Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Ansley.
Hi Kimberly , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It all started at Eastfield College. I got involved with the college newspaper — started out as a videographer and worked my way up to editor-in-chief. After I graduated, I went on to the University of Texas at Arlington, where I had my own radio show. That’s really where my love for radio — and eventually podcasting — came from.
I worked there until I graduated, and then I went to iHeartRadio, where I spent five years. After that, I had this idea to start my own podcast. I wanted to do entertainment, I wanted to do music — I was just trying out different variations of things. I did that for a few years.
Then one day I sat down and really thought about it: what could I talk about all the time? And I realized — I love music, I love hip-hop, and specifically, I love female hip-hop. My favorite artists have always been Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, and Yo-Yo. That’s when I finally found it — I finally found my lane.
The first artist I ever fell in love with was Queen Latifah. I loved her rhyme scheme, her writing skills, her style — everything about it. What she gave was positivity, she was encouraging to women, her style was genius, and her flow was amazing. It just captivated me. From that moment, I knew my love for hip-hop was going to be forever. That’s really where it all came from — just me finding my niche.
Then came the name. I was trying to figure out how to play with it — I knew I wanted something built around ‘female,’ since that’s who I wanted to talk about. Me and my homegirl Kim Barnes were going back and forth, trying to come up with a name for female rappers. We threw out a bunch of ideas, and then it hit — ‘femcee.’ I said it, she said it practically at the same time. I played with it a little more, and that’s how I landed on The Femcee Society
The Femcee Society exists to push back against a specific pattern: women — especially Black women — built foundational elements of hip-hop and were systematically undercredited for it, while the industry absorbed their innovations and let their names blur out of the story. That’s the central thesis you’re working from.
Hip-hop wouldn’t be what it is without women — but a lot of the people who shaped it never got the credit they earned.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
But there were still roadblocks. Could I actually do this? Should I keep going? I didn’t have this piece of equipment, I didn’t have that. But I learned that no matter what the hurdles are, you have to learn to hurdle over them. In life, you really only have two options — you sink, or you swim. And I chose to swim, because this is something I love. I fell in love with it. I felt like there wasn’t enough information or conversation out there about female hip-hop, and I felt like it was my job to change that. I’m becoming the historian for female hip-hop, and I love it.
I won’t say it’s completely smooth now, either — there are still bumps in the road. But it’s about how you get over those bumps. I can’t sit here and say I have every piece of equipment, every resource I want — I don’t. But you work with what you have until you get what you want. And honestly, those roadblocks have made me stronger. They’ve made me more determined to reach the finish line — and even once I get there, I keep setting new personal goals for myself, and I go after those too.
One thing that really helped me get through it all was support — whether it was family or friends, having people behind me saying, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s going to get better, you’re going to see great results.’ And I think I’m finally seeing the fruits of my labor now. I’m just grateful for the growth.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
It doesn’t matter where you start or how you start — it’s how you finish. A lot of people look at where you are right now and say, ‘oh, they’re not doing anything, they’re not going to accomplish that.’ But they’re not looking at the whole game. They’re not looking at the finish line — they’re only looking at right now. And my attitude is: don’t count me out, count me in.
What sets me apart from other people is my personality. I love to talk to people, I love to get to know people, and I have a very creative mind. For some reason, people just open up to me — they’ll tell me things about themselves without me even asking, just through natural conversation. That’s who I am — I love to talk, I love to communicate, I love to stay positive.
I think what really sets me apart is that I’m creative, I love to smile, and I genuinely love getting to know people — not just knowing of someone, but actually knowing them. I’m friendly, I’m nice, I’m always smiling, I’m always positive. And in a world that can be so negative, I believe there has to be at least one person who’s positive, who’s motivating, who’s encouraging. I believe that person is me — and that’s what makes me different.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I’m originally from Dallas, and I’m still fairly new to Plano, so I’ll speak to the Dallas side of things first. I love the music scene in Dallas. I love the food, I love the culture — I’m a Dallas girl through and through, and I love everything about it. There’s something so down-home about Dallas — it’s family-oriented, and it’s got a heavy music scene, so there’s always a festival happening, always something to do every single weekend.
Plano, on the other hand, feels very community-based. I love the food here, and it’s nice and quiet. But if I’m being honest with people, if you live in Plano and you want to go have a good time — relax, listen to some good music, get some good food, spend time with family and friends — Dallas is where you go. Dallas is where the fun is, Dallas is where the joy is.
I love where I’m from, and I love where I live now, but Dallas will always be home. I’m a Dallas girl — festivals, music, good food, good times. That’s Dallas for you.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefemceesociety?stkn=NDV1b2thenlmbGl5&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557779018739
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@thefemceesociety?si=U_b3uxR798CrnAJM
