An Era of Women in Hip-Hop

By Kabura Ng'ang'a

Hip-hop has been the one genre of music that has been dominated by men and in between there has been women coming up but not as many. Back in the day, there was the old school hip-hop era that was dominated by Remy Ma, Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, Lauryn Hill and Trina. At the time, there was only two visible hip-hop women in Kenya; Nazizi. These people were tight on flow and commanded attention that not even some men could touch and they went on to dominate charts and awards.

There was then the gap when Foxy Brown and Trina just disappeared. Remy went to serve time for a number of years. Lil Kim was having woes with the authorities and her partner at the time hence the many cosmetic procedures. Then Lauryn got married and just stepped completely away from the spotlight.

It was during this gap that Nicki Minaj stepped onto the scene with her Barbie alter-ego. She came on with the cash-money record deal together with Tyga and Lil Wayne. She stayed on the block for 10 years undisputed as the queen of hip-hop and rap. Nazizi on this side of the globe was doing the same.

There has however been a shift with hip-hop female presence. You feel the presence of women now more than ever. Cardi B stepped on to the spotlight and went on to win awards and top charts and break records held by other female rappers before her. With that shift, other women such as Saweetie, Megan Thee Stallion, Spice, Mariah Lynn and our beloved Lizzo have been coming up and taking over the charts too. In Kenya also, people such as Wangechi, Petra, Cashy and Femi One have been coming up.

It is an exciting time for hip-hop lovers because women in the game are making moves that are exciting. Who are you listen to at the moment?