five super (and somewhat under the radar) sistas you should definitely know

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nicole beharie

you know how maggie gyllenhaal almost single-handedly ruins the dark knight because there’s no way in hell that the audience can believe that the two most handsome and powerful men in the city of gotham would both be madly in love with someone so, for a lack of a better term, plain?

well, in american violet, nicole beharie has the complete opposite effect. i couldn’t completely buy the movie –a factual account of a racially charged texas court case– because i had trouble believing that someone who looked, walked, and carried herself like her could be a 24-year-old single mother of four in a drug-infested texas housing project. she was just “too” (pretty, confident, etc) everything to be truly convincing.

when you add this to the fact that i’d never seen or heard of her before american violet, you can understand why she distracted me the entire movie

i googled her later that night and learned that she’s a 25-year-old juilliard grad who played a supporting role in the express.

also, while doing some background for this entry, i read that she was recently involved in a bit of a controversy. apparently, her role in american violet earned her the AAFCA’s (african-american film critics association) best actress award. but, after hearing about a voting discrepancy (she was given the award despite the fact that precious star gabby sidibe actually finished first on the majority of the ballots), she gave back the award.

anyway, nicole beharie is just one example of the numerous super sistas who are doing their thing on a national scale, despite the fact that they’re not household names…yet.

here’s four more:

bassey ikpi

although she doesn’t have the immediate name recognition of a nikki giovanni or even a jessica care moore, ikpi’s an unquestioned superstar in spoken-word circles.

i’d write more about her, but, because i don’t want to make my girlfriend even more upset with me than she already probably will be after reading my first couple paragraphs today, i’m just going to point you here.

jemele hill

an espn.com columnist, hill holds her own in an industry dominated by white males, and manages to keep a confident and informed perspective despite the avalanche of racist and negative attention she receives (just google “jemele hill” and “racist” and see what pops up)

and, although i don’t know if you can call someone who works for the worldwide leader in sports “under the radar”, i’m including her because i’m sure a sizable percentage of our audience still has no idea who she is.

mia b. love

while being the state of utah’s first black mayor is definitely impressive, love also holds the distinction of being the first black female elected anywhere despite having a strokers stripper’s name, an extremely difficult feat worthy of a spot on this list.

angela nissel

let me put it this way. i’ve spoken ad nauseum about my love for the broke diaries, how “scrubs” (a show she writes for and co-produces) might be my third favorite comedy series ever, and how okayplayer.com (the website she co-founded) is the best possible place to pick up educated black freaks.

but, to get a true idea of how much i admire her, know that my dream vsb podcast guest list looks like this

1. patrice o’neal

2. God

3. chuck klosterman

4. angela nissel

anyway, i’m sure i’m leaving out hundreds of names. are there any other super (and somewhat under the national radar) sistas (or brothas) you want to give some love to today?

—the champ

178 thoughts on “five super (and somewhat under the radar) sistas you should definitely know”

  1. .M.G!! I love Bassey Ikpi. I caught one of her performances on Def Poetry Jam and I was hooked. She did a poem dedicated to her unborn child. Swooooon. She’s lovely and mega talented. Other swoon worthy sisters:
    1. Sunni Patterson, also a spoken word artist, hailing from Louisiana. Her performances are insane; the way she uses her voice, the rythym, diction….just insane.
    2. Shingai Shoniwa from the Noisettes-Hot. I love her band; their sound is sick, like a techno-funk-afro-rock fusion. Looove. Plus, she’s just a badass. She has an ‘I do what I like’ aura going on. Me likey.
    3. Nneka-Another songstress. She’s based in Germany, but is originally (or one half of the parental gene pool) from Nijja, also known as Nigeria. Please check her out if you haven’t done so. Her music is….I can’t even describe it. Just YouTube the girl and thank me later. Plus, she’s hot as hell. Seriously, she is ridiculously good looking. The kind of good looking that obligates her to donate her eggs to humanity so we can populate the earth with people with at least one half of her genes.
    4. Alright, this next one might not really fit the criteria (although I don’t know exactly what criteria we are using to base this under-rated-ness), but I love me some Gwen Ifill. Sure she hosted one of the 2008 Presidential debates but I think she needs more exposure. Why is she not as well known as the Limbough, Hannity and the other Clusterphuckers is beyond me? She should Anderson status, for real.
    On a completely unrelated note, how hot is Anderson Cooper. I swear every time I tune in to him on the channel his hotness level has increased by 20% from the previous viewing. Gawd that man is fairly bursting out of those schmedium shirts his been wearing in his broadcasts for the past month. Yummy!

    *Addendum*
    5. I know it’s a list on women but I’d like to submit Chiwetel Ejiofor for underrated black movie star of the decade. The man makes good movies: Love Actually, Children of Men, Four Brothers, 2012, freaking Amistad, he is lovely to look at and that accent is hypnotizing.

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    • *Addendum*
      5. I know it’s a list on women but I’d like to submit Chiwetel Ejiofor for underrated black movie star of the decade. The man makes good movies: Love Actually, Children of Men, Four Brothers, 2012, freaking Amistad, he is lovely to look at and that accent is hypnotizing.

      Lawd knows you are soooooo right – i think the problem may be his name, cause folks can’t figure out how to say it correctly, but one word does sum him up “YUM”..

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      • Lol. Yeah, that’s probably it. He sure is easy on the eyes though. Maybe he could give himself an easy to pronounce middles. like Chiwetel ‘Fine as H*ll” Ejiofor. Or something.

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    • NNeka!! LOVE HER! She’s (to me) what Lauren Hill would be like if she was Nigerian.. and hadn’t taken a trip to Whacksville.

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      • I think she’s (Nneka) starting to gain a little traction here in the States. She just released a new version of the Uncomfortable Truth video for the American markets. I do hope she blows up. Her music is so freaking good.

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      • Yes to both, except I can only do Hammad in little installments. God help me her stuff is depressing, plus it just makes me feel bad, like I’m single handedly responsible for the oppression of women, Blacks, Arabs, Jews and every other minority. She’s judging you; you know she’s judging you.
        Well he’s neither female nor black, but have you ever checked out Danny Hoch (from Whiteboyz, American Splendor etc) he’s really good, surprisingly.

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    • oh, and about this

      “4. Alright, this next one might not really fit the criteria (although I don’t know exactly what criteria we are using to base this under-rated-ness), but I love me some Gwen Ifill”

      underratedness and sh*t is all that counts

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    • “5. I know it’s a list on women but I’d like to submit Chiwetel Ejiofor for underrated black movie star of the decade. The man makes good movies: Love Actually, Children of Men, Four Brothers, 2012, freaking Amistad, he is lovely to look at and that accent is hypnotizing.”

      I’m still lookin’ for him in the upcoming biopic of Barack Obama. lol

      But yeah, he’s a great actor.

      Plus, he has a cool name.

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      • chiwetel is great, i like an actor who is unafraid to take complex roles i,e kinky boots and endgame. i would also like to nominate sophie okonedo i loved her in ‘skin’ and the ‘mrs mandela’.

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        • Skin was so good; it made everyone in my little mixed group of friends super uncomfortable. A little less than the time I watched the movie Biko in another mixed crowd, but still u.n.comfortable, which is a sign of a good movie. No?

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    • Love this list!

      In the same vein as Nneka, there is also
      –>Ndambi… Really brilliant and VERY underrated…
      –> Somi, American singer of Ugandan and Rwandan descent… Her stuff is really airy and light. Check them out! :)

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        • *sings *cant hardly wait to be through with you, hardly wait , still im, im f-in witchu.
          y’all have great taste, this warms my heart. top points to anyone who listens to georgia anne muldrow.

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      • I have heard of Ndambi but not of Somi. Off to Youtube her. This is great; I was in a major music slump of late. Everyone should just leave me about two or more artists I should check out. In the spirit of the post and all that.

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        • Ok, not that they are Black or women, but they are underrated, and you might actually know them: Little Dragon. I absolutely love them. If you don’t know them, check them out. The lead singer (a japanese-norwegian) sounds like a mix of Feist and Erykah Badu. It’s weirdly addicting. Love them!

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    • Glad I’m not the only Nneka fan…feelin’ kinda left out for a sec…
      Sunni Patterson is a great poet and jewel of a human being (yeah, I’m biased…wannafightaboutit?!)
      Muhsinah, Res (I mention her once a day, and I figured, why not here?!)
      Locally…Caretta Bell

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  2. “you know how maggie gyllenhaal almost single-handedly ruins the dark knight because there’s no way in hell that the audience can believe that the two most handsome and powerful men in the city of gotham would both be madly in love with someone so, for a lack of a better term, plain?”

    I’m glad I’m not the only one who was really bothered by this.

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    • I spent the whole movie saying, “F*ck outta here.” and shaking my head to the point where I ruined the viewing experience for my friends. It was impossible to suspend my disbelief, and ignore the glaring potholes in that film because of Maggie getting the Rachel Dawes role.

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      • “who’s face reminded me of a Basset Hound…..”

        THIS wins the “face description” contest. I was tryin’ to pinpoint what she reminds me of. Whenever I look at her tryin’ to smile, I always get sad. She has, like, an Eeyore effect or some sh*t.

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    • I’m glad I’m not the only one who was really bothered by this.

      i guess the question is, who would have been better in that part? i’m going with natalie portman (a sentimental favorite) or scarlett johansson (the obvious choice)

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    • word up…i was truly disturbed by her roll in the movie…not mention that extremely deep indent on her top lip. anywho…i tried to hold out as long as possible until i caved in and whispered to my step brother “this chick is whack”…and he nodded. he then went on to wonder out of all the 2520 actresses out there…why did casting directors choose this broad.

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    • I think Maggie Gyllenhall is cute. She has big old eyes, and her face is completely heart shaped. She’s quirky cute. Now her acting….yawn, but that’s just me. Mmmmmh, plus Aaron Eckhart really not that cute. I’m just saying.

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  4. @ ofloveandotherdemons -” but I love me some Gwen Ifill. Sure she hosted one of the 2008 Presidential debates but I think she needs more exposure. Why is she not as well known as the Limbough, Hannity and the other Clusterphuckers is beyond me?”
    I am nodding my head in agreement on this one & BIG UPS to Gwen specially cause of her Bajan heritage (shameless plug for my people)..I think she gets no love because she’s not the glameratti type of sistah, smarter than everyone who works at Feaux-news altogether, but when you look at her, you don’t get that “hot” vibe that it seems female journalists have to have in order to get some love. Did you read “The Breakthrough “? Gwenis doin the damn thing over at PBS on the regular…LOVE her..

    Tracey Heggins- actress who was in “medicine for melancholy”-don’t know what else she’s been in, if anything but surely she should get at the very least “honorable mention” for her performance in that lovely Indie film..

    Sister Toldja- she is so on the comeuppance right now, new website, writing for Essence (I know, I know not the NY Times, BUT a big bump for a blogger )-and I sincerly think that she may still be under the radar somewhat-but she got me HERE…so for that alone…I heart her ..*hey ST-thanks for the VSB hook-up

    and I must also give love to *Conya Doss who somewhat flies under the radar because of the likes of folks like Beyonce n’em..come on people…cause this girl can SANG…..

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    • I co-sign the Sister Toldja endorsement. She’s a brilliant VSS whom I enjoy reading and taking something from regardless of whether or not I’m in complete agreeance with everything she says/writes. Bottomline: She’s definitely NEEDED and her voice resonates amongst a large group of women that I know and have encountered.

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    • “but when you look at her, you don’t get that “hot” vibe that it seems female journalists have to have in order to get some love”

      i sure as hell do.

      btw, even though i only agree with her maybe 47 percent of the time, sister t is one of my three or four favorite bloggers.

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      • but when you look at her, you don’t get that “hot” vibe that it seems female journalists have to have in order to get some love”

        i sure as hell do.

        Lol. I don’t believe you. She’s smart as hell, witty and funny, but sexy……

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    • I also co-sign the Sister T endorsement! I was super giddy when I turned the page in my Essence and saw her name. I really hope she goes far because we do need her voice.

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    • I heart her show, Washington Week, she always has the smartest, liveliest commentators. They break down all the big stories in a way that my little brain can process them, and its super entertaining. You know what else is really great, Left, Right and Center on NPR; it’s sort of the same format as Washington Weekly only the journalist assembled represent (you guessed it) the left, right and centrist opinions in Washington. The center is always Arianna Huffingtion who I’m mildly obsessed with.

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  5. champ, i love you for this post, because i watched american violet thinking who is this girl, but i digress, i think vv brown should be added to this list because her music is refreshing plus shes english ( yay). i have loved bassey ikpi forever her poems are beautiful. i know this post is about black women, i think anthony mackie is a severly underrated actor. Everybody go watch the hurt locker. oh i almost forgot nzingha stewart should be added too, she has directed many a music video. and ellen johnson-sirleaf, the president of liberia.
    * back into hiding*

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  6. I kept waiting for Batman so say this to Rachel Dawes in that gravely voice “I’ve got Catwoman’s number on speed dial, please stop calling.”

    I’ve got two sisters from ESPN: Sage Steele and Reischea Canidate. Sooner or later one of them will get their shot at Sports Center.

    Aisha Tyler. She’s been around forever and is hilarious, but she gets very little mainstream burn.

    Naomi Harris, actress. She has shown range in her acting roles in The Pirates Trilogy, weilding a macheté (or as my friend’s wife from Tobago would say, a “cutlass”) in 28 Days Later while dismissing zombies, and she owned her role in an adaptation of one of my favorite books, White Teeth. Black girl + English accent + actual talent = Giggedy!

    Iesha Sesay, CNN International. Please put her on CNN so we don’t have to see Christina Armapour’s dirty Shemagh again.

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    • YES!!! at naomie harris and aisha tyler. i also forgot to at ngozi okonjo-iweala, the managing director of the wto, she makes me proud to be african i went to here her speak a couple of months ago and i was impressed, also shonda rimes ’cause i lubs greys anatomy. And co-sign on who ever, said nneka and the noisettes.
      ok bye

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      • also shonda rimes ’cause i lubs greys anatomy

        I can’t with her and this show these days. I missed the previous season, well and the latter part of the one before that, and then I tried to pick it up this current season and WTF. Would someone tell me why the are fifty hundred billion new characthers on the show. For real, who the hell are these fools? Plus, that red headed doctor with Christina, and whinny Izzy, McSteamy with Meredith junior (is anyone a little creeped out that it seems like dude is trying to duplicate McDreamy’s life. First the ex wife, and now his fiancee’s sister) and annoying as hell Meredith. Aaaargh. It’s really the same basic story line every single season it seems. I’m still salty that they killed of O’Malley; damn foolishness.

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        • * hands you some tissue* i can read that your frustrated and emotional, but yeah the show is slowely going down hill, but i think private practice is still good.

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    • I’ve got two sisters from ESPN: Sage Steele and Reischea Canidate. Sooner or later one of them will get their shot at Sports Center.

      yeah, i will say that espn definitely made some upgrades from the robin roberts days. steele and canidate are like the new agents in “matrix reloaded”

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    • Aisha Tyler. She’s been around forever and is hilarious, but she gets very little mainstream burn.

      For this reason, you should all be watching Archer.

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    • “I kept waiting for Batman so say this to Rachel Dawes in that gravely voice “I’ve got Catwoman’s number on speed dial, please stop calling.””

      lmfao

      Yeah, I was definitely one of the 45 billion people that didn’t give a rat’s arse that she died. That was probably thee most “un-sympathetic that tried really hard to be sympathetic” scene ever.

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      • I’d let her hold the machete to my throat in an extremely threatening manner, but no cutting. That
        s*%t just isn’t right.

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  8. American Violet–
    When I first started reading this I thought you were talking about the Tulia drug cases until I realized that they hadn’t made it into a movie yet. However I found out there is a movie coming and it will star Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry….yawn.
    When the movie was here last year for the sxsw film festival, I remember hearing some buzz about the actress, but I kinda forgot about her and this movie until now.
    I’ll have to check it out.

    PS I love Gwen Ifill also!!

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      • Unfortunately yes…lmao
        It’s supposed to be directed by John Singleton, so it might be okay. I read the book, so I’m curious to see how the movie will turn out. Most of the time I’m disappointed with the movie adaptations, but I understand…that’s the breaks.

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    • the list of american violet distractions goes as follows

      1. beharie
      2. aflre’s wig
      3. xhibit trying his hand at that “acting’ thing
      4. the black guy from “better off ted”

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  10. Nate Parker. I 1st discovered him in “The Great Debaters”. Then I watched “Pride” and realized he co-starred in the flick alongside Terrence Weeping Howard. He also had a small roll in “The Secret Lives of Bees”. I think Nate is an excellent actor and I can’t wait to see him in the upcoming film “Blood Done Signed My Name”. His presence is captivating *swoon*
    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1676649/

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