"The First All-Woman Produced, Performed and Engineered Hip-Hop Album"
As featured on Chicago Tribune, Vocalo Radio, The Gumbo and Chicago Crowd Surfer. This is our 2nd attempt to get our album on Vinyl! We are now pressing 200 copies to make sure our supporters get our Vinyl at a cheaper price!
"Billboard called music production “the ultimate boys club of the industry,” and it’s true. Since the introduction of the Grammy category for producer of the year, non-classical in 1975, only a handful of women — including Janet Jackson, Paula Cole, Sheryl Crow, Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, and Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin from Prince‘s band The Revolution — have been nominated. No woman has ever won it. Beyond shiny trophies, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift are the only two women to land on Billboard‘s year-end Top Producers chart in the last decade. Yes, you read that right. The disparity is just as evident when you look at Hip-Hop. Despite the presence of chart-topping women on the mic like Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, the majority of the producers are men. In fact, most Hip-Hop fans probably can’t name enough woman Hip-Hop producers to count on one hand.
Enter "Synergy", a Chicago-based collaborative Hip-Hop album curated by Jovan Landry. The idea came to Landry, a filmmaker, photographer and emcee based in Chicago a few years back when she noticed the lack of opportunities for women to produce Hip-Hop music. The album will not only feature some of the hottest women emcees in Chicago, but every producer, engineer, videographer, photographer and graphic designer involved with the project is a woman." ~ Nadirah Simmons, The Gumbo
Synergy is the embodiment of Chicago Hip-Hop, women empowerment, collaboration and simply, women being able to do it all in a male dominated industry, where we’re not just the face of the product. When you listen to Synergy, the love and the space that the ladies hold for each other is quite prevalent. Synergy is defined as "the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects " which exactly that this album stands for. In 2017, Jovan Landry received a grant from WeWork Creator Awards in the Incubate Category to make this project come to life and to reach its highest potential. The goal is for Synergy to not just reach our Chicago family, but everyone around the world to know that women in hip-hop can work together in many different forms.
The format of the album consist a total of 11 tracks: Nine up and coming Chicago rappers/emcees were divided in half to contribute to one of the 2 lead singles: "Synergy Cypher Pt. 1" and "Synergy Cypher Pt. 2". Following the singles, the artist were randomly paired with another based on an original instrumental they chose. As the artists worked with each together for the first time, writing and recording sessions were scheduled so they can meet and create their concept for their song. 5 songs resulted from these collaborations. The remaining 4 are interludes that consists of interviews with Chicago Hip-Hop "Veterans" who has been involved in Hip-Hop for over 20 years. These women are emcees, educators, event organizers and mentors. It is important to allow their voices to shine and to show them how much they are appreciated, as they’ve paved the way for the artists after them.
Synergy was released on Friday March 15, 2019 on all digital streaming platforms and in honor of Women's History Month. Moving forward, our goals are to screen our music videos in film festivals; perform; provide music workshops; attend & be apart of conferences/event centered around women, music, and Hip-Hop; as well as doing some cultural exchanges. Please support our hard work, buy contributing to this campaign to get this album on vinyl. It means a great deal to have our music pressed to give other options for our supporters to play our music.
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Tracklist
1. “Interlude: Chicago Woman in Hip-Hop”
Interviews with Femcee Flipside, Unmuvabo, Lady Gemstar, Jaquanda Villegas, Tasleem Jamila
Recorded and Arranged by Jovan Landry, Music Produced by _Qisum
2. “Synergy Cypher Pt. 1”
Written and Performed by Glitter Moneyyy (Queen Trashleyyy & Tayyy Slayyy), Sauda Muse, Jade The Ivy, Jovan Landry
Produced by Jovan Landry
3. “Under Pressure”
Written by Jade The Ivy and Sauda Muse
Produced by Jovan Landry
4. “Interlude: [F]emcee”
Interviews with Ang13, Unmuvabo, Amina Ayo, Femcee Flipside
Recorded and Arranged by Jovan Landry, Produced by _Qisum
5. “My Girl”
Written and Performed by Jovan Landry and Sunde
Produced by Schenay
6. “Lose Control”
Written and Performed by Jovan Landry and Tee Spirit
Produced by Jovan Landry
7. “Interlude: No Woman = No Hip-Hop”
An Interview with Ang13
Recorded and Arranged by Jovan Landry
8. “Pay Attention”
Written and Performed by Glitter Moneyyy (Queen Trashleyyy & Tayyy Slayyy)
Produced by Jovan Landry
9. “A Woman’s Werk”
Performed by Tweak’G, JuJu MinXXX
Produced by Jovan Landry
10. “Synergy Cypher Pt. 2”
Written and Performed by Jovan Landry, Sunde, Tee Spirit, JuJu MinXXX and Tweak’G
Produced by K Flow
11. “Interlude: The Future Is Female”
An Interview with Unmuvabo, Femcee Flipside, Jaquanda Villegas, Amina Ayo,
Anyiahlation, Jacinda Bullie, Lady Gemstar
Recorded and Arranged by Jovan Landry, Music Produced by _Qisum
As featured on Chicago Tribune, Vocalo Radio, The Gumbo and Chicago Crowd Surfer. This is our 2nd attempt to get our album on Vinyl! We are now pressing 200 copies to make sure our supporters get our Vinyl at a cheaper price!
"Billboard called music production “the ultimate boys club of the industry,” and it’s true. Since the introduction of the Grammy category for producer of the year, non-classical in 1975, only a handful of women — including Janet Jackson, Paula Cole, Sheryl Crow, Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, and Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin from Prince‘s band The Revolution — have been nominated. No woman has ever won it. Beyond shiny trophies, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift are the only two women to land on Billboard‘s year-end Top Producers chart in the last decade. Yes, you read that right. The disparity is just as evident when you look at Hip-Hop. Despite the presence of chart-topping women on the mic like Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, the majority of the producers are men. In fact, most Hip-Hop fans probably can’t name enough woman Hip-Hop producers to count on one hand.
Enter "Synergy", a Chicago-based collaborative Hip-Hop album curated by Jovan Landry. The idea came to Landry, a filmmaker, photographer and emcee based in Chicago a few years back when she noticed the lack of opportunities for women to produce Hip-Hop music. The album will not only feature some of the hottest women emcees in Chicago, but every producer, engineer, videographer, photographer and graphic designer involved with the project is a woman." ~ Nadirah Simmons, The Gumbo
Synergy is the embodiment of Chicago Hip-Hop, women empowerment, collaboration and simply, women being able to do it all in a male dominated industry, where we’re not just the face of the product. When you listen to Synergy, the love and the space that the ladies hold for each other is quite prevalent. Synergy is defined as "the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects " which exactly that this album stands for. In 2017, Jovan Landry received a grant from WeWork Creator Awards in the Incubate Category to make this project come to life and to reach its highest potential. The goal is for Synergy to not just reach our Chicago family, but everyone around the world to know that women in hip-hop can work together in many different forms.
The format of the album consist a total of 11 tracks: Nine up and coming Chicago rappers/emcees were divided in half to contribute to one of the 2 lead singles: "Synergy Cypher Pt. 1" and "Synergy Cypher Pt. 2". Following the singles, the artist were randomly paired with another based on an original instrumental they chose. As the artists worked with each together for the first time, writing and recording sessions were scheduled so they can meet and create their concept for their song. 5 songs resulted from these collaborations. The remaining 4 are interludes that consists of interviews with Chicago Hip-Hop "Veterans" who has been involved in Hip-Hop for over 20 years. These women are emcees, educators, event organizers and mentors. It is important to allow their voices to shine and to show them how much they are appreciated, as they’ve paved the way for the artists after them.
Synergy was released on Friday March 15, 2019 on all digital streaming platforms and in honor of Women's History Month. Moving forward, our goals are to screen our music videos in film festivals; perform; provide music workshops; attend & be apart of conferences/event centered around women, music, and Hip-Hop; as well as doing some cultural exchanges. Please support our hard work, buy contributing to this campaign to get this album on vinyl. It means a great deal to have our music pressed to give other options for our supporters to play our music.
----
Tracklist
1. “Interlude: Chicago Woman in Hip-Hop”
Interviews with Femcee Flipside, Unmuvabo, Lady Gemstar, Jaquanda Villegas, Tasleem Jamila
Recorded and Arranged by Jovan Landry, Music Produced by _Qisum
2. “Synergy Cypher Pt. 1”
Written and Performed by Glitter Moneyyy (Queen Trashleyyy & Tayyy Slayyy), Sauda Muse, Jade The Ivy, Jovan Landry
Produced by Jovan Landry
3. “Under Pressure”
Written by Jade The Ivy and Sauda Muse
Produced by Jovan Landry
4. “Interlude: [F]emcee”
Interviews with Ang13, Unmuvabo, Amina Ayo, Femcee Flipside
Recorded and Arranged by Jovan Landry, Produced by _Qisum
5. “My Girl”
Written and Performed by Jovan Landry and Sunde
Produced by Schenay
6. “Lose Control”
Written and Performed by Jovan Landry and Tee Spirit
Produced by Jovan Landry
7. “Interlude: No Woman = No Hip-Hop”
An Interview with Ang13
Recorded and Arranged by Jovan Landry
8. “Pay Attention”
Written and Performed by Glitter Moneyyy (Queen Trashleyyy & Tayyy Slayyy)
Produced by Jovan Landry
9. “A Woman’s Werk”
Performed by Tweak’G, JuJu MinXXX
Produced by Jovan Landry
10. “Synergy Cypher Pt. 2”
Written and Performed by Jovan Landry, Sunde, Tee Spirit, JuJu MinXXX and Tweak’G
Produced by K Flow
11. “Interlude: The Future Is Female”
An Interview with Unmuvabo, Femcee Flipside, Jaquanda Villegas, Amina Ayo,
Anyiahlation, Jacinda Bullie, Lady Gemstar
Recorded and Arranged by Jovan Landry, Music Produced by _Qisum
With the discovery of her unique voice at the age of 16 through creating her own video blogs, she tapped into musical production, film and photography and many other artistic forms. She holds a B.A in Film & Video from Columbia College Chicago, and throughout the years worked with a number of musicians, artists, dancers, businesses, organizations and fellow filmmakers. Musically, Jovan has a number of self-released EPs & albums, and her lyrical, articulate and high energy performances has landed her on a number of showcases and festivals across the country and overseas, both as a solo act and with her 5-piece backing band, 'The Land'.
In May 2017, Jovan was awarded the Incubate Grant presented from WeWork Creator Awards in Detroit to create her 5th album "Synergy," an all-women produced and performed Hip-Hop Album. She's been grateful to talk about this project at WeWork Creator Awards Berlin and at the Women in Hip-Hop Conference at St. Louis University.
Most recently, Jovan traveled to Haiti with Ozuzu Dances' Project Tool & Black Arts Retreat as a videographer, and was invited to return to Lagos, Nigeria for a second time to participate in danceGATHERING 2019, an “anti-disciplinary” experiment ensued that culminated in a 2-day contemporary performance street festival.
Synergy (LP)
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