Rating:
  Review Date: November 6, 2007
  Website: Sirah Website
  Label: Broken Complex Records

Sirah “Clean Windows Dirty Floors” Album Review
I say this all the time, but nobody ever listens: “The underground needs to support more dope female emcees!” After all, most mainstream crews either had or have a “first lady.” Death Row had Rage. Roc-A-Fella had Foxy. Bad Boy had Kim. No Limit had Mia X. Ruff Riders have Eve. So So Def has Da Brat. Flipmode has Rah Digga. Those Dirty South cats have Trina. The list goes on and on. However, you don’t see the same with underground labels. Blacksmith has Jean Grae and the Rhymesayers have Psalm One – and that’s about it.

Unfortunately, cats always say the same thing when I talk about the importance of women in the underground: “I agree, dogg, but there ain’t no tight female emcees in the underground.” Well, I just found one! She goes by the name Sirah, and her debut album “Clean Windows Dirty Floors” is among the best independent hip-hop releases of 2007. This young lady has some lyrical skill yo – period. Some underground label needs to pick Sirah up and sign her – before somebody else does.

So why should we support more female emcees? Because it could be disastrous for the future of women in hip-hop if we don’t. Without support from the underground, female emcees have no choice but to go after the mainstream deals – an act that often forces them to portray the oversexed gangster bitch image instead of just being themselves. Sirah shares a related experience in Stop With the Advice, in which she drops the following verse imitating a record company public relations adviser:

Sirah I think you’re great I really do
Amazing with everything but what we need to work on is you
Lose a few pounds and put on these heals
Tell the kids and folks that you’ll kill them with your steel
Don’t worry we’ll get you a chain saying that you stole it
Seal the deal and sleep with a CEO – that’s the main component

Luckily, Sirah chose not to give in to these demands, and that decision has made “Clean Windows Dirty Floors” a very real album. Tracks like Buttons and MC allow Sirah to show off her battle rapping abilities while demonstrating her intention to rebel against repetitive, cliché-ish, wack, and sexist emcees. Tracks like City, Addict, and Clean Windows Dirty Floors show Sirah’s ability to poetically examine herself and the world that surrounds her.

My favorite track on the album is Class 103, a storytelling song about a relationship that turned sour by drug use and it’s affects on a pregnancy. The following verse gives an exceptional view into these events:

High and sickly carrying our seed
What had happened to love in Class 103?
Sworn it was love that had carried us through
But those were different people than me and you
What to do? – Question that plagued me
Doctor said we’d have to murder our baby
Behavior it would be insanely crazy
So I slaughtered it in the office that day
Never looked at either one of us the same

Sirah is undoubtedly one of the more memorable emcees I’ve come across this year. Her style is fresh and unique, her lyrics conscious and intelligent, and the beats provided by DJ Hoppa seem to provide the perfect backdrop for her flow from track to track. We all need to start supporting more women in the underground, and Sirah’s “Clean Windows Dirty Floors” could be the perfect place to start. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this album. Peace.

Album Track Listing:

1. City
2. Buttons
3. Class 103
4. MC
5. Addict
6. Nicotine
7. Stop With The Advice
8. Clean Windows Dirty Floors