20 female MCs who impacted hip-hop

When people think of when hip-hop started, they often mention the male rappers who helped launch the genre. However, some women pioneered hip-hop, beginning with MC Sha-Rock. Known as the “mother of the mic” and a member of Sugar Hill’s Funky 4 + 1, Sha-Rock, along with her group, became the first hip-hop collective to appear on national TV when they performed on Saturday Night Live. Sha-Rock’s style of rap helped influence quite a few other pioneers, including MC Lyte and Run-D.M.C. 

Queen Latifah is one of the earliest female figures in hip-hop. Not only did she advocate for other female artists, but she also used her music to be a voice for the voiceless and call out issues that were affecting the lives of women. Her Grammy Award-winning single “U.N.I.T.Y.” called out misogyny, abuse, and domestic violence against women. She also teamed up with fellow rapper Monie Love on the street feminist anthem “Ladies First.” Not only did Latifah show that female rappers can run with men, but she also was a dominant voice who advocated for change and respect. 

MC Lyte is undoubtedly one of hip-hop’s pioneers. In 1989, she released her debut album, Lyte as a Rock, making her mark in the history books as the first female solo MC to release a full-length album. A few years later, her top-40 hit “Ruffneck” earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Single, making her the first female rapper ever to be nominated for a Grammy. That same single also became the first gold-selling single by a female MC. It’s safe to say that Lyte started a lot of first accolades for other female rappers to follow in her footsteps and continue to break records. 

Missy Elliott has always been an otherworldly artist. Before embarking on her rap career, she was mostly known as a songwriter and producer for other artists like Jodeci, Aaliyah, Total, and Ginuwine. From her insane production style to her innate songwriting and creative eye for some of the industry’s best music videos, Elliott is like no other artist. She sticks to her vision and is always unapologetically herself, even if critics don’t always understand her style. Some of her top hit songs include “The Rain,” “All ‘N My Grill,” and “Gossip Folks.” With a career spanning over thirty years, Missy became the first female MC to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 

When Lil' Kim came onto the scene, she wanted to break the mold about how female rappers had a certain image to uphold. Kim was ready to showcase that not only can women spit rhymes as bars, but they can also be sensual and sexy while doing it. Whether Kim draped herself in the finest mink coats or lingerie, she would showcase her style her way. Today's Female rappers have Kim to thank for giving women freedom and liberation, as well as how iconic she fused high-fashion with hip-hop. 

Lauryn Hill started her career as one-third of the hip-hop group Fugees. She was often critiqued as being a bright light in the group. Once the Fugees disbanded, Hill embarked on a solo career and released her critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. She fused neo-soul with hip-hop and highlighted topics of independence, love, motherhood, and Black girl magic. She hasn’t released an album since then, but it still remains one of the most talked about albums in music history, and Hill stays booked for shows year-round. 

Da Brat got her big break when she won a rap contest sponsored by Yo! MTV Raps. As the winner, she got to meet hip-hop duo Kriss Kross, who introduced her to Jermaine Dupri. Building his So So Def label roster at the time, Dupri signed Brat to a contract, and in 1994, Brat released her debut album Funkdafied. The album was such a huge success that it sold one million copies, making Brat the first female solo rapper with a platinum-selling album. Brat is known for her hit songs like “Give It 2 You” and “What’chu Like.” 

Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes is part of one the best-selling groups of all time, TLC. While her bandmates Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozanda “Chilli” Thomas were the vocalists, Left Eye was the energetic and fiery rapper. In addition to her memorable raps on songs like “No Scrubs,” “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” and “Waterfalls,” Left-Eye was asked to collaborate alongside other artists like Donell Jones, Toni Braxton, and NSYNC. Left Eye was always unapologetically herself and spoke up for what she believed in, in her music and in life. 

When people hear, “My mic sound nice, check one / My mic sound nice, check two,” they know hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa is coming to the stage. Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper) make up the trio Salt-N-Pepa. The group’s debut album, Hot, Cool & Vicious, became the first album by a female rap act to reach platinum-selling status. Their discography was filled with women empowerment and sexuality, topics that were a bit taboo at the time. Some of their biggest hit records include “Push It,” “Shoop,” “Whatta Man,” and “Let’s Talk About Sex.” 

In 1999, Eve came onto the scene with her debut album, Let There Be Eve… Ruff Ryders’ First Lady. Releasing singles like “Gotta Man” and “Love Is Blind” helped the album reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200. She was the type of artist who had no problem rapping alongside her fellow Ruff Ryders crew members like DMX, but she always held her own. Throughout her career, she also dropped hit singles like “Who’s That Girl” and the Gwen Stefani-assisted track “Let Me Blow Ya Mind.” From her claw print tattoos to her gold (or sometimes red) pixie cuts, Eve was quite the standout. 

The Lady of Rage will always be known as the rapper who rocks "rough and tough with my afro puffs." She may have been born in Virginia, but she had a sound that was very West Coast coded. Part of that is because Dr. Dre brought her to appear on his album The Chronic and Snoop Dogg’s debut, Dogġystyle. She was the first female rapper signed to Death Row Records and helped usher in the West Coast sound. 

When it comes to rap beefs, diss tracks, and rappers not being afraid to call out their opps in a song, it goes back to Roxanne Shanté. She was just a teenager when she joined the hip-hop collective Juice Crew, including Marley Marl, Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, and Kool G Rap. Shanté became popular when she released the song "Roxanne's Revenge," a freestyle diss track in response to UTFO's "Roxanne Roxanne." Her track helped spark a slew of response records known as "The Roxanne Wars." 

In 1995, Master P signed Mia X as the first female rapper on No Limit Records. Known to some as the “Mother of Southern Rap,” she helped usher in the New Orleans bounce sound of hip-hop. In addition to appearing on tracks with artists like Master P, Silkk The Shocker, Foxy Brown, Mystikal, and Snoop Dogg, she also ghostwrote for other artists. In 2019, she took on the role of a professor teaching hip-hop at Loyola University. 

Miami native Trina is the self-proclaimed “Baddest B—” and the “Diamond Princess" — not only are these titles part of her album names and lyrics, but they’re monikers she’s always lived by. Trina got her break when she appeared on Trick Daddy’s 1999 track “Nann," which helped her land a record deal with Slip-n-Slide Records. Trina embraces being bold, confident, brash, domineering, and sexy in her lyrics, elements heard on hit songs like “Pull Over,” “B R Right,” “Here We Go Again,” and “I Got a Thang For You.” 

Compton native Yo-Yo got her first big break when she collaborated with Ice Cube on his 1990 track “It’s a Man’s World.” In return, Cube appeared on Yo-Yo’s 1991 track “You Can’t Play with My Yo-Yo.” She knew how much rap was catered as a man’s game, so Yo-Yo used her music to embrace female empowerment, demand respect from male rappers, and call out the misogyny in hip-hop. It’s never been easy for female MCs, but Yo-Yo definitely worked to help change how women in hip-hop are viewed today. 

Bronx native Remy Ma got her first break when she appeared on Big Pun’s sophomore album, Yeeeah Baby. Not too long after, Fat Joe signed Remy to his label, and she became a member of the hip-hop group Terror Squad. While the group’s 2004 single “Lean Back” earned Remy her first Grammy nomination, she’s also released solo hit records, including “Conceited” and “Whuteva.”

Foxy Brown got her big break after winning a talent contest. Production team Trackmasters were in attendance that day and invited Brown to rap on LL Cool J’s song “I Shot Ya.” Following that feature, she began collaborating with other artists like on Case’s “Touch Me, Tease Me” and Jay-Z’s “Ain’t No Jigga.” Shortly after, Brown signed a deal with Def Jam and released her debut album, Ill Na Na. Growing up in Brooklyn, Brown had a New York grit to her tone that wasn’t heard at the time. Brown knew how to be bold, brash, and confident lyrically, this type of style was heard on tracks like “I’ll Be,” “Get Me Home,” and “Candy.” 

In the early ‘90s, Gangsta Boo helped put Memphis on the map as a hip-hop hub, thanks to being a member of Three 6 Mafia. In 1998, Gangsta Boo released her solo debut album, Enquiring Minds, which featured the lead single “Where Dem Dollas At?” Her bold lyrical style influenced many artists of today, like Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and GloRilla. 

By the time Nicki Minaj dropped her 2010 debut album, Pink Friday, the lane for women in hip-hop was pretty open, and she took it by the reins. Lil Wayne signed Minaj to his Young Money label imprint, and her career took off. Minaj is a master at combining her rap style with vocals, so much so that she can easily crossover between hip-hop and pop. Throughout her career, she’s released top singles like “Your Love,” “Moment 4 Life,” and “Beez in the Trap.” Between her rap style, fashion sense, and numerous alter egos, her loyal fan base, known as The Barbz, hail her to high praise. 

Rah Digga caught the attention of A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip after she performed at a lounge. Q-Tip introduced her to Busta Rhymes, who signed to his Flipmode record imprint. As the only woman in Busta’s hip-hop group Flipmode Squad, Digga always knew how to shine. In 2000, she released her debut album, Harriet, which included features from Busta, Eve, and Carl Thomas. Digga’s other collaborations include the Fugees’ “Cowboys” and Bahamadia’s “Be Ok.”