Ayana Byrd is a writer and editor living in Brooklyn, New York. A Phi Beta kappa graduate of Columbia University's Barnard college, she is an entertainment journalist whose work has appeared in Vibe, Rolling Stone, Honey, TV Guide and Paper magazines. She is currently writing a chapter on Black female subjectivity in rap music for Future Perfect, an upcoming feminist anthology to be published by Vintage Anchor/Random House in 2002 and is a contributor for an upcoming book by Vibe magazine on women and hip hop. Aside from writing, Byrd has appeared on numerous panels, including Harvard University's Black Arts Festival and Barnard College's Scholar and the Feminist, to discuss the representation of women in popular culture and the intersection of gender, race and class in the arts. Philadelphia native Byrd is an avid traveler who has visited Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.

Lori Tharps is a journalist living in Brooklyn, New York. She is a graduate of Smith College and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. Currently employed as a correspondent at Entertainment Weekly magazine, Tharps has also penned stories for Essence, Vibe, Savoy and Ms. magazines. Her work can also be read in the upcoming anthology, Young Wives' Tales: New Adventures in Love and Partnership (Seal Press, June 2001). A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tharps has lived in Spain and Morocco and can say I love you in seven languages.