WHY 2023 WAS WOMEN’S VICTORY LAP OF HIP HOP DOMINANCE
As the year ends we get our last social media trend of wrap up lists.
Every publication that covers entertainment will go over everything from the best movies, albums, brands, moments, and even fashion releases. Recently I came across a headline that made me question the implied narrative of the article.
“Top releases from female rappers.”
I recalled many off the top of my head.
Latto’s “Put It On the Floor” remix with Cardi B was a highlight. Doja Cat alone has three hits of her album “Scarlet”. Sexy Redd broke through to almost mainstream appeal with “Pound Town” and “Skeyee” enabling her a slot onto Drake’s Tour/album. The other songs that standout in my head are “Tomorrow 2” & “F.N.F” with Glorilla but then I remembered those came out in 2022. Then it hit me.
Aren’t a majority of top releases in Hip Hop from women? Quiet as kept, It’s been that way for a couple years now. While their male counterparts have been sidetracked with a lack of authenticity and creativity, women have emerged as the frontrunners of the genre.
Ice Spice and Sexy Redd have had successful years that rival their male equivalents. As much disdain that some hip hop purists have for both artists, their music is fun and each one has the ability to capture their personalties on catchy tracks. Hip Hop has always gravitated towards the ethos of characters like Playboi Carti, or even Lil Yachty. The playfulness and swagger that exists on much of their catalogue gets to exist while its perceived as a guilty pleasure with women.
Authenticity is expected from hip hop artists, which is what fans are drawn to in street drill records. If you want similar content from your female rappers, who’s harder than Latto? Her performance on Mellow Buckz “Boom pt.2” was enough to stand out on any playlist of similar feel.
Some may prefer to hear a drill record from Lil Durk, Fivio, and G Herbo. Each one hasn’t had a hit like “Don’t Play With It” by Lola Brooke in quite some time (even the remix with Latto & Yung Miami is great).
Even artists like Doja Cat have showcased eclectic prowess with her visuals and three singles off her Scarlet album (Paint the Town Red, Demons, Attention). While many get distracted by the optics, the lyrics in each song address everything and everyone. It felt good to hear Dionne Warwick’s voice so many times this past summer, as the Paint The Town Red song charted at #1 on Billboard, broke Spotify Records, as well as it being a light diss track to overwhelming entitled fans and extremists.
The only songs with similar chart success would be Gunna’s “Fukyoumean” and Jack Harlow’s “Lovin’ on Me”. The talk about Doja dropping a potential rap album of the year is often dismissed, often trailing Drake & 21 Savage collab album, which shows how unserious fans are in discussing female rap in a real way.
Many feel as if female rap is reserved for those who live a similar lifestyle, making many male fans uneasy about playing tracks from the opposite sex. With this being an easy scapegoatted reason for disapproval, the top male artists have all been featured on female mcee’s tracks with performances that should intrigue their fanbases to merge. J.Cole’s appearance on Bia’s “London” not only was a standout feature, but also an introduction for many to Bia, who for years had been releasing tracks with top male artists such as G.Herbo, Russ, and Lil Durk. If male artists are embracing the oncoming wave of female artists, why can’t their fanbases?
With 2023 ending and we recap the year, lets be clear on who dominated. Women have ran rap the entire year, a battle that has been contentious since 2022. With the new year arriving hopefully we’ll receive more collaborations, acknowledgment, and less aprehension to give the female mcee’s a fair listen. The best records have come from them for some time now and if you haven’t been paying attention then you’re just as disillusioned as old hip hop fans that reject whats new and present.
