FEATURE:
The Gold Standard
IN THIS PHOTO: Megan Thee Stallion
Brilliant Queens of Rap and a Genre Still Struggling with Misogyny and Inequality
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LIKE so many people…
IN THIS PHOTO: Doechii
of my generation, I grew up listening to and inspired by the music of Rap’s queens. Some real icons and queens came through in the 1990s. As we recently celebrated International Women’s Day (8th March), it made me think of genres where women are still overlooked or discriminated against. Even if women are ruling Pop and other genres, Rock, Alternative and others still struggle with gender imbalance and misogyny. One of the worst offenders is Rap. It is a genre still seen as a man’s place. Still very much struggling when it comes to supporting and encouraging women. Still great toxicity and sexism. Even if the U.S. is seeing new queens like Doechii rule and strike forward, here in the U.K. there is a much less balanced Rap scene. Very male-dominated. A genre of music not as active and notable compared to Rap coming out of the U.S. Women in Rap are breaking barriers and setting records. It was notable that Doechii became only the third woman in GRAMMY history to win the Best Rap Album ever. Here is some more information:
“Don't mind us crying after watching Doechii's acceptance speech at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
The Tampa born rapper became only the third ever woman to win Best Rap Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday for her standout mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal. The moment was especially meaningful considering the last woman to win in that category, Cardi B, was present to award Doechii with the honor. Before Cardi B and Doechii, Lauryn Hill was the first ever woman to take home the award for Best Rap Album for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1999. Doechii accepted her award, one of the first of the evening, in a custom Thom Browne number, a designer that has been supportive of her since her rise as an emcee to watch in recent years.
"I don't wanna make this long but this category was introduced in 1989 and only two women have won— Lauryn Hill — wait, three women have won! Lauryn Hill, Cardi B, and Doechii!" the rapper began her speech. "I put my heart and my soul into this mixtape—I went through so much and I dedicated myself to sobriety and God told me I would be rewarded and he would show me just how good it can get."
Doechii continued her speech with an inspiring message to her fans and any young women watching tonight's ceremony.
“I know there’s some Black girl—so many Black women—watching me right now. And I wanna tell you, you can do it," she said through tears. "Anything is possible. Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you”.
It is important to highlight women across Rap and Hip-Hop. Think about the legends and icons of the past who paved the way for the queens of today. I don’t think enough is said about women of Rap. Last year, Spotify presented The Gold Standard: An art exhibit celebrating Hip-Hop’s women-led renaissance:
“Women have been integral to hip-hop from the beginning, contributing to its growth despite encountering barriers and significant challenges. As early icons like MC Lyte, Salt-N-Pepa, and Queen Latifah used the their bold lyrical styles to advocate for women’s rights, they paved the way for Lil’ Kim, Missy Elliott, and Ms. Lauryn Hill to command the spotlight in the ’90s and ‘00s through their diverse expressions of confidence, femininity, and allure.
Today we are in a golden era of women in hip-hop, one in which MCs like Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Doja Cat have simultaneously enjoyed unprecedented success. To celebrate this renaissance, Spotify hosted The Gold Standard, a special art exhibit in NYC spotlighting the new generation of women in hip-hop, celebrating their influence on music and culture from 2018 to today.
Featuring the work of fine artist Manon Biernacki, The Gold Standard features Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, City Girls, Saweetie, Latto, Sexyy Red, Ice Spice, GloRilla, and Flo Milli as subjects in a series of Spotify-commissioned portraits.
Following a Renaissance theme, each piece in the series nods to each woman’s artistic mastery and honors their contributions in shaping the genre.
“A playlist like Feelin’ Myself continues to prove that there is strong demand for women in hip-hop and the music they make. The listeners are often early adopters, and they tend to go hard for their faves,” said Briana Younger, Spotify Editorial Lead, Hip-Hop. “Over the years, we’ve seen more women than ever breaking out and having these big cultural moments that energize people. The playlist is best for being a snapshot of the most recent stuff, but with the exhibit, we wanted to showcase the longevity of this era. All of the women we included and even others that we didn’t—they aren’t just one-hit wonders or has-beens. They’ve consistently been a part of the conversation, evolving the way artists can function and have success in this landscape, and it’s important to celebrate that”.
Even if, in the U.S for sure, there is a new wave of incredible women in Rap, there is still an issue with lyrical themes from male artists. Even to this day, there is still objectification and misogyny. This not only encourages other male Rap artists to follow suit. It sends out an incredible toxic and troubling message of how men in the genre view women. A decades-old issue that has not really died down at all. In 2024, NME published a feature looking at a resurfaced clip from 2022, where AJ Tracey discussed objectification of women in Hip-Hop and Rap:
“Recently, a clip recirculated online of the West Londoner talking at the prestigious Oxford Union in October 2022. A student asked Tracey if the objectification of women in rap and drill was integral to the genre’s culture and how to change it.
The ‘Ladbroke Grove’ star began by thanking her for her question, adding that it is “a serious one”.
“I do not think the culture and the objectification of women are one and the same,” he said. “I think it’s a decision young men make – to rap about certain topics. Sometimes they feel that they are rapping about their lived experiences but, in general, they’re actually hurting a large group of people by the comments they make.
He explained further: “And, I’m sure a lot of them aren’t aware because they’re young and naïve. I’m sure I’ve said things in the past that are offensive to certain groups but as you learn and grow – as a human and as an artist – you learn to not say these things. Some of the environments you grow up in are very toxic and we don’t learn these lessons as a kid, and we have to learn them as an adult and, by the time you get to an adult – if you have the spotlight on you – these mistakes that you’re making are amplified.”
He added: “So, to answer your question: it’s, again, something that we have to tackle. I don’t think a lot of the youth that are making a lot of the comments that you are alluding to: they’re not aware of the severity of what they’re saying and how hurtful it is to other people. So, it’s something that we need to teach, for sure.
“As I say, any good artist is growing and evolving – any human, to be honest. We’re all changing and we need to look out for each other and make sure that we’re pulling people up when we can”.
Not only is there misogyny throughout Hip-Hop. There is this continuation of misogynoir (hatred against Black women). The Rap beef continuing between Kendrick Lamar and Drake not only reveals a nastiness and some rather obnoxious accusations – Lamar accusing Drake of being a paedophile -; women are used as pawns and collateral damage. The genre has a real misogyny issue. I am going to move on in a minute. For Black women, misogyny is nothing new. This article highlights that in the wake of the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking case from last year. Amy DuBois Barnett wrote about Andre Harrell, the founder of Uptown Records and the kingmaker who gave Diddy his first break, and words of advice he gave to her. If Hip-Hop and Rap used to be a battleground for men to sort out their feuds and beefs, it was also about how they were going to (mis)treat women – who they viewed as property and assets. Have things really improved at all?
“Andre’s wise words stuck with me as I puzzled how to command respect within a culture that valued physical attractiveness and style over my master’s degree and my position running a key source of relevant journalism for a critical demographic. I understood what Andre meant, that much of the male bravado in hip-hop masked anger, frustration and corresponding deep insecurity that stemmed from poverty, trauma and emotional voids. And that the misogyny within hip-hop culture ran as deep among the mostly male execs as it did the music itself.
After its explosive growth from a regional subculture to a multimillion-dollar international industry, hip-hop was at a zenith. Hip-hop and mainstream culture were indistinguishable; models were walking high fashion runways in dookie chains and durags, and hip-hop music executives and artists ran a key part of New York’s social scene. I’d watched hip-hop’s decisive takeover in the 1980s from the front stoop of my family home in Harlem. Kurtis Blow, Run DMC, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah and Will Smith were releasing party songs that still get people to the dance floor. Though the music began to change in the late ’80s, the predominant vibe into the early ’90s was still funky, fresh fun.
But the increasing violence of inner cities altered by drug use and poverty spawned the rise of gangsta rap, which would end up dominating the genre by the mid-’90s. At first, music labels wouldn’t even sign music with misogynistic overtones. But as gangsta rap’s glorified depictions of violence gained acceptance within lyrics and urban iconography, so did sexually explicit themes that, ultimately, expanded into widespread misogyny. Women were derided with vulgar nicknames and viewed as whores deserving of violence.
Sociologist Ronald Weitzer and criminologist Charis E. Kubrin, both of George Washington University at the time, wrote a 2009 journal article titled “Misogyny in Rap Music” that described five main misogynistic themes: derogatory naming and shaming of women, sexual objectification of women, distrust of women, legitimating violence against women and celebration of prostitution and pimping.
When music labels saw the traction that violent and misogynistic music was getting, they shifted their approach to distributing gangsta rap records (while still not signing the artists). When music chronicling murderous street life and sexist violence began to get radio play, the labels gave in and started signing gangsta rap artists. Interscope’s groundbreaking partnership with Dr. Dre, Suge Knight and Death Row Records opened the floodgates and led to the proliferation of “controversial” hip-hop.
The culture surrounding the music shifted too, emboldening artists and executives to unabashedly play out the misogynistic musical themes in real life; it became aspirational for men to be violent toward women. Because, at its peak, hip-hop culture was synonymous with mainstream culture, the impact of this was felt not just in music but also in fashion, sports, film and all entertainment forms. It became acceptable for a platinum rapper to grab my ass in a club, for a well-known label executive to lock the doors of a limo and refuse to let me out until I kissed him, for my Motorola pager to be filled with lewd propositions from entertainment and sports power brokers, or for men to casually call me a “bitch” or “ho” when turned down. I heeded Andre’s advice while watching women without benefit of his sagacity make one too many missteps with the wrong baller and get treated much, much worse”.
If a surge in brilliant and empowering female talent in the U.S. existed in a scene that is still clearly misogynistic, there seems to be less attention paid to female rappers in the U.K. It is clear that male Rap artists in the U.S. do not protect or support women. Still very much a case of women fighting to be heard without much allyship from men. In the U.K., there does seem to be a real lack of female Rap and Hip-Hop artists. Do they look at the scene here and feel discouraged?! I am sure there are so many incredible women in Rap who want to come through but are looking at the genre in the U.K. and feel disheartened. This article from The Times reacted to Little Simz being the only woman nominated in the Best Hip-Hop/Grime/Rap act category at this year’s BRITs. She has won before but lost out this year to Stormzy. One woman in a five-person category. Very telling about the lack of female representation across these genres at the BRITs:
“We have to fight harder to be seen.” “As a woman you have to work much harder.” “Men can be mediocre and still thrive. Women have to be extra good, extra different, extra interesting.” These are the sentiments of three successful British rappers: Cristale, Ms Banks and Enny.
It’s no surprise — just look at the nominations for the major music awards in the UK. In the four years since the hip-hop/grime/rap category was introduced at the Brits, only one woman has been nominated: Little Simz (in 2022, 2024 and this year). She is also the only woman to have won the award for best hip-hop act at the Mobos in the past ten years, a prize she took home in 2023 and 2024. No British female rapper made it on to the Top 40 albums or singles chart in 2024.
This gender disparity is all the more striking because in the US it’s the opposite story. Doechii, a ferociously talented 26-year-old from Florida, won the Grammy for best rap album in February. More and more female rappers are making the Top Ten there — from Nicki Minaj and Cardi B to Megan Thee Stallion, Ice Spice and Doja Cat — to the extent that in 2023 the New York Times announced: “The future of rap is female.” That said, Doechii was still the only woman on the list of nominees for that Grammy category this year and she, Cardi B and Lauryn Hill are the only women to have won it.
“There’s a very masculine energy within rap. Sometimes women are made to feel like it’s not their place,” says Ms Banks, a 30-year-old rapper from London with 500,000 monthly Spotify listeners. She and Cristale both talk about receiving comments on social media telling them to “get back to the kitchen” and that women shouldn’t rap.
The history of the genre bears this out. “In the Nineties and 2000s, there was a one in, one out mentality. They could only ever support one woman at a time,” explains Arusa Qureshi, the Scottish-based author of Flip the Script: How Women Came to Rule Hip Hop. “In the UK we still haven’t got past that.”
In David Kane’s book on UK rap, What Do You Call It?, he interviews the British rapper Shystie, who tells him that in the early 2000s the radio wouldn’t play both her and Estelle, another female rapper, so they went for Estelle. “That kind of deterred me from making more music,” she recalls.
Despite the hurdles, British women have been making their mark on rap since it came over from the US, starting with Cookie Crew, the duo who formed in south London in 1983. “I remember seeing Ms Dynamite on the Mobos on TV and being obsessed with her,” says Tiffany Calver, 30, a BBC 1Xtra host whose show spotlights emerging hip-hop artists. She points to Estelle, Lisa Maffia, Lioness, Lady Leshurr and Shystie as other favourites from her childhood. “But the fact of the matter is I can list you all of these names quite quickly, whereas if you were to ask me about the male counterparts I’ve grown up listening to we’d be here for hours.”
In 2022 Little Simz burst into the mainstream consciousness with four Brit nominations, a win for best new artist, four Mobo nominations and a best album win for Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, as well as taking home the Mercury prize and an Ivor Novello for her song I Love You, I Hate You. “We were so happy because it was a ‘finally’ moment, screaming from the rooftops: finally she’s being seen,” Calver says. But, she adds, it was interesting to see her win best new artist. “I’d known Little Simz as an artist since ten years before that — it definitely was not an overnight thing.” In fact she released her first mixtape, Stratosphere, in 2010, aged 16.
Her independence and refusal to compromise have inspired other artists, such as Enny, 30, from London, who has two million monthly Spotify listeners. Marketing and image is a big part of that. “Women are starting to expand outside of the stereotypical idea of what a female rapper should be,” Enny says. For her this stereotype is “oversexualised — I’m not going to beat around the bush”. Ms Banks releases her music independently and promotes it herself.
Little Simz also became known to the wider public through her acting work, most prominently playing Shelley in Top Boy and herself in the Spider-Man film Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Cristale, 23, the only woman nominated in the hip-hop category at this year’s Mobos, also appeared in Top Boy as well as Channel 4’s Queenie, expanding her audience. “I definitely think acting has had a massive part to play in my development because it showed people that I’m a multi-genre artist.” She has more than a million followers on TikTok, not just thanks to her music but also her entertaining “get ready with me videos”.
Women still need more exposure. “The guys get to have a lot of fun,” Enny says. “They get to do football stuff and all these charity things. I don’t think there’s a space that pushes that same energy for women.” They also, crucially, are under-represented on the live scene, an issue that’s compounded by the closure of many grassroots music venues: 125 in 2023 and two still closing every month.
In 2021 researchers from Utrecht University and Universitat Pompeu found that streaming services were more likely to suggest male artists. Festivals are still male-dominated: 63 per cent of the acts in UK line-ups last year were either all-male or male-led. This month Wireless, a rap and hip-hop festival in London, announced that the Canadian rapper Drake would headline all three days. The top five most popular songs on UK radio last year were by men; female artists made up just 26.8 per cent of plays.
A report from the women and equalities committee last year also found that women were under-represented in positions of authority in the music industry. Ms Banks recalls moments where “you’re not really always looked at as a colleague or someone that you can just collaborate and work with. It’s more what they can gain from you … sexual advances and stuff.”
There is an overriding feeling of optimism, however, in all my conversations with rappers, writers and tastemakers. Calver points to the proliferation of women hosting rap, grime and drill shows, such as Ellie Prohan on Kiss and Sian Anderson, a fellow 1Xtra presenter”.
I wanted to talk about the modern women in Hip-Hop and Rap that are successful in a genre that has long been focused on men. Where women have been and are still seen as property or inferior. Whilst the U.S. is spotlighting some amazing women coming through right now, there seems to be a real issue in the U.K. A comparative lack of visibility. If rappers like Stefflon Don and Nadia Rose were killing it a few years back, how many women other than Little Simz do people name when they think of women in British Rap, Grime and Hip-Hop? There does need to be a change. In terms of the U.K. scene and making it more accessible for and conscious of women. Ensuring their voices are heard and new talent is nurtured. That contemporary Hip-Hop and Rap queens are given the same opportunities of their male counterparts in terms of festival slots and playlists. The recent success of Doechii at the GRAMMYs should both shine a light on female talent in Rap but also raise questions. A lack of award representation. Misogyny and misogynoir together with a lack of support from their male peers. Apart from a few cosigns and collaborations, women still crop up in Rap lyrics as objects. Subjected to violence, degradation and toxic remarks. The queens of Hip and Rap, past and present, deserve…
HUGE respect.