Lisa M, “La primera rapera mujer de Puerto Rico y de Latinoamérica”, and Early 1990s Feminist Puerto Rican Hip-Hop Culture

Abstract

Before the global ascent of reggaetón, there was rap, and before Ivy Queen, Glory, Natti Natasha, Cardi B, Villano Antillano, and Young Miko, there was Lisa M. This essay is an analysis of Lisa M’s musical career in the context of early 1990s debates about women, rap, and society in Puerto Rico, taking advantage of the increased focus on gender and on Puerto Rican women singers demonstrated by works ranging from Frances R. Aparicio’s Listening to Salsa: Gender, Latin Popular Music, and Puerto Rican Cultures to Licia Fiol-Matta’s The Great Woman Singer: Gender and Voice in Puerto Rican Music. I analyse Lisa M’s early musical production, particularly songs from her 1992 album Ahora vengo alborotá, and articles and letters to the editor from 1992 and 1993 in El Nuevo Día and Vea to document popular debates about rap and gender in Puerto Rico. I conclude with some reflections about Lisa M’s coming out of the closet in 2010 and her musical reappearance in 2018.