Let’s begin with the pitiful fact that it was almost impossible to write a 20 Greatest Female MC’s” list (even when I included Kanye) because I found trying to come up with 20 truly great female rappers a truly daunting task.. Yeah I could have Googled some Bahamadia songs and checked to see if Trina ever had a platinum album but the list is GREAT female rappers and to be GREAT (IMO) You have to meet 3 requirements: 1)You have to have sold albums/had popular memorable songs 2)You have to be prolific (no one hit wonders) and #3 impact the culture in some way if not pop culture in general at least hip hop culture. This is not a list of the best lyricist or who has the best flow..this is a list of history's 10 greatest female rappers.
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| Hey Iggy Azalea Banks and Nicki Minaj..Lil Kim called and she wants her EVERTHING back |
#10 EVE
Enduring music: Gotta Man, Love Is Blind, Let Me Blow Your Mind
Cultural Impact: Another female rapper turned sitcom star turned fashionista Latifah did it first but Eve..well eve did it second.
Album Sales: 4
million
Why she is #10:
EVE is a pretty diverse and big star. How can she be only
#10? Well that’s part of the problem. There are people who think of EVE as only
that girl from that sitcom or those Barber Shop Movies. Or that fashion chic.
Eve used to be known as the first Lady of Ruff Riders a strong unique feminist
voice in a little blonde natural and a nose ring at a time when Foxy and Lil
Kim were stripping in their vids. But as Eve got more popular her hair got
longer and straighter, her image more runway ready, her subject matter got more
in line with what everyone else was doing and her original unique hip hop vibe
seemed watered down. While it was a boon for her and her career as her more
accessible sexed up image made her a more mainstream marketable entity what she
gained hip hop lost. Eve is hot but she could have changed the game. Instead
the game kind of changed her.
#9 LEFT EYE
Enduring Songs:
Waterfalls, Creep, No Scrubs, Ladies Night, Ain’t too Proud To Beg, What About
your Friends
Cultural Impact:
Created the biggest selling girl group of all time. Rapped on 2 of the biggest
selling hip hop/ R&B albums of all time.
Albums sold: 27 Million world wide
Why she is #9:
TLC is
arguably the greatest girl group of all time. Definitely the greatest selling. Without Left Eye there would be no TLC. Left
Eye was the creative energy, the writer, the feminist voice, the crazy in the
crazy sexy cool formula. Applying art in its truest form, Left Eye used the
emotional raw materials available after burning her boyfriend’s mansion down
and being released from a half-way house to pen her greatest 16 bars for the Grammy
winning #1 song Waterfalls by observing
a rainbow on the ride home from rehab. That’s hip hop. Personally I’m a bigger
fan of Left Eye than I am of some other chics higher up on this list but
despite Left Eye’s legendary status and cultural contributions (not to mention
her pyro-antics) Left Eye’s decreased presence on TLC’s later efforts and her
own failed solo effort only afforded southern rap pixie a #9 entry.#8 NICKI MINAJ
Enduring music: None (sorry) um, . . . Superbass, I guess. Moment For Life? Starships? Is this music enduring?
Cultural Impact: The
black Barbie manic fembot is her shtick. She can hang with the guys. Her
subject matter can be as shallow and materialistic as the guys.
Albums sold: 3.5
million
Why she is #8:
What makes Nicki Minaj great is what also
makes Nikki Minaj frustrating. For the last
few years she has pretty much stood alone as the lone female rap superstar.
To stand basically alone in a male dominated landscape says something. It says
she has the balls and drive to stand among Drake, Kanye and Wayne. It also says
that being number one is not so difficult when there are no other numbers on
the charts. Without any significant female rap competition Nicki Minaj stands
alone as number one. That indeed says something.
#7 FOXY BROWN
Enduring Songs: I’ll Be, Ill Nah Nah, Hot Spot, Who Shot Ya
(remix)
Cultural Impact: Foxy could spit. Held her own with Nas and
Jay Z. Successfully Stole Lil Kim's swag.
Albums Sold: 4.5
Million
Why she is #7:
The Brown Bomber burst on the scene as a guest on an LL Cool J remix (I Shot Ya) before becoming a Jay Z protégé and releasing The Ill Nah Nah in 1996 to critical and commercial acclaim. Originally hailed for her lyrical agility rhyme style and take no prisoners content Foxy (like Eve and Lil Kim) quickly morphed into a hyper sexed black Barbie. Her second album was panned by critics and her offstage antics like attacking salon workers and suing family members began to outshine her once promising career. Still few MC’s on this list can mess with 16 bars from Foxy Brown
The Brown Bomber burst on the scene as a guest on an LL Cool J remix (I Shot Ya) before becoming a Jay Z protégé and releasing The Ill Nah Nah in 1996 to critical and commercial acclaim. Originally hailed for her lyrical agility rhyme style and take no prisoners content Foxy (like Eve and Lil Kim) quickly morphed into a hyper sexed black Barbie. Her second album was panned by critics and her offstage antics like attacking salon workers and suing family members began to outshine her once promising career. Still few MC’s on this list can mess with 16 bars from Foxy Brown
#6 LIL KIM
Enduring Songs: No Time, Crush On You, The Jump Off
Album Sales: Over 7 Million
Why she is #6:
The first groupie gone good. Kim proved the girls could be as materialistic and oversexed as the guys. Arriving in 1995 as Biggie’s hip hop gun moll and the first lady of Junior Mafia Kim carved a niche for herself as the raunchy, “I don’t give a shit”, “girls like to fuck too”, ride or die bitch. And it worked. At first, she kind of rhymed like BIG and had presence and energy and it worked. But then Like Foxy before her the further she got away from her Hip Hop Svengali (the Notorious B died) the more her lyrics, album sales, and popularity suffered. After intense rivalries and falling’s out with Junior Mafia, Foxy Brown, Nikki Minaj and even The Notorious BIG’s mamma Voletta Wallace Kim in the 21st century is now known as a Hip Hop plastic surgery punchline. Or Ad lib, as it were.
The first groupie gone good. Kim proved the girls could be as materialistic and oversexed as the guys. Arriving in 1995 as Biggie’s hip hop gun moll and the first lady of Junior Mafia Kim carved a niche for herself as the raunchy, “I don’t give a shit”, “girls like to fuck too”, ride or die bitch. And it worked. At first, she kind of rhymed like BIG and had presence and energy and it worked. But then Like Foxy before her the further she got away from her Hip Hop Svengali (the Notorious B died) the more her lyrics, album sales, and popularity suffered. After intense rivalries and falling’s out with Junior Mafia, Foxy Brown, Nikki Minaj and even The Notorious BIG’s mamma Voletta Wallace Kim in the 21st century is now known as a Hip Hop plastic surgery punchline. Or Ad lib, as it were.
#5 QUEEN LATIFAH
Enduring Songs: Ladies First, Just Another Day, UNITY, Come
Into My House, Latifah’s Had It Up To Here
Cultural impact: First afro-centric woman of rap, first
female MC to crossover into television/movies.
Albums Sold: 3 million
Why She is #5:
Give it to ‘em, Queen! Dana Queen Latifah Owens debuted at a really creative and afro-centric era in hip hop. With groups like Public Enemy, X-Clan and Poor Righteous Teachers speaking pride and self-knowledge, Latifah became the female face of the late eighties/early nineties black power hip hop movement. Following Will Smith’s celebrity career roadmap to a T, Latifah went from rapper to sitcom star to Oscar nominated Hollywood darling. Like Eve, there are some people who probably watch The Queen Latifah Show and have no idea she used to be known as a rapper.
Give it to ‘em, Queen! Dana Queen Latifah Owens debuted at a really creative and afro-centric era in hip hop. With groups like Public Enemy, X-Clan and Poor Righteous Teachers speaking pride and self-knowledge, Latifah became the female face of the late eighties/early nineties black power hip hop movement. Following Will Smith’s celebrity career roadmap to a T, Latifah went from rapper to sitcom star to Oscar nominated Hollywood darling. Like Eve, there are some people who probably watch The Queen Latifah Show and have no idea she used to be known as a rapper.
#4 MC LYTE
Enduring Songs: Lyte as A Rock, Cha Cha Cha,Paper Thin, Poor
Georgie, Ruffneck
Cultural impact:
Legitimized female mc’s. Brooklyn’s first chic street reporter. Undefeated diss
war queen.
Albums Sold 3
million
Why she is #4:
Is MC Lyte the greatest female rap storyteller of all time? Probably. This Brooklyn native was one of the first female rappers who gained real respect for her flow and lyric writing ability from her male contemporaries. As a male rap fan it was ok to like an MC Lyte song because she could flow and was cool with KRS 1. While Salt N Pepa and Roxanne Shante were seen at first as gimmicks, Lyte came in the game earning and keeping respect. With the perfect combination of a commanding distinctive voice and varied lyrical content MC Lyte was the first lady street reporter, straight from Brooklyn with tales of misguided dope boy love, HIV suicide woes and drug addiction. Lyte’s alpha chic dominant style courted many rap rivalries and battles and Lyte became known as the queen of diss wars shutting down contenders and pretenders alike such as Antoinette and Roxanna Shante.
Is MC Lyte the greatest female rap storyteller of all time? Probably. This Brooklyn native was one of the first female rappers who gained real respect for her flow and lyric writing ability from her male contemporaries. As a male rap fan it was ok to like an MC Lyte song because she could flow and was cool with KRS 1. While Salt N Pepa and Roxanne Shante were seen at first as gimmicks, Lyte came in the game earning and keeping respect. With the perfect combination of a commanding distinctive voice and varied lyrical content MC Lyte was the first lady street reporter, straight from Brooklyn with tales of misguided dope boy love, HIV suicide woes and drug addiction. Lyte’s alpha chic dominant style courted many rap rivalries and battles and Lyte became known as the queen of diss wars shutting down contenders and pretenders alike such as Antoinette and Roxanna Shante.
#3 Lauryn Hill
Enduring Songs:
Killing Me Softly, That Thing, Ready Or Not, Ex-Factor, Everything is
Everything
Cultural Impact:
Only female singer/rapper to win 9 grammys for one album of work.
Albums Sold: 27
Million
Why she is #3:
Lauryn Hill the lyrical goddess #3? The hell you say! LBoogie may be one of the best MC’s on the list. She won 9 Grammys for her debut solo album alone but Lauryn is more known as a singer/songwriter than an MC. The most versatile and afro-centric MC on the list she has worn many hats in her years as a hip hop artist. As a member of rap super group the Fugees, she helped make their sophomore Album The Score into a cultural touchstone. From acting (Sister Act), to producing (Aretha Franklin), to singing ballads (Ex Factor), to dissing her own group members (Lost One) this Jersey goddess probably had the most potential of any artist on this list. However with only one solo studio album to her credit and her biggest hits being songs she mostly sung on as opposed to rapping, Lauryn’s career smacks of unrealized potential as opposed to hip hop dominance. Still, few male or female MC’s will give you 16 bars hotter than LBoogie.
Lauryn Hill the lyrical goddess #3? The hell you say! LBoogie may be one of the best MC’s on the list. She won 9 Grammys for her debut solo album alone but Lauryn is more known as a singer/songwriter than an MC. The most versatile and afro-centric MC on the list she has worn many hats in her years as a hip hop artist. As a member of rap super group the Fugees, she helped make their sophomore Album The Score into a cultural touchstone. From acting (Sister Act), to producing (Aretha Franklin), to singing ballads (Ex Factor), to dissing her own group members (Lost One) this Jersey goddess probably had the most potential of any artist on this list. However with only one solo studio album to her credit and her biggest hits being songs she mostly sung on as opposed to rapping, Lauryn’s career smacks of unrealized potential as opposed to hip hop dominance. Still, few male or female MC’s will give you 16 bars hotter than LBoogie.
#2 Missy Elliot
Enduring Songs: The Rain, Getcha Freak On, Work It, Gossip
Folks, Lose Control
Cultural impact: Most prominent prolific female writer/producer
in hip hop. As a writer/producer/performer has sold more albums than any female
MC in history.
Albums Sold as a solo artist: Missy Elliot has sold 8
million records as an artist and over 50 million as a writer/producer for
others.
Why she is #2:
Missy Elliot was
almost #1. She is a strange case. Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot started out as a
singer in a Jodeci inspired R&B group called Sister. From there she started
writing hits for various R&B artists like Destiny’s Child, Aaliyah, and
702. When she finally dropped her own debut album Supa Dupa Fly in 1997 the buzz surrounding her was massive and she
did not disappoint. Missy came out during a time when Hip Hop was being
dominated by the hyper sexual Foxy Brown and Little Kim so rather than try and
compete Missy forged her own path. Instead of tight ass clothes and cleavage
she wore a hefty sack in her first video “The Rain”. With her signature “yiggie
yow” and playful boastful intergalactic lyrical content this Virginia Native
reinvented what a female rapper was supposed to be while honoring what had come
before. When you add all the records she has sold as a writer/producer she has
sold close to 50 Million units. Impressive, inspiring, highly original Missy
Elliot offered something Hip Hop was desperately in need of during the materialistic
late 90’s: Fun.
#1 SALT N PEPA
Enduring songs:
Push It, Whatta Man, Shoop, Let’s Talk About Sex, None Of Your Business,
Expression, Do You Really Want Me? I’ll Take Your Man, Tramp, Shake Your Thing,
My Mic Sounds Nice
Albums Sold: 11
Million
Cultural Impact:
First female MC’s ever nominated for a Grammy. First and only female rap group
to ever win a Grammy award. Only female rappers to date to have an album sell
more than 6 million copies. Best selling female rap act of all time.
Why they are #1:
Salt N Pepa and DJ Spinderella are the Queens of Rap. Every rapper on this list owes their careers to SNP. During a time when there were almost no women in the game SnP not only managed to dominate the charts and inspire their contemporaries like MC Lyte and Latifah they did it on their own terms. While Lyte and Shante got down and dirty with the guys on the guys’ terms, Salt N Pepa forged their own path forcing the guys and the music industry to meet them on their terms. Like Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, and YoYo who had powerful male rappers guiding/writing for them (Biggie, Jay-Z and Ice Cube respectively) The Queens from Queens started off under the watchful gaze of a male Svengali (Herbie Luv Bug Azor) who wrote and produced their music. However, unlike Foxy, Kim, and YOYO, when SnP broke away from said Svengali and started writing and producing more of their own songs, their careers expanded and they became more popular and relevant. They reinvented themselves album by album first as sassy round the way girls (Hot Cool and Vicious, A Salt With A Deadly Pepa) then as black pride socially conscious hippie chicks (Black's Magic) then as sexy grown women divas (Very Necessary). Salt N Pepa have managed in their careers the very difficult balancing act of being feminist without coming across as man hating. They managed to make socially conscious (Let’s Talk About Sex), Dance floor friendly (Push It, Do You Really Want Me), sexy (Shoop, None of Your Business), and Feminist ( She Thang, Expression, Independent) music all the while staying true to who they are and maintaining their original fanbase with each subsequent album adding more. While other women on this list may be stronger MC’s (MC Lyte) or crossed over into producing for other artists and singing (Missy Elliot, Lauryn Hill) Salt N Pepa and DJ Spinderella have successfully and consistently excelled at one thing and one thing only: being the greatest, most enduring, and important female rappers of all time.
Salt N Pepa and DJ Spinderella are the Queens of Rap. Every rapper on this list owes their careers to SNP. During a time when there were almost no women in the game SnP not only managed to dominate the charts and inspire their contemporaries like MC Lyte and Latifah they did it on their own terms. While Lyte and Shante got down and dirty with the guys on the guys’ terms, Salt N Pepa forged their own path forcing the guys and the music industry to meet them on their terms. Like Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, and YoYo who had powerful male rappers guiding/writing for them (Biggie, Jay-Z and Ice Cube respectively) The Queens from Queens started off under the watchful gaze of a male Svengali (Herbie Luv Bug Azor) who wrote and produced their music. However, unlike Foxy, Kim, and YOYO, when SnP broke away from said Svengali and started writing and producing more of their own songs, their careers expanded and they became more popular and relevant. They reinvented themselves album by album first as sassy round the way girls (Hot Cool and Vicious, A Salt With A Deadly Pepa) then as black pride socially conscious hippie chicks (Black's Magic) then as sexy grown women divas (Very Necessary). Salt N Pepa have managed in their careers the very difficult balancing act of being feminist without coming across as man hating. They managed to make socially conscious (Let’s Talk About Sex), Dance floor friendly (Push It, Do You Really Want Me), sexy (Shoop, None of Your Business), and Feminist ( She Thang, Expression, Independent) music all the while staying true to who they are and maintaining their original fanbase with each subsequent album adding more. While other women on this list may be stronger MC’s (MC Lyte) or crossed over into producing for other artists and singing (Missy Elliot, Lauryn Hill) Salt N Pepa and DJ Spinderella have successfully and consistently excelled at one thing and one thing only: being the greatest, most enduring, and important female rappers of all time.
Honorable mention?
If this list went beyond ten you might see Roxanne Shante, The Brat and Yo Yo on the list. But what did the Brat bring to the table that MC Lyte did not? Did Yo Yo ever have a gold record? Wasn’t Roxanne Shante for all intended purposes a one hit wonder gimmick? Despite these sad truths certain female rap acts should be mentioned with the greats and that includes Rah Digga, Lady Of Rage, Sweat Tea, JJ Fad Mia X, 3.5.7 Nikki D and Finesse and Sequence.
If this list went beyond ten you might see Roxanne Shante, The Brat and Yo Yo on the list. But what did the Brat bring to the table that MC Lyte did not? Did Yo Yo ever have a gold record? Wasn’t Roxanne Shante for all intended purposes a one hit wonder gimmick? Despite these sad truths certain female rap acts should be mentioned with the greats and that includes Rah Digga, Lady Of Rage, Sweat Tea, JJ Fad Mia X, 3.5.7 Nikki D and Finesse and Sequence.
