50 Greatest Female MCs of All Time: A Kenyan Approach
In Our Previous Episode: 50 Greatest Male MCs of All Time
Coming Up:
50 Greatest Rap Groups of All Time
50 Greatest Hip Hop Collabs of All Time
50 Greatest Rap Albums of All Time
50 Greatest Rap Songs of All Time
50 Greatest Rap Verses of All Time
Time now for the ladies (in hindsight, it really should have been ‘Ladies First’, word to Queen Latifah and Monie Love). The criteria is as rudimentary as it gets: Bars; Flow; Impact; Influence; Versatility; Legendary Hip Hop moments; Commercial success.
I am of the opinion that when it comes to giving the ladies their just due, they somewhat get a raw deal. See, while the world continues to progress at a speed we can barely keep up with, the male dominance in this Game we call Hip Hop remains a microcosm of society as it was when Hip Hop first started. Where a man is more respected when he bears a more aggressive demeanour – while a woman has to be ‘feminine’ and easy on the eye (with sexy vocals to boot) to garner any attention. I feel this somewhat stifles female MCs (stylicized as ‘Femcee’ – perhaps with a hint of condescension?) as far as subject matter as well as other creative options. There’s only so much a ‘lady’ is allowed to rap about, right? For those who can (fortunately and competently) paint the same vivid lyrical portraits of the struggle as their male counterparts, it becomes a double-edged sword of sorts – the respect from peers and ‘Heads’ more often than not does not cause the dogged commerce-driven music industry to perk its ears. Props. Or plaques. Choose one. It’s no wonder then that in all of Hip Hop’s different eras, there’s almost never any debate as who the singular ‘Queen’ is – many have tried; apparently there can be only one at any one time. Conversely, a dude can use the same aforementioned testosterone to spit bars about thug love, a violent stick-up, an abstract story, self-promotional braggadocio, a lyrical therapy session, rhymes about doing laundry (!)…the list goes on. Hmm. What will a woman rap about that will get her the same eye balls as those with eye balls? Fortunately (for the human male) and most unfortunately (for the Artform), it’s 97.3% of the time body parts, and what those body parts do (And it’s 97.3% – si ni mimi nakushow?). The biggest setback of this state of affairs therefore is that we end up having more templates/clones than true artists. Where ‘K is constant’, so is the state of growth as far as the female rapper ‘subset’ of the Culture is concerned. As you will find, this dilemma is quite aptly captured in my List of 50 – a list which, full disclosure, I had to buy Google dinner plus a movie to grow from 38 or thereabout. I know by the time I hit ‘Post’, I might be kicking myself for leaving out someone truly deserving. But that has been my personal experience with female rap over time: not generating enough energy for me to go digging for gems. And perhaps it was this that informed me having two separate lists for dudes and dudettes – I felt many would get swallowed up by their more illustrious male peers. ‘Illustrious’, here, either by right or by plight (the Hip Hop game’s, that is). However, on the bright side, there are really positive developments both at home and abroad that bode well for the future of ‘femcees’. I’m encouraged that the Hip Hop @ 60 list will look a whole lot different.
With all that said, pull a collective seat for the Ladies.
Hit me up. Let me know what y’all think. Bless!
50. Sylvia Saru a.k.a Ssaru (KEN)
49. Jacki-O (HAI)
48. Samma Knights f.k.a Samantha M-Ill (KEN)
47. Angel Haze
46. Monie Love (UK)
45. Young MA
44. Vita
43. Pepa
42. Salt
41. Lady Luck
40. Lisa Maffia (UK)
39. Doja Cat
38. Xtatic (KEN)
37. Angie Martinez
36. Armani Caesar
35. Rosa Ree (TZ)
34. Snow Tha Product
33. Ladybug Mecca
32. Shawnna
31. Kaz Lucas (KEN)*
30. Tierra Whack
29. Trina
28. Nazizi (KEN)
27. M.I.A (Sri Lanka)
26. Dej Loaf
25. Cardi B
24. Leikeli47
23. Heather B
22. Azealia Banks
21. Snoh Aalegra
20. L-Ness (KEN)
19. Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes [RIP]
18. Da Brat
17. Bahamadia
16. Che Noir
15. Mia X
14. Roxanne Shante
13. Remy Ma
12. Lil’ Kim
11. Nicki Minaj
10. Foxy Brown
09. The Lady of Rage
08. Lauryn Hill
07. MC Lyte
06. Rah Digga
05. Jean Grae
04. Rapsody
03. Missy Elliot
02. Eve**
01. Queen Latifah
* Only bringing Mwafreeka into this ‘coz he was present the day at Esoteric Records when I realized Kaz is f’ng dope…
** My personal Favourite…
5 Kenyan Honourable Mentions
Femi One
Monski
MC Sharon
Veryl Mkali Wao
Tasha Xclusive
(Special shout outs to Eddo, Jaxxsoh, OldSchool Blood, Shahidi Xcalibur, Sharp MC, Ban2Slim, Dennis Begisen, Seeker & Sir Miriga Ofula for your insights).
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