This Weekend's Top Stop: Can a Sista Rock a Mic?

THE BRAINCHILD of Kimani Anku Productions, the "Can a Sista Rock a Mic?" music festival is an annual, weeklong experience showcasing local and national female talent. Birthed from Anku's similar monthly event, B-Girl Manifesto, the festival wraps up Sunday at Eighteenth Street Lounge with B-Girl's leading lady of soul, rising local star Afi.

Afi shed some light on the need for such a festival in a recent conversation with Express' Darona Williams.

(For more of today's Top Stops, click here.)

EXPRESS: Is there a notable discrepancy in accessibility for female artists versus their male counterparts?
AFI: There are not a lot of females being represented the way we would like them to be — other than in soul. And we're not saying everybody has to be all peace, love and hair grease, but we're not all just booty shakers and models and trophy figures that they can make look pretty and put on stage. We're real artists; we write lyrics and create music and have thoughts.

EXPRESS: Thus, the festival was born?
AFI: Yeah but we give the brothas a night to get the mic too; we call it "Revenge of the B-Boys." But it's mainly focused on the ladies.

EXPRESS: And it's not just for the soulful set?
AFI: No. We got hip-hop, R&B, spoken word, even visual artists ... the festival is really taking a turn.

EXPRESS: How are you promoting the fest?
AFI: The Internet is a blessing for the indie artists.

EXPRESS: It seems to have revolutionized the grind.
AFI: One thing about being independent is the pride you feel seeing a finished product and knowing you did it. You can hear when an artist has to compromise to become more mainstream. Another thing is that you can make the calls on your CD. The down side of it is trying to get the airplay, trying to get the big gigs, trying to get respect of the mainstream.

EXPRESS: So is the desired goal to reach the mainstream?
AFI: If that's what you gotta do, it's a part of the game.

EXPRESS: I hear D.C. artists have it particularly rough.
AFI: Raheem [DeVaughn] is helping to get the underground here heard and understood. For some reason D.C. gets overlooked ... but they say D.C. is the next big buzz.

EXPRESS: Maybe D.C.'s the new Philly.
AFI: I'm hoping all of us can make that happen here but we have to work together; there's too much separatism in D.C. as far as this underground industry is concerned.

Various locations, visit bgirlmanifesto.com or myspace.com/canasistarockamic for details.