Young M.A’s second studio album, Herstory In The Making, is a uncommon blend of gang, queer and intimate stories. The stark contrast between her personal raps and her tough-guy persona makes Herstory In The Makingunique. But the personal raps coupled with the conspicuous consumption bars make the album relatable.

“I remember when my pockets only had a $20 and a $5- I would go and buy some pizza and some fries. Metro card for the week, caught the train ain’t have no ride. Debit card ran out of money, when I swipe it said decline,” – Young M.A. Kold World.

Young M.A exercises what renowned Black sociologist W.E.B DuBois describes as double-consciousness. Double-consciousness is used to describe an individual whose identity is divided into several facets. As a sociological concept, double-consciousness reveals the psycho-social divisions in American society. In lay terms- this concept allows for the understanding that Black Americans have to think as Black people first and as Americans, second.

“It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” – W.E.B. DuBois The Souls of Black Folk(1903)

Hailing from Brooklyn, New York as a known affiliate of an infamous street fraternity, it’s no secret that Young M.A has been exposed to harsher realities of urban living. “Coke game full of savages, hunt em down like a scavenger,” she says on Da Come Up. She reconciles this with her ability to purchase designer and equates her buying power with success, hence the term conspicuous consumption.

She is conscious that her formative and eventual chosen environment is rough. She also accepts that the “American Way” warrants that she lives as lavish as possible. Throughout her album she references her mother working long hours and her youth being spotted with schemes, finesse and craigslist jobs. She talks about learning the value of a dollar in one of the richest cities in the world as a lower-class kid.

“Teacher said, ‘You’ll never make it.’ Turned my textbook into a checkbook. I put food on the table and I did that without a cookbook,” Young M.A PettyWap

 Young M.A works through her identity as a gang affiliate as well on the album. Without giving defaming details, she references the game teaching her a lot with a great cost. Again, her goals are lofty like most of us. Get a job, make tons of money, spend, repeat. Her method for getting to her bag is not mainstream though- it’s counter-culture.

“I’m motivation for my people, yeah we different but we equal. Eye to eye with the real, the fake niggas I can see through. I hate paying bills. Yeah I’m rich but I’m cheap too. Food stamps out the Key Food- oh well man that’s free food,” Young M.A The Lyfestyle

Her behavior is normalized but not normal. She aims to be a successful part of society while also standing outside of society. All the while, Young M.A’s raps are super queer. At first glance, she may not look like the post-modern womanist. At first listen, she may not sound like one either. “Three words for these hoes, take it off,” Young M.A Bleed.Her raps are venom- every bar about her sexual conquests emulate her male counterparts’ sexist perspective.

The message is in the medium, however. Young M.A’s adherence to the guy-code shatters the code. Her love, lust and and everything in between come off aggressive and dominant. Yet, she is also soft and introspective:

“So used to holding your feelings in, now your mind is immune. Your heart is hurting, your body is confused. You rather be stubborn than sit and confront it. Come on like we got to improve, this not even cool. Talk even when you not in the mood. This is love got to apply by the rules, you leaving now is like a 12th grader deciding to drop out of school. That’s like being dumb and a fool,” Young M.A Stubborn Ass

 Wherever Young M.A can insert herself into her music- she does. Her album has little to no features and the cover is an abstract self-portrait. She co-opts no one’s story and thoroughly explains her own.

Her pitfalls, her strengths, her conquests, her heartbreak, her brushes with financial insecurity and her riches- it’s all there. Her album makes simple the sociological concepts of postmodern feminism, double-consciousness and conspicuous consumption. Whether she aimed to embed these lessons in her raps is not clear- but it’s clear that Young M.A is a much more conscious rapper than she is given credit for.

Young M.A is doesn’t quite fit in any one box. She understands, reconciles and shares this with her lyricism. She’s allegedly a Blood, she’s a Brooklyn native, she self-identifies as a dyke. She is a Black woman rapping circles around her male peers using their vernacular and formula. She is conscious that she doesn’t fit neatly into any easily-recognizable box that we’d want to put her in, that’s why this is this is her-story in the making.

Credits:

https://beyondthemoment.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Why-Black-Feminism2.pdf

http://scua.library.umass.edu/duboisopedia/doku.php?id=about:double_consciousness

Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903). The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Dover Publications.