My Girls
Audiobook & Ebook

My Girls by Todd Fisher | Audiobook Review

By Todd Fisher

Narrated by Todd Fisher

🎧 1 hr 10 min 📅 March 29, 2023 🌐 English

About This Audiobook

Hip-Hop was built by Black women and co-opted by everyone else. We’ve had enough and we’re taking it back. Join our hosts Mariah and Brianna as we document and celebrate the people at the heart of Hip-Hop Culture: Black Women. We discuss hot topics and celebrate your favorite Black women artists, producers, writers, etc. in the Hip-hop/Rap genre. Follow us on Instagram @wheremygirlsat_th Follow us on Twitter @wheremygirlsat2 Email us Wheremygirlsatth@gmail.com

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Todd Fisher is listed as both the author and narrator of the My Girls audiobook in the metadata, but the synopsis tells a different story: it describes a podcast hosted by Mariah and Brianna, focused on documenting and celebrating Black women in hip-hop culture, complete with Instagram and Twitter handles and an email address for Where My Girls At. This is a significant mismatch between the listing and the underlying content, and it is worth flagging directly before reviewing the material on its own terms. Listeners who find a Todd Fisher audiobook in this listing are likely looking at something different from what the metadata suggests - potentially a podcast episode or feed uploaded under a different attribution. Verify what you are purchasing before completing a transaction.

With that caveat stated: the content described in the synopsis addresses a genuine gap in how music history is typically told. Hip-hop's commercial and critical narrative has, for most of its mainstream history, centered male artists and architects while minimizing the roles of women whose work shaped the genre from its earliest moments. Figures like Sylvia Robinson, who founded Sugar Hill Records and produced Rapper's Delight; MC Lyte; Roxanne Shante; Missy Elliott as producer, writer, and performer; and the many women who built the scene from the South Bronx forward have rarely received proportional coverage in mainstream hip-hop histories. A project by Mariah and Brianna explicitly built around correcting that record has real potential value.

The Review

The stated premise of the Where My Girls At project - that hip-hop was built by Black women and co-opted by everyone else - is a strong provocation that the best work in this space takes seriously. Joan Morgan's writing on hip-hop feminism, Tricia Rose's academic work on hip-hop culture, and more recent journalism by writers like Danyel Smith and Clover Hope have done substantial analytical work on this history. A podcast approaching the same material with the intimacy and accessibility of conversation-based audio could serve a real purpose for listeners who want that history without academic scaffolding.

The one-hour-ten-minute runtime attributed in the listing is consistent with a podcast episode rather than a book-length treatment of the subject. If this is a single episode or a short series, the conversations about specific artists, producers, and writers in hip-hop would function best as an introduction to the topic rather than a comprehensive account. The social media and email contact information in the synopsis reinforces the podcast framing: these are handles for an ongoing project rather than information typically found in audiobook metadata.

Because no reviews are available for this listing and the metadata inconsistency is significant, it is difficult to assess the actual audio content with confidence. What can be said is that the subject matter - Black women's contributions to hip-hop as artists, producers, and cultural architects - rewards sustained attention, and the best accounts of it, audio or otherwise, tend to be specific rather than general. Names, dates, specific songs and production credits, business decisions: these are what transform a celebration into an argument worth listening to.

What Makes My Girls Worth Hearing

If the content matches its stated premise and the production quality is adequate, a project dedicated specifically to centering Black women in hip-hop history addresses an underserved corner of the music audiobook landscape. Most commercial hip-hop histories have followed the critical consensus in ways that replicate existing biases about who built what. A project built around a corrective perspective, focused on figures who have been underrepresented in that mainstream telling, has potential value for listeners who have worked through canonical histories and found them incomplete.

The conversational format of a podcast has specific advantages for this kind of cultural advocacy work. Mariah and Brianna, as the named hosts, presumably bring their own listening histories and personal connections to the music, and that kind of personal investment in the subject matter often produces sharper insight than the more distant register of traditional narration.

A Few Reservations

The primary thing to watch for is what the product actually is. Before listening, confirm whether this listing represents a standalone audiobook with original scripted content, a podcast episode uploaded as an audiobook, or something in between. The metadata inconsistency between the listed author and narrator (Todd Fisher) and the described hosts (Mariah and Brianna) is significant enough to warrant verification. The social media information in the synopsis suggests the Where My Girls At podcast is a real and ongoing project that can be found independently of this listing, which may be the more reliable way to access the content.

For listeners interested in the subject matter regardless of this specific product, the history of Black women in hip-hop is well-served by a growing body of dedicated work. Danyel Smith's Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop and Clover Hope's The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop are both available as audiobooks and approach the subject with depth that a book-length format allows.

The Right Listener for My Girls

Listeners with a specific interest in hip-hop history and Black women's contributions to the genre will find the stated subject matter directly relevant. Music fans who have absorbed the standard hip-hop narrative and are looking for a perspective that pushes against that narrative's exclusions should pursue the subject through verified, well-reviewed sources. Given the unresolved questions about this specific listing, seeking out the Where My Girls At podcast through its own social channels may deliver the intended content more reliably than purchasing through this audiobook entry. Hip-hop scholars, students of music history, and listeners who want to understand the genre more completely than mainstream coverage allows are the natural audience for this kind of project, in whatever format it is ultimately accessed.

Questions Listeners Ask

What explains the mismatch between the listed author and the hosts described in this audiobook's synopsis?

The synopsis describes a podcast project called Where My Girls At hosted by Mariah and Brianna, while this listing's author and narrator credits both name Todd Fisher instead. This suggests the listing may have been incorrectly attributed or may represent a podcast episode uploaded under a different account. Verifying the actual content before purchasing is strongly recommended.

Is this audiobook a full-length book about Black women in hip-hop, or something shorter?

The listed duration of one hour and ten minutes is more consistent with a podcast episode than a book-length treatment. A comprehensive audiobook on Black women in hip-hop would typically run considerably longer. Listeners expecting a full historical survey should verify the product format before purchasing.

Are there other audiobooks about Black women in hip-hop that cover similar ground with clearer metadata?

Yes. Danyel Smith's Shine Bright and Clover Hope's The Motherlode are both available as audiobooks with clear attribution and strong review records. Both approach Black women's contributions to hip-hop with substantial depth and are well-regarded in music criticism circles.

Does this audiobook have any listener reviews that confirm what the content actually covers?

No reviews are available for this listing. Combined with the metadata inconsistency, the absence of reviews makes it difficult to confirm what the actual audio content delivers. Checking whether the Where My Girls At podcast is accessible through its own social channels is the more reliable path to the content.

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Alexandra Reed

Written by Alexandra Reed

Founder & Literary Critic