Woodstein Media Podcast episode 19 Yeastie Girlz Part 1: The birth of vaginacore a cappella rap

Many bands were formed from friendships at the Gilman Street Project in Berkeley, California. The Yeastie Girlz was one of them that stood out from the crowd. Performing what they called vaginacore a cappella rap.

Most bands in the Gilman scene were made up of young men, with a smattering of women. So, although one of the club’s stated missions was to combat sexism, there was still much of it. During some shows, there were pits of aggressive males shoving and circling in front of the stage, and many women found themselves in the back of the club, excluded from the fun of the mosh pit due to overly aggressive behaviour.

In this episode, all four Yeastie Girlz speak about the impetus for getting up on the Gilman stage to start rapping, the elation and the terror of performing, and standing up to the violent misogyny of bands like The Mentors.