Sister Souljah (1964—)
Sister Souljah (1964—)
Black female rapper Sister Souljah, born Lisa Williamson, made national headlines in 1992 in the wake of the Los Angeles riots when she asked an interviewer, "If black people kill black people everyday why not have a week and kill white people?" The interview, in support of her album 360 Degrees of Power, gained national attention when 1992 Democratic Presidential Candidate Bill Clinton, in order to attract the conservative white vote, condemned her remarks while addressing Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition. Political analysts suggested that this criticism of Sister Souljah in front of an all black gathering was responsible for Clinton attracting a sizable number of white southern voters. Although the media attention increased sales of her disappointing album, it was not enough to energize her rap career. The New York City native resurfaced in 1995 with a quasiautobiography, No Disrespect, which focused on black male/female relationships.
—Leonard Nathaniel Moore
Further Reading:
Sister Souljah. No Disrespect. New York, Time Warner, 1995.