Are We Ready To Stop Pinning Female Rappers Against Each Other Yet?
In case y’all didn’t know, we’re allowed to have more than one queen at a time.
Who are your favorite male rappers? You can probably name multiple off the top of your head. Who are your favorite female rappers? I bet most people only have one answer to that question. It doesn’t matter if you stan Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Remy Ma, Lil’ Kim, or Missy Elliott — the fact is that most people only have one favorite female in the game (if any).
Hip-hop consumers have a habit of identifying one “queen of rap” at a time. Of course, in recent years it felt like Nicki was the only one out there, but as soon as Remy Ma released a diss track, everyone was ready to pick a side. Now that Cardi B is making money moves, everyone wants to pin her against Nicki. It’s always a battle.
That’s why Migos new song “Motor Sport” is a bold statement for female rap. Yes, the song is still owned by a male voice, but the track features both Nicki & Cardi and they both did their thang. With this collaboration, you would think that any feud rumors between the two New Yorkers would be squashed right? Wrong. People still tried to debate whose verse was better or who was firing shots at the other, even though they were on the SAME track.
It’s not like female rappers haven’t collaborated many times before — but as hip-hop consumers, we’ve become so accustomed to the lack of female voices that we decided only one female voice is worthy of being heard at a time.
Everyone is always so quick to forget about Gucci’s “Freaky Girl” remix which featured both Nicki and Lil’ Kim. Or Yo Gotti’s “Five Star Chick Remix” which featured Trina and Nicki. There was also Busta Rhymes “Touch It Remix part 3" which brought bars from Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliot, and Rah Digga. The list of fire collaborations goes on.
But, as we progress in society and make feminism a more prominent topic, why does it feel like hip-hop is stepping backwards? We as consumers, fans, and self-proclaimed hip-hop heads need to do better to appreciate our female MC’s and stop pinning them against each other.
A few days ago, we saw hints of another fire duo coming together with Remy Ma’s teaser post for “Wake Me Up” featuring Lil’ Kim. You would think this would be another sign of female rappers supporting each other, but nope — at least not according to the media. A quick Google search will show you…
Even if we’re not saying Remy & Kim are dissing each other, we’re still deciding that they’re both going after Nicki. Obviously they could be, but the point is that we are so overwhelmingly focused on the beef element that we’re not even criticizing female rap with the same respect or consideration as we typically do male rap.
Yes, beefs and feuds do exist everywhere in the entertainment industry, but why does that have to be the sole focus every time we analyze a rap verse by a woman? Why do we insist on finding ways to pin women against each other or only support one at a time? It’s ridiculous when there are at least 50 male rappers getting constant support at any given time. We need to do the same for our women. They deserve it!
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