NYC NOW - June 12, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: June 12, 2023

A federal court hearing tomorrow will look into a series of disturbing incidents at the Rikers Island jail complex. The 76th Tony Awards made history with non-binary actors J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell winning awards. And finally, WNYC and Gothamist celebrate 50 years of hip-hop by sharing the voices of the many women from our region who are leaving their own mark on the genre. Today, we hear from Michele Byrd-McPhee, founder and executive director of Ladies of Hip-Hop.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Monday, June 12th. Here's the midday news from Lance Lucky. A federal court hearing tomorrow will look into a series of disturbing recent incidents at Rikers Island. Steve Martin is the federal monitor overseeing the jail complex. He says the Adams administration has been so resistant to providing information that he can't even be sure how many people have died there this year. WNYC's Matt Katz spells out the federal

monitors concerns. He said that although there have been three reported deaths of people who are held at Rikers this year, quote, given recent concerns about accuracy and transparency of data provided, it is possible this number could be higher. City officials deny claims that there have been more than the three reported deaths this year, but the Department of Correction recently announced it would end the de Blasio era practice of notice of note. to find the press when someone dies in a detention facility. History was made at the 76th annual Tony Awards last night at the United Palace in Washington Heights. For the first time ever, non-binary actors were among those who took home the awards.

Jay Harrison G. was named Best Actor in a leading role for the musical Some Like It Hot, and Alex Newell, one best-featured actor in a musical for their role in Schacht. Kimberly Akimbo took home the award for Best Musical, and the family drama Leopoldstadt was named best play. The ceremony was almost canceled because of the writer's strike, but the union agreed to let it go on without picketing as long as it was unscripted. Air quality across our region remains much better than last week, but the websiteairnow.gov does currently rate it at 100, the top of the moderate range. So if you're unusually sensitive to particle pollution, you may want to limit your time outdoors and wear a high-quality mask if you must be out.

For WNYC, I'm Michael Hill. It was 50 years ago. this summer that the sights and sounds of hip-hop culture first emerged on the streets of the Bronx. To commemorate this milestone, WNYC and Gothmas are sharing the voices of the many women from a area who are leaving their own mark on the genre. My name is Michelle Burr McPhee, founder and director of Ladies and Hip-Hop Festival. The mission of Ladies and Hip-Hipop is really simple. It's really to provide a space and opportunities and build the next generation of women in hip-hop dance and DJs and visual artists, we kind of are an interdisciplinary organization, even though we started out as dance.

What inspired it? I would love to say something really deep, but the real honest truth is I was a co-founder of an all-female hip-hop company in Philly, and this was the time where I was spending a lot of time in New York and D.C., just hanging out. So most of my friends that were women in dance were in New York, and they were these powerhouses. You know, I just wanted to dance more with them, and I wanted to train my company. So Lazy Hip Hop was really just like a way to have really dope women hang out together. And I think passed the culture on in a way that a lot of us weren't experiencing it at the time. The festival was founded in 2004. So at that time, women weren't teaching as much.

We were around. We've always been around. We've been a big influence on the culture. We've been a big support of the culture. But just opportunity to be at the forefront wasn't there. What I experienced in hip hop culture at the time that I was hanging, out in clubs. So I would say the, you know, late 80s, early 90s, I wouldn't say I didn't have the support of the men there. I think the men in my community were super supportive of me. But I do feel

like depending on what your entry point is as a woman, like who was bringing you into that space and also your comfort level and being in a real male dominated space, you know, so getting in circles at the time, we're really the only outlet. You know, we weren't showing up really so much in Concert dance as hip-hop and street dance was showing up on the stage and maybe be one or two, specifically B-girls, which rightfully so being, you know, one of the first dance forms to accompany the culture. And so there wasn't very much space for anything else. So for me, I had super supportive guys, but I just felt alone. What advice would I give to a young girl? Number one, believe in yourself. We're not told enough. Never let anyone deter you from what it is you want to do,

and especially not because you're a woman. Michelle Bird McPhee is the founder and director of the nonprofit organization, Ladies of Hip Hop. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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