“I hate female rappers.”
It was at this moment that I felt utter shock.
I mean, this was from a person that I had just met, yet based on that sentence I could already tell that he didn’t respect women.
And by women, I mean all women. Not just women like your younger sister, or your mother, or your niece, or your aunts, or related to you in some fashion. But he didn’t respect women as people without their proximity to men.
When I questioned him on his knowledge of women in the industry, Rico Nasty being my favorite, he didn’t know any of the names I had brought up. It’s clear that it’s not “female rappers” he hates, but women who rap.
I wouldn’t have had a problem if this person had said, “I don’t really listen to female rappers,” because that would have been a fact. But to say that certain artists were trash and have no valid explanation shows two things. That he only likes when women “perform” in a way that is acceptable and that he doesn’t respect women.
The standards that we hold women to are not the same as men. He brought up some of these women’s pasts, yet neglected to see how some of the artists he listened to, did exactly the same thing. So, it’s not the stealing, sex references, or drug use he didn’t like, it’s the women.
For me, someone who says they enjoy a genre can’t only like certain genders within a genre. The only “difference” between men and women who rap is what’s in their pants. If you enjoyed conscious rap, there are tons of different women that speak on that. If you enjoy drill wrap, then you can find women who rap in that style. Just like with men who rap, there is something for everyone when it comes to women that rap.
I think we’re so used to having men dominate rap, that we neglect to realize that other genders can thrive within it.
Or that we compare women who rap in a way that we don’t do with men. There isn’t really a discussion about who’s better when it comes to rappers like Drake, Kanye, and J. Cole. There is a mutual understanding with all their fans that they put out different music.
This doesn’t mean that people would prefer one male rapper over another but, are allowed to exist in the same world without the constant comparison.
Yet, the moment someone like Cardi B came on the scene, she was constantly being compared to Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj has been in the game for over 10 years and it is disrespectful to ignore all the work she’s put in to compare her to every woman in the rap industry.
I love how much the industry is growing. I love all the new sounds that are emerging and all the women who are rapping. I obviously don’t love every single one, but who loves every single artist they ever hear in a genre? I’m just happy to see the representation. So even when I don’t particularly like someone that much, based on their music, I still support them when I can because there are enough people being haters.
I love listening to female rappers and will continue listening to female rappers. I will continue to share their music and request them when music is being played. I want more people to respect women who rap and I want us to eventually, and soon, drop the “female” part when we refer to women that rap.
It sounds as stupid as calling someone a “girl boss”. We only tend to include gender when referring to women that do something.
So, instead, I leave you with rappers that you should listen to…and yes they happen to be women.