With Soul District: Ladies First, the idea is to highlight these women, mostly from black ghettos, who allowed Soul to prove that within a minority there are often others that necessitate a more exacerbated activism. With "Woman Of The Ghetto," Marlena Shaw expresses the difficulties of being a woman fighting for recognition of her status, already widely discriminated against by the state racism prevalent at that time in the United States. Vicky Anderson and her "I'm Too Tough For Mr. Big Stuff" highlight the need for women to be determined and to make it clear to the "Big Stuff" gentlemen that they too can be "Ruff" and defend their opinions and achievements. Even when it comes to love stories or breakups, Martha Reeves with "Who Is She" and Gladys Knight on "Easily Persuaded" demonstrate unwavering resilience. Through these artists and their political or sentimental stances, or their desires as women and mothers, highlighting these struggles remains a priority. So today, as much as yesterday, "Ladies First"!!!
Resilience is certainly the most appropriate term for the women featured on this compilation and in the history of societal struggles. It seems that this word could only be declined in the feminine. Whether in times of war or to denounce injustices, the place women have made for themselves has always been essential. Music, like all other forms of artistic expression, has allowed the voiceless, minorities, and those who struggle, to be heard, and most often for women, to counter the dictates of overwhelming masculine "vociferation" with the progressive perception of female artists.
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