Where Are The Females In Hip-Hop?

                                  By Krusher Kronkite
                            The Black Urban Times                                      



In a Hip-Hop world where there are only two or three female rappers orbiting at the same time, it is no wonder that female mc's aren't taken seriously within the culture as opposed to their male counterparts. For the past few  weeks witnessed the friction between Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj regarding the self-professed Harajuku Barbie's meteoric rise to fame and Kim feeling snubbed because she feels Nicki hasn't shown her the proper respect for replicating her fashion sense. The last time I checked I assumed imitation was the sincerest form of flattery; in this case I guess not. On the other side of the coin some speculate that this is merely a  ploy conjured up by the" big dogs " to create a synthetic beef  in the media to generate controversy and album sales  no one really cares about.

I feel that these self-serving feuds and immature attitudes between female rap artists are one of the reasons why women are frowned upon in Hip-Hop and never receive the respect they may feel they deserve.  History reveals that there has never been a cabal of female rappers that has collectively produced quality music to benefit the culture, especially when the mentality of some of  these artists believe that they cannot co-exist. Back in 2008, VH1 didn't fair any better by producing the ill-fated "Miss Rap Supreme", that placed 10 contestants in a reality show format that didn't do anything to launch the career of the show's winner Rece Steele. Fortunately for Nicki Minaj she was able to capitalize off of this demographic after a series of setbacks and incarcerations involving Foxy Brown, Lil Kim, Da Brat, and Remy Ma. Despite Missy Elliot's contributions to her female constituents she has failed miserably with her last two efforts and it doesn't seem that we will be hearing from her Eve, Queen Latifah, Lady Luck or any other chick with a hot verse any time soon. During the era of MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, and Salt & Pepa to name a few were conscious of their sexuality in Hip-Hop and didn't use it as the main catalyst to sell records or define their womanhood which is a far cry from today's female artists.

Currently Trina's ass is more famous that her lyrics and porn star Pinky and Angel Lola love is vying to obtain credibility despite their former occupations. Lord knows I love tits and ass like the next man but does that equate album sales? Just ask Khia's ghetto ass. Lisa Left Eye passed away unexpectedly, Lauren Hill is confused, Rah Digga is MIA, and Jean Grae's prowess has never ventured outside of the underground market while The Lady of Rage is busy raising her kids.Nicki Minaj's popularity despite her image is a direct result of her tenacious work ethic and ability to captivate her audience with colorful wordplay and witty delivery. I believe that if more female mc's would spend more time in the booth and less time in jails, mirrors, and sex tapes then maybe we can have our fair share of quality music without the all of the ass shots on magazine covers to sell records. Ladies of Hip-Hop should unite instead of perpetuating the sexist images and non productive rhetoric that has kept some female rappers from receiving the respect they don't deserve.


Krusher Kronkite

Bahamadia Fan