This is ladies night and their rhymes been tight!

Hip-Hop has been a fundamental factor within society, appreciated by a variety of communities. Its culture is undeniably influential and insanely impactful by opening doors with a plethora of opportunities available for men and women alike. It hasn’t always been so inclusive though, and it’s only through the 2020’s decade that we’ve seen a resurgence of female acts in such a wave since the early days of Hip-Hop. Once considered an exclusive boy’s club, it was thought to be nearly impossible for a chick to be rippin’ and remixing tracks on the tables, let alone picking up a mic and spitting like their counterparts. That was certainly enough fuel to the fire to concoct a powerful resilience. It sounds a bit bizarre right? An ounce of drive surrounded by a sea of doubt, but because these ladies desired to break barriers, we’ve been going strong for decades. You can only imagine our evolution from then to now.

Hip-Hop made its way in the late 70’s to early 80’s by the likes of DJ Kool Herc and his sister/party promoter Sidney Campbell (who also plays a major role in solidifying Hip-Hop as a real genre). In the blazing heat of 79’ and teens son to be returning to school, Campbell figured it would be a good idea to make a few dollars by throwing neighborhood block parties with Herc on the 1’s and 2’s. These parties exploded into massive events with an abundance of copycats. The earliest dated recording of a female MC actually dates back to the year these parties first began on a track titled “To the beat y’all” by Lady B. Now how funky does that sound?

Around the same time period, a group by the name of the Mercedes Ladies surfaced to host their very own functions and tear down the house with their talented members. 2 female DJs and 4 female MCs…Now let that sink in for a minute. For women of the era, it was like being a small pool of dolphins in a tank full of sharks. But together, their impact radicalized and caused many heads to turn, whether it be considered beneficial or harmful to their image. Through the endless ridicule they faced from their male counterparts, they attempted to maintain for as long as possible, unknowingly sparking a movement for generations to come. The ladies had meaning, and they certainly didn’t care to be under men as if they were some groupies. That proved to other women that they were surely just as powerful.

Sha-Rock is dubbed Hip-Hop’s “Mother of the Mic” with her being the first ever female rapper apart of a mainstream rap collective. The group was called the Funky Four Plus One, with Sha-Rock just so happening to be the “plus one”. Their funkdafied and groovacious beats topped with simple ABC rhyme schemes landed them a spot-on Saturday Night Live in 1981, which was the first ever broadcasted “hip-hop” performance. The term is in quotations because as stated earlier, this wasn’t viewed as a legitimate genre of music yet, but merely a fad for kids to pass time by. Now we’re transitioning into the 80’s, the era of questionable hairdos and elementary diss records (fair warning, ruthless records didn’t come about till the 90’s). The OG of throwin’ shots at her opps would be the one and only Roxanne Shanté. 14-year-old Roxanne Shanté, real name Lolita, struck gold with her raw diss record produced by DJ Marley Marl aimed at UTFO’s 1984 single “Roxanne, Roxanne”. Some could say it was purely a coincidence that she constructed, realistically free-styled, “Roxanne’s Revenge”. Regardless, it set her on a path to stardom accompanied by endless trials and tribulations from cutthroat opponents.

Seeing Roxanne Shanté and the war on Roxanne’s that soon followed, had female MCs hitting the scene harder than crack that year. It gave birth to baby rappers everywhere, that soon grew into the largest household names to date. MC Lyte emerged with her boyish charm, asymmetrical haircuts, meaningful verses, and breakout single “I Cram to Understand U”. Soon to follow were acts like Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Salt N’ Pepa, and others. The one thing all these women had in common were the fact that they were not only socially conscious, but possessed the desire to use their platform to bring awareness to the issues at hand. With misogyny becoming a hot commodity by prominent male artists within the industry, the ladies ensured their voices were heard beyond the noise. Sexism, sexual health, and racial inequalities were finally a center of concern for all women alike and an ode to the brothers who clearly lacked understanding. Lyte was an essential factor of women being rightfully recognized within the industry, for she was the first lady of Hip-Hop to ever be signed to a major label, receive a certified gold hit, and nominated for a Grammy! Poor Georgie…I bet he looked down proudly. Later in the decade, a girl group by the name of J.J Fad garnered attention by jamming to their up-tempo hit, “Supersonic”. This female trio greatly assisted in putting Eazy E’s label, Ruthless Records, on the map. Wait, what scene of Straight Outta’ Compton was this in again?

Stomping into the 90’s were class acts like Yo-Yo, Da Brat’s funkdafied flow (notice how the funk never dies), Missy Elliot and the continued legacies listed before. They all maintained a masculine style to deter men from seeing them purely as eye candy. But then came women like Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Mia X, Gangsta Boo, and many more who challenged the idea of what it meant to be female in Hip-Hop. First brought about by the Queen Bee was a new wave of “X-Rated” feminism, where a woman was essentially free to be sexy and desired by men and women, while simultaneously being respected for their pen. That hardcore entity combined with the appeal of their Ill Na Nas’ propelled black women into mainstream white media outlets for new artists and brand names to pry upon. It wasn’t always Gangsta or X-rated though, indie artists like the legendary Lauryn Hill, Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets, and Bahamida shared their lyrical philosophies in mellisonant tunes for the lovers of the sub-genre.

Once Juvenile was taking over for the 99 and the 2000’s, so were women like Trina, Khia, Eve, Diamond & Princess of Crime Mob, and my personal favorite…Rasheeda. Don’t sleep on her bedrock remix okay! That southern drawl and classy with a twist persona ruled the 2000’s, with fans everywhere embracing their style. No longer did women have to conceal their vulgarities to maintain respect. While the vast majority of us were still rocking our hips, the 2000’s came and went, and soon the 2010’s decade brought Lloyd’s luscious curly hair along with one of the most prominent female rappers to date, Nicki Minaj. The self-proclaimed Barbie followed the footsteps of her foremothers, embracing not only her femininity but eccentric skills and originality. Readily the bar was set higher and higher for female musicians of the genre. Especially by Nicki’s accomplishments and dominance over her male counterparts. Though she was the lone wolf within the industry for a while, this new digital age brought in yet another wave of independent creatives looking to solidify a spot as the rest of the OGs.

It can be described as a pretty slippery slope though, because many feel as if we’ve lost substance within the art. Hip-Hop isn’t a monolith, nor are its artists, but fans fear that it’ll never connect with it’s true meaning again. Trust me, there are still plenty of “real” artists out there, with depths that cannot be televised.

Baby z

Ladies Night: The Evolution of Women in Hip-Hop