Ava DuVernay is best known as a prolific director but did you know she had bars? If you didn't know, now you know.
Back in the 90s, DuVernay was one-half of rap duo Figures of Speech, and performed under the moniker MC Eve alongside MC Ronda “Jyant” Ross, according to Billboard.
According to the mag, it was her time in Figures of Speech that helped DuVernay to make the jump to filmmaking. The hip-hop community, the group was a part of, was the subject of her first feature film, This Is The Life, a documentary about the open mic sessions at the famed Good Life Café. The film was self-financed and created while Duvernay ran a public relations firm.
Durvernay felt like Good Life’s story “had to be told, both for the amazing artists whose legacy should be recognized and for hip-hop fans in general.”
Alejandro “2Mex” Ocana, a rapper who was featured in the documentary had good things to say about the ladies.
“Figures of Speech was very dope,” he said. “They were two queens. Ava and Ronda were, to me, collegiate. Their music was respectful … Their music was empowering. I remember everything Ava would say would be regal … intelligent, loving and positive. I think that’s the best way to put it. She was always positive.”
Duvernay went on to make another hip-hop documentary, My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women and Hip-Hop, about female rappers including MC Lyte, Roxanne Shanté, Salt-N-Pepa, Missy Elliott, Eve, Trina and Medusa, who performed at Good Life. According to Billboard, she had stopped rapping by then to focus on her PR business and film career.
Her love for hip-hop, however, is evident in the soundtracks of movies like Selma and 13th. And let us not forget that DuVernay recently made her music video directorial debut with the visuals for JAY-Z’s "Family Feud."
We can only hope Ava will pick up the mic once again someday!
This post was originally published on Blavity.com.