Gender Amplified started as an idea that founder Ebonie Smith had while making beats alone in her dorm room as a senior at Barnard College. When she first began making beats and aspiring to work as a professional music producer, she had no context for being a woman in this role. “When I looked out into the sea of my male peers, I felt isolated and underrepresented,” she explained. “I found support and encouragement once I began searching for other women who shared my same passion for music production and technology.” She wondered about the possibility of bringing women from all walks of life together to discuss music technology, create music and affirm one another. Her curiosity led her to organize the first Gender Amplified conference on women in hip hop in collaboration with the Barnard Center for Research on Women and the Africana Studies program in 2007.
As Gender Amplified continues to evolve, we look forward to the advances that women will make in the field and the amazing music, social discourse and cultural transformations that will result consequently. In the meantime, check out these fine ladies listed by MTV Iggy and tell us some of your favorite female music producers by commenting here or posting them to our “Fierce Women” board on Pinterest.