As the sun went down on the evening of Wednesday, March 8, men and women gathered around the quad to listen to the memorizing lyrics of Zzay, Nat the Lioness and Neb Luv.

Each artist brought the same rare intensity of rap and hip hop when they spit rhymes of their struggles and expectations of being a female, while uniting men and women alike.

“We wanted to shed light on the local female hip-hop artists because the genre is typically dominated by men,” Arnetta Smith said, coordinator of the event. “With it being International Women’s Day, I felt it was my duty and my honor to hold this event and to use my platform to give exposure to these female artists and women in general.”

Besides the local artists who preformed, there were also booths holding material of female empowerment through pictures, t-shirts and handbags with Frida imprints.

The first performer Zzay got the audience excited by free versing songs like “I Up”, “Bar Code” and “Cool, Calm, and Connected”.

“I want people to understand that it’s okay to be emotional and it’s okay to find different outlets for your emotions,” Zzay said. “I’m learning as I become a grown woman that we are living in a time where change is required and my way of creating change is through my music.”

As her set ended, she was treated to a hearty round of applause as 2000’s R&B were played in the background – which were mostly all female stylings like Missy Elliot, Gwen Stefani and Sierra.

“It’s good to have everyone around participating in International Women’s Day, ” Jovani Hernandez said, who’s a Fullerton College student. “This event shows that it’s not all about men, but about women gathering together to be one.”

Nat the Lioness got the crowd moving as she picked up the pace through her vibes and messages as she dedicated her performance to her niece. She dared people to take a look into their subconscious, while being aware of their surroundings through songs like “Pleiades” and “Creators of the Universe”.

“It’s an honor to be here for women who have gone through so much and to appreciate the millstones from the feminist accomplishments of the past,” Nat said. “My goal is to make people more aware of women’s independence and yearning towards freedom.”

The last performance came from the bold Neb Luv, who performed despite losing her drummer recently. Her music gave a mixture feeling of calm yet influential rhythm as she walked across the quad with her light up shoes bouncing off the pavement.

“Let’s hear it for the women who got us here today. May we be them and learn from them.” Neb exclaimed, setting the tone for her performance.

Her songs gave a perspective of being present and doing what you want to do in life with songs like “Wake Em Up” and “This Life”

The event ended with a closing statement from Smith as she thanked everyone for attending and encouraging to appreciate the woman in your life.