The second episode of 'Sisterhood of Hip Hop' moves all of the girls to New York City in closer proximity of each other. It's mostly cordial within the group, which makes sense because this is a "sisterhood." There's also a dose of intra-crew, ego-based tension. This is hip-hop, you know.

The latter only comes in a petty dispute between Nyemiah Supreme and Diamond. Siya introduces the two at the studio, and Supreme says one of the many things you shouldn't say to a person who's famous: "Oh, I ain't know you were in the group [Crime Mob]." You could give her the benefit of the doubt and say she didn't mean it as condescendingly as it came out, but that's not how Diamond took it. Siya's deadpan, wide-eyed expression makes it quite clear that Supreme messed up.

So the rest of Diamond's arc for the episode finds her being a cartoonish villain toward Supreme: from callously standing her up to hang with Brianna Perry and her friend, to sheepishly staring at Supreme from across the cub during her performance -- drink in hand. It's a nefarious plot to remind Supreme that "nobody knows her." Again, it's all a bit too minor to be drawn out over an hour-long episode, but Diamond does have a great moment with Perry as she's passing along advice: "I can't die with this knowledge. Why not help the next person be a better person?" Circle of life.

The rest of the episode predictably builds on the tensions from the prior episode: Perry vs. her momager Kiki and Siya vs. the clingy Renaye. The latter is merely a variation of the drama of the pilot. Siya makes up with Renaye by buying her a dog, the two go into the club where Supreme and Perry are performing, Siya networks with other women and Renaye pleads to leave in jealousy. Hopefully this dynamic isn't rinse and repeat.

Perry is turning out to be the logical center of the show, but she ends up shorted thanks to her mother's immaturity. She's perhaps one of the few who'd push for her daughter to skip her mid-term for a New York concert -- her first in years. Perry's eagerness is for naught because of her momager's lackluster effort. As Perry is preparing, Kiki is sipping Hennessy playfully inviting her assistants to join. As expected, this leads to disaster. In the episode's climactic moment, Perry's sound goes haywire during her performance, while Supreme's following set goes smoothly. Kiki's finger pointing can't save what's implicitly her fault.

But while the disaster is predictable, the episode's bright spot is when Perry barely controls her temper when she chews out Kiki in the hotel room. You forget the familial hierarchy here as a stone-faced Perry, 22, delivers the scolding. Kiki is filmed powerless with her back against the wall as the roles are switched. The mother is suddenly a delinquent grasping for juvenile retorts ("What you want me to do?" "I was tryiinnggg!") and left sulking and muttering to herself in indignity at her punishment: For the moment, she's no longer Perry's manager. A tough blow from a familial standpoint, but in a business where the odds are against her, why not claim autonomy over what she can control?

Side note(s):

  • You have to love how Perry's hair changes from blonde, to brown highlights, to blonde again, to red as the show cuts to her camera interview about her annoyance at Kiki. The magic of editing.
  • Nyemiah Supreme has the line of the episode when she explains her pensiveness before performing in New York: “Every time they boo you it’s like, 'My cousin raps, too.'” Too true.
  • No, Bia isn't absent this episode. Replace the Nyemiah situation from last episode with her and you get the gist of where she fits in.

More From 92.9 WTUG