Black Girls Rock and Bondvision Media rocked Washington D.C. Saturday with their Rock! Like a Girl event, held at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Jean Grae, Ana Tijoux, Rapsody, Grammy-winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari and Black Girls Rock founder/DJ Beverly Bond set the stage on fire, essentially warming it up for an eventual reggae-infused set by Ms. Lauryn Hill. D.C.’s own all-girl go-go troupe Be’la Dona served as house band for the evening.

“It’s actually a new platform, but it is an extension [of Black Girls Rock] in a way,” Beverly Bond told EBONY before the festivities began. “It’s a program that’s focuses more on women in the arts from various genres. They asked me to curate a program for the One Mic Hip-Hop Festival and feature global women who have an impact on hip-hop, and I was like, ‘Absolutely I will do this!’ ”

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Rock! Like a Girl was the first concert of its kind, as a part of the two-week One Mic festival that celebrates masters in the culture and spotlights international artists who move crowds both culturally and socially. Bond hopes to bring this new international platform to other cities.

Very appropriately scratching the surface of intergenerational hip-hop, feminism and social-political empowerment, Rock! Like a Girl showcased new and seasoned talent while holding a mixed crowd of both young and old attendees from all over the world.—Eeshé White