We B*Girlz Philosophy We want to present strong, smart, independent B-Girlz and other Hip Hop females as role models for upcoming generations to show everyone that there is a significant place for women in this worldwide culture. In addition, we want to preserve the history of women in Hip Hop by encouraging everyone to collect and archive materials from back in the days and to document the scene as it exists now.
	Martha Cooper was born in Baltimore, Maryland, graduated from Grinnell College, Iowa and spent two years teaching English in the Peace Corps before studying at Oxford University, Cambridge, where she received a Diploma in Ethnology. In 1977, Cooper moved to New York and worked as a staff photographer for the New York Post until she left in 1980 to follow the emerging hip hop scene. In 1984, in collaboration with Henry Chalfant, she published Subway Art (Thames and Hudson/Henry Holt, 1984), the classic book showcasing the best painted trains of the era that has been dubbed "The Bible" by graffiti writers. Cooper's other books of photographs include R.I.P.: Memorial Wall Art (Thames and Hudson/Henry Holt, 1994) with text by folklorist Joseph Sciorra, and Hip Hop Files: Photographs 1979-1984 (From Here to Fame, 2004), a collaboration with Akim Walta. The Director of Photography at City Lore, the New York Center for Urban Folk Culture, Cooper lives and works in New York.
	Nika Kramer, writer, translator, and businesswoman, grew up in Germany in a small farming community called Five Houses, named for the number of houses in the village. After studying business and design in Oldenburg she traveled throughout Central America, returning to Germany to open and operate a car wash where she occasionally sang and danced for her customers. Kramer was the text editor and German translator of Hip Hop Files: Photographs 1979–1984 (From Here to Fame, 2004). Kramer’s fluent command of English, Spanish, and German is invaluable as she lives and works in Berlin and New York.