CIVIL JONES BALTIMORE CITY PAPER

Almost Famous: Civil Jones explores female hip-hop scene in Baltimore
by Timothy Cooper | March 4, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Posted in Almost Famous: Timothy Cooper, b the paper, music



Hip-hop documentarian, radio personality Civil Jones {thanks, Kelly Connelly}



There seems to be a burning question lingering in the circles of hip-hop lovers everywhere: Where are all the female emcees?

Look no further than Baltimore, where talented wordsmiths such as Jade Fox, the Get ’Em Mamis and Ms. Stress bring the equality of verbal combat to their male peers. This is exactly the reason Tasha “Civil” Jones decided to capture some of these ladies in her groundbreaking documentary, “Even a Man Can Do This.”
The documentary is an in-depth look at the contributions women make to the blossoming hip-hop scene in the city. As a military brat who made Aberdeen her home, Jones’ main gig is serving as a rotating on-air personality for 1010 WOLB AM and 92Q FM; contributing stories about local and national issues and also interviewing various celebrities. As this innovative thinker gears up for her second documentary and another radio-hosting gig, Jones shows that women make the world of hip-hop go ’round and ’round.

Where did you get the name Civil from?
In high school, they used to call me Civil because I hung around a bunch of rowdy girls, and folks used to say I was the only civilized one out of them. … Jones is my real last name though, so I combined the two together because I’m a balance of what the hip-hop culture is missing: commercialism and conscience.

Why did you feel the need to make your documentary, “Even a Man Can Do This?”
Well, at that point in the Baltimore hip-hop scene [2008], the females were really making big moves and I wanted to capture that. The female presence has not had the opportunity to evolve. When did we become just ass and t—? Who said that the only thing you can rap about is your sexual talents? Plus I’m a retired emcee, so I had to rep for the ladies.

Talk a little about your work in radio.
Well, every Wednesday, I’m on 1010 WOLB AM from 9-10 a.m. on “The Larry Young Morning Show.” I do a segment called “Sheroes,” with three other powerful sisters where we talk about politics, entertainment, information and everything you want from a black woman’s perspective. I’m also a personality on 92Q Jams, whenever they feel like I’m a part of the team [laughs].

Any future projects coming up?
At the moment, I’m going to be focusing on doing short 10-minute features on artists, venues and everything I find enlightening. So if you are an artist, organization or whatever, and you think what you do is newsworthy, hit me up at divineideals@yahoo.com.

For more info on Civil Jones, visit civiljones.blogspot.com.