My Top 10: The Dopest Female MC Collaborations of All Time

Fifty years ago, Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman ever elected to the United States Congress. She lit up the House Floor for seven terms despite politics being viewed as a man’s game. Rep. Chisholm made clear through the power of her example that opportunity is everything. Her legendary contributions to our nation continue to be felt today.

In every field of human endeavor, women excel when given a fair shot. It’s true in politics, business, science, academia and Hip Hop. In honor of Women’s History Month, which starts tomorrow, I will drop my TOP TEN list of the best female rap lyrical collaborations of all time. (With 45 in the White House, Hip Hop is a great escape).

The women on this list are legends in their own right. They defied artistic convention and lyrically elbowed their way to the top of rap’s male-dominated mountain top. In fighting for intellectual property protection, branding rights and licensing deals many of these great MCs helped pave the way for others to thrive as artists and entrepreneurs. In honor of these women and the entire creative community (including many from Brooklyn & Queens), I am championing the Music Modernization Act in the House of Representatives, which will help ensure that artists, songwriters and creators will be fairly compensated for their music.

Shirley Chisholm demonstrated that women can excel with might and power in Washington. On these groundbreaking Hip Hop collaborations, often while competing against other rap icons, the phenomenal female MC performances on the TOP TEN list show the world what Black Girl Magic is all about.

I will showcase one artist each day for the first ten days of March. The daily updates to the list will be available each morning on my Twitter and Facebook accounts.