HollyHood
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2010
Music
Press
Promoting My Sisters began five years ago, born out of rapper Dr. HollyHood’s frustration after attending endless amounts of hip-hop shows with all-male lineups.
“These guys would justify their lineups by saying, ‘There are no female rappers in the city!’ But I, a female rapper, was there watching the show. That just wasn’t true,” she says.
Tired of the excuses she was hearing, Dr. HollyHood (an occasional CP contributor) decided to create an all-female showcase to prove not only were there plenty of female artists in the city, but there were also more than enough to put on their own stacked showcase.
“Now when guys ask where the female artists are, I point to PMS,” explains HollyHood. “Here’s 20 of them.”
This year’s event at Howlers features a mix of hip-hop, spoken-word and burlesque performances. Veteran spoken-word performer, academic and activist Medina Jackson, a.k.a. I Medina, is scheduled to perform. Her poem, “I Am the Mother of a Black Son,” is just one example of the powerful prose she weaves. Bringing the bad-ass burlesque and a message of body positivity is Luscious D, while LadyTBadd spits bars over catchy beats with earworm hooks like those in “Don’t Think Though.”
Showcasing 20 female artists on one bill is a great opportunity for exposure, but Dr. HollyHood doesn’t expect these artists to perform for free. “It has always been really important to me to make a way to pay these women,” she says.
The P.M.S. system empowers performers to promote their own work by utilizing a ticket link that allows attendees to buy a ticket directly from the artist they are coming to see. As a result, a 10-minute performance can be profitable. And hopefully, promoters from around town will do the legwork and scout out some artists for their next showcases. - Pittsburgh City Paper
In addition to her role at the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp., Amber M. Epps teaches college-level IT, business and communication courses, but she says she “entered that line of work by accident.”
After being laid off from her first job out of college, she stumbled into a position teaching at the Community College of Allegheny County. Then, after getting laid off by UPMC, she joined the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp. as night market manager. Several promotions and a restructuring later, she landed the COO position.
“I got interested in community development work after I saw how much change can be impacted by interacting and engaging with the community at the grass-roots level,” Epps says. Throughout those career changes, Epps continued her education — she’s earned a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. Epps is also an artist — she’s often referred to as the “mom” of Pittsburgh hip-hop — and she serves on the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council’s Learning and Leadership Committee as well as the Pittsburgh Arts Research Committee.
“I work with organizations and individuals to make sure that artists have a place at the table and are also treated equitably,” she says. - Pittsburgh Magazine
Discography
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Bio
Mom, college professor, witch, food snob, evil genius, rapper.
Writing her first song in sixth grade detention, HollyHood (Dr. Hood) has been described as a cross between Cardi B and Missy Elliott. Although fans still request to hear Ice Cream & Moscato, a single that was released in 2012, she recently released her sophomore album, YellowJacket. Featuring tracks such as Fuck Tito, Elevator Cabs, and [S], YellowJacket has been referred to by some as the hip hop version of Beyonce's Lemonade. One of the things that draw people to Holly is her ability to create and perform music that is fun and positive, but can also be outspoken and crude, depending on how she was feeling at the time of creation.
As one of the most well-known and respected female MC's in the city, she has spent much of her time over the last several years producing hip hop events such as PMS (Promoting My Sisters) all-women showcase, the Pittsburgh Underground Music Awards, and the Beats and Bars (hip hop) segment of the Three Rivers Arts Festival. Holly has also opened for a number of national acts including Rakim, KRS-One, GZA (Wu-Tang), Ja Rule, and SugarHill Gang.
What makes Dr. Hood so unique is her eclectic interests which have helped her to expand her network and become involved in multiple arts and music scenes that are typically not associated with hip hop. Additionally, besides having her hands in many aspects of Pittsburgh's hip hop community, HollyHood has completed five college degrees, including two master's degree, and two doctorates. The emphasis of her degrees include computer information systems, business administration, communications, usability studies, and higher education administration. Furthermore, Dr. Hood has been teaching at the college level since 2002.
Holly brings to the table her ability to communicate and
build and maintain relationships with a diverse audience in a variety of
contexts. Also, her divergent musical interests combined with her ear for
excellence allow her to offer insight based on a much wider perspective.
Holly's assertiveness, go-getter attitude, and love of learning mean that she
is dedicated to always doing her best and working hard to ensure the success
and development of those that she works with.
Having been coined the "mom" of Pittsburgh hip hop,
her ability to bridge these gaps is extremely fitting for such a viable female
force in the city of bridges.
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