synergy |ˈsinərjē| (also synergism |-ˌjizəm| ) | noun: the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects: the synergy between artist and record company.

Synergy is a Chicago-based collaborative album created exclusively by women in Hip-Hop. Synergy is executively produced and presented by Jovan Landry, and has also been funded by the WeWork’s Incubate Grant.

In the 1980s & 1990s, there was a strong woman rap presence. They were able to co-exist, remain unique, and have the ability to be just as good or better than their brothers. Throughout the history of Hip-Hop, we’ve seen many collaborations amongst women. Some notable ones are "I Wanna Be Down" Remix with MC Lyte, Yo Yo & Queen Latifah; "Ladies Night" with Lil Kim, Angie Martinez, Left Eye, Da Brat and Missy Elliot; and “Freedom” which featured many of the heavy hitters in Female Rap in the 90s. Online, you can find a handful of “Female Rapper” cyphers & music videos. On the other end, we’ve also seen plenty of beef between female rappers and getting the stamp of “Women cannot together.” Nowadays, it seems like only one woman can exist at the top.

But were those memorable records mentioned above produced by women? Most likely, no. It’s rare to find albums and songs that were crafted entirely by women. Not to say they don’t exist, but are definitely not on the forefront. According to The Source, “A female creator has yet to win a GRAMMY Award for producer of the year for a non-classical piece. That very problematic fact alone is fueling the careers of women everywhere. But another fact is hard to explain, and furthermore even harder to overcome: women represent less than five percent of music producers and engineers.” And recently in Billboard: “While many male and female executives have been supportive, several female producers expressed dismay that more female artists don't seek out female producers. "It's ­interesting that a lot of female artists have this feminist message and they'll make their record with all men,” says Alex Hope.

Sure: There’s a plethora of groups, organizations, podcasts and radio shows and showcases that support women in Hip-Hop. We seen collaborations and mixtapes featuring female rappers. But what about an entire original album crafted, produced, written, performed, arranged, mixed and mastered by women? Why haven’t we seen this yet?

This is where this album Synergy comes in. The purpose of this album is to showcase the talented women in the Hip-Hop scene in Chicago, embodying womanhood, sisterhood and self sufficiency. While this album will feature some of the hottest emcees in Chicago, this project will especially highlight women who produce and engineer, who are filmmakers, photographers, graphic designers and another professions that we find to be male dominated. The album will experience the voices of Chicago Hip-Hop veterans & how they navigated through the city as a woman in Hip Hop.

In 2017, founder Jovan Landry received The Incubate Grant from WeWork Creator Awards that will be used to compensate all of the women involved on this project, studio time, merchandise, video and photo shoots, host a release party, and eventually going on a mini-tour throughout The Midwest featuring women in Hip Hop in those cities. The album is set to release in August 2018.

Follow the process of Synergy on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

• Featuring artists: Jovan Landry, Mother Nature, Ell Virtuoso, Tee Spirit, Sauda Muse, Paige Flowers, Sunde, Glitter Moneyyy, Tweak'G.
• Featuring Producers: Jovan Landry, Schenay Mosley, K.Flow, Qisum.
• Engineer: Jennifer "JinOnDemBoards" Tolliver