Over the years, female rappers have rose to the occasion and there was no shortage of powerful women rhyming with fervor and precision in 2021.
While not all of them are lyrical focus per se, some simply impacted the Hip-Hop and Rap space so boldly, they were impossible to ignore. Others wowed Hip-Hop fans with their acute attention to detail in every bar they spit.
In honor of International Women’s Day, I want to highlight some of my favorite women in today’s Hip-Hop. From Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B and Mulatto, Chika and Rapsody, there was a little something for everyone’s tastes.
Take a look at my curated list below and of course, let me know your favorite in the comments below.
Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Thee Stallion is clever, commanding, funny, and filthy. But she’s also become a kind of women for supreme self-confidence, the Hot Girl out to make Hotness broader, more inclusive, a state you embrace for yourself instead of having conferred on you by someone else.
Rapsody
To me, Rapsody has earned acclaim for her personal, R&B-influenced brand of Hip-Hop. Her album Laila’s Wisdom solidified her place in the songwriting and music books. Her music celebrates the beauty, strength, and will of Black women.
City Girls
City Girls’ presence and ascent, as their lyrics suggest, are attributable to their resilience, pride, and just a little bit of finesse. From “Take Yo Man” to “Pussy Talk,” there’s no shortage of bravado, pleasures (both carnal and material), or scams in their songs, which brim with a buoyant nonchalance, as if begging for someone to challenge them. It’s this ownership over who they are without shame or pause that oozes from their music, carrying the proud, sex-positive hustler’s DNA of the Florida rap that preceded them.
Cardi B
Cardi B is bold with her personality, she is real and tells it like it is. The Bronx rapper with a force to be reckoned with, becoming one of the highest charting female rapper in the industry right now. Cardi has a lot to offer to the Hip-Hop music world and we’ve clearly seen that whether she’s talking about politics, her community or being an advocate.
Kash Doll
Detroit native Kash Doll has impacted the music industry with a commanding force, dropping street-earned truths with her throwback wordplay and powerful bars.
Melii
20-year-old Harlem-based singer, songwriter and rapper Melii first exploded into mainstream consciousness after her remix of Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” went viral. Featuring braggadocious lyrics and melodious riffs, the sleeper hit showcased Melii’s natural ability to tame even the most driving, aggressive beats.
SZA
A distinct force in contemporary R&B and Hip-Hop, SZA has set herself apart with a vulnerable and casually poetic songwriting style and a voice conveying a multitude of emotions with subtle twists and turns.
Tierra Whack
Tierra Whack is a Philadelphia native whose theatrical, undeniably unique take on contemporary rap and R&B has received widespread acclaim. In my opinion, she a true Hip-Hop surrealist in the vein of Missy Elliott and Outkast.
Saweetie
Flaunting nineties rhyme reverence, fashion-forward fire, and endless charisma, Saweetie can go bar-for-bar with the best of them. Drawing on a passion for poetry and numerous years of rapping in the car, she turned her love for words into vivid verses.
Doja Cat
Cooking up vibrantly, candy-coated beats, dropping bars doubled-up on double entendre, and singing with claws out, the Los Angeles rapper unlocks a sweetly sexy world soundtracked by wild Hip-Hop, twisted pop, and smoked-out R&B. Asserting a feline-esque dominance and a style that can only be described as every color in a box of crayons, Doja Cat’s unapologetic charisma, charm, and confidence immediately take center stage.
Lizzo
Combining her roots in Houston rap, gospel soul, and classical flute as confidently as she addresses issues of race, sexuality, and body positivity, singer/rapper Lizzo’s music abounds with humor and charisma.
Noname
The poetic, down-to-earth style of Noname exhibits inspirations including Lauryn Hill and André 3000, but the rapper has paved a lane for herself with the observant and unflappable verses that shade the full-lengths.
Chika
Chika’s refreshing brand of transparency in addition to her impressive flow has made the Alabama-bred rapper one of the year’s most essential voices. She fuses R&B and Hip-Hop dealing with themes such as social injustice and body positivity in a unique vocal style that can be simultaneously rapid-fire and fatigued in tone.
Mulatto
Mulatto’s unadulterated confidence and Southern flavor have made her a standout in the 2020s golden era of women rappers. She’s known for having some of the naughtiest lyrics among her peers.
Rico Nasty
Even with women enjoying a new wave of recognition in Rap, Rico Nasty still finds a way to crash against what’s current. The DMV rapper crafts her flow effortlessly.