Michele Byrd-McPhee

Michele Byrd-McPhee is the founder and Executive Director of Ladies of Hip-Hop. Byrd-McPhee has been working for many years to re-contextualize spaces and conversation of Hip-Hop culture along gender, sex, cultural and socio-historical and racial lines for decades. She also situates the arts and dance techniques in spaces that honor and acknowledge their roots and the many creative pioneers who have shaped them. This is especially important given the ways in which Black dance has been co-opted into studio appropriation –  given its community cultural origins.

Byrd-McPhee earned her BS from Temple University and an MS in Nonprofit Arts Management from Drexel University. She also spent many years in TV and arts production, working as a production coordinator at Brooklyn Academy of Music and then as a Senior Music Coordinator at Late Night with Seth Meyers. She currently serves as a Bessie Award Committee Member along with her ongoing commitment as Executive Director for Ladies of Hip-Hop.

The Fall 2020 Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program was presented by the UW–Madison Division of the Arts and hosted by the Dance Department with Assistant Professor Duane Lee Holland, Jr. as lead faculty. Co-sponsors included the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) & First Wave Learning Community, The Studio Creative Arts Community, Professional Learning and Community Education (PLACE), Art Department, and Drum Power. Other campus and community supporters included Department of Afro-American Studies and Barrio Dance.

The UW–Madison Division of the Arts has hosted world-class artists-in-residence since 1995 and formally launched the Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program (IARP) in 1999. The IARP is made possible by funding from the university’s Office of the Provost.

Ursula Rucker is a Philadelphia born poet, mother, activist, and recording artist. She has been performing, recording, and releasing works for over 20 years. She has five solo recordings and collaborated on over 100 songs. Rucker has been awarded the Leeway Foundation’s Art for Change and Transformation Awards and a Pew Fellowship. She is the subject of the documentary short POET and continues to perform her first one-woman show and live memoir, My Father’s Daughter. Instagram: @urucker; Twitter: @urucker

LaTasha Barnes is an internationally recognized and awarded dancer, educator, coach, entrepreneur, and cultural ambassador. Barnes performs and competes in these cultural traditions: House, Hip-Hop, Waacking, Vernacular Jazz, and Lindy Hop. Besides performing in International Lindy Hop Championships and the Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival, she collaborates with many artists and organizations. Her performance and research bridges the gap between communities of practice and academic cultural dance research, performance, and preservation. Instagram: @tasha_b_va

Maori Karmael Holmes is a curator, filmmaker, and writer. She founded BlackStar Film Festival and serves as its Artistic Director and CEO. She has organized programs in film at notable organizations. Other projects include KinoWatt and Black Lily Film & Music Festival. As a director, her works have screened internationally including her feature documentary Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip-Hop (2006). Her writing has appeared in multiple outlets. Instagram: @blackstarfest

Stacey “Flygirrl” Wilson is the founder of Flygirrl which incorporates her art, design, music, and ground-breaking promotions and events. She has produced and promoted thousands of events. Her design and event production clients include a long roster of notable artists. Her art works on wood, canvas, and sneakers have been featured in various exhibitions, media outlets, and TV shows. Wilson teaches graphic design classes as well as teaching painting for all ages. Instagram: @flygirrl; Facebook: @flygirrl; Twitter: @flygirrl

• Watch “Advancing Hip Hop as a Path Toward Equity” featuring Michele Byrd-McPhee, Duane Lee Holland Jr., Sofía Snow, Rob Dz, and Michael Ford is now available. This virtual event was part of the UW–Madison School of Education PLACE’s Real Talk for Real Change series.
• Read “Q&A: Michele Byrd-McPhee celebrates women’s role in hip-hop,” courtesy of The Cap Times
• Read “Hip hop artists, scholars, educators discuss ‘Advancing Hip-Hop as a Path Toward Equity’,” courtesy of Madison365
• “Advancing Hip-Hop as a Path Toward Equity” is an Isthmus Pick for the week of November 19-26!
• The Studio Creative Arts Community published a blog post on “Upcoming Events with Ursula Rucker“
• A recording of “Ursula Rucker and the Ladies of Hip Hop,” featuring Michele Byrd-McPhee, Assistant Professor Duane Holland, and Marc Bamuthi Joseph, is now available on YouTube. The virtual event was part of the 2020 Passing the Mic Festival, hosted by the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives.
• Madison Mondays is an Isthmus Pick for the week of October 22-29!
• Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival
• Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival YouTube Channel
• Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival Instagram
• “Q&A: UW prof Duane Lee Holland, Jr. locks into a new space for hip hop,” courtesy of The Cap Times
• “At What Point Does Appreciation Become Appropriation?,” courtesy of Dance Magazine
• 2020 (LOHH) Ladies Battle Hip-Hop Recap (video)
• 2020 (LOHH) Ladies Battle House Recap (video)
• 2020 (LOHH) Ladies Waacking Recap (video)
• 2018 Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival Week (video)
• “Centerwork: Not Such a Man’s World,” courtesy of Dance Magazine