Mercedes Ladies by Sherri Sher (Book Review)

Mercedes Ladies (written by Sherri Sher/Vibe Street Lit) takes readers on a trip down memory lane to a time when B-Boys and B-Girls wore pressed Lee’s, fat laces and gold chains and when Hip-Hop was about dope crews, fresh dance moves and having fun. Pegged as a “street lit” novel, Mercedes Ladies deserves more credit, as it proves to be much more than a “Black Girl Lost-esque tale mired in Hip-Hop.  Sherri Sher wittingly gives a first-hand, albeit fictional account of her teenage years growing up in the Boogie Down Bronx and helming one of the first well-respected all-female rap crews at a time when fledging Hip-Hop was still a man’s world. Inspiring and honest, Sherri gives raw descriptions of group members’ personal struggles (rape, drugs & alcohol, broken homes) as well as the internal strife the Mercedes Ladies endured within the group. Persevering through poverty as well as the shiesty ways of the music industry, the Mercedes Ladies are admired as they work tirelessly throughout the novel to get a piece of the American Dream, making this book a must-read for young female Hip-Hop fans.

Recommended to all supporters of Hip-Hop culture, Mercedes Ladies gives much-deserved props to the female architects of the rap game that existed before mainstream female rappers Salt ‘N’ Pepa and Queen Latifah.  While shedding light on the growing pains of being young, black and female in the ghetto, Mercedes Ladies uplifts and more importantly, immortalizes a monumental part of Hip-Hop history.

 

Meet Hip-Hop pioneer Sherri Sher

Check this link for Old School Hip-Hop info: http://www.oldschoolhiphop.com/artists/emcees/mercedesladies.htm