all its newness, the cultural landscape was wide open, and as far as many female MCs saw things, there were no boundaries.