The Conscious Daughters

The Conscious Daughters, who emerged in the socially aware, Afrocentric milieu of early-'90s Bay Area hip-hop, were a female rap duo from Oakland consisting of Carla Green and Karryl Smith. Ultra-political, militant hip-hopper Paris championed the pair early on and helmed their 1993 debut, Ear to the Street, producing and writing all of the tracks and (along with engineer Eric Valentine) playing on them as well. The themes echoed the "thug-life" sentiments of much of the West Coast hip-hop at the time, employing a distinctly women's perspective (particularly on tracks such as "Princess of Poetry," "Wife of a Gangsta," and "Crazybitchmadness"). The Conscious Daughters next appeared on their mentor Paris' 1994 album, Guerilla Funk, adding raps to tracks such as "Bring It to Ya." The duo finally dropped their sophomore effort, Gamers, in 1996. The Daughters pitched in on production this time around, with help from such able hands as Studio Ton, Tone Capone, and omnipresent ally Paris. Gamers featured a host of guest artists, among them Nate Fox, Harm, Suga T, Mystic, Lil Kristen, Rose, Sandy Griffith (da Old Skool), Saafir, Father Dom, Money B, and C-Funk (many of which cropped up on the final track, "All-Star Freestyle"). ~ Erik Hage, Rovi