Men have dominated the music industry allowing little space for women to leave their stamp on the ever-growing music world. The rap genre was a way for the Black community to be creative and artistic, allowing many members of the community to make a name for themselves. Unfortunately both rap and hip-hop contain lyrics and imagery that exploits women, and black women especially, by oversexualizing their bodies. But over the years women have found a way to rise out of that stigma.

  Rap has dominated the hearts of Americans since the early 70s when DJs began to spin at block parties in New York City. Twenty years later, rappers such as 2pac, Nas, Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B.I.G, Jay-Z, Ice Cube, Lauryn Hill, Eminem, and even Missy Elliot started the trail of rap as we know it today. While women like Lauryn Hill, Da Brat, Lil Kim, and many others have found their way into the spotlight, rap still continues to be a male dominated music genre. 

  Today in 2022, female rappers are making a comeback and stepping up to the plate by taking over the earbuds of many! While women like Nicki Minaj, who has  been a big part of the rap industry for years and is still up and kicking it in the game, new women are now stepping onto the scene. 

  Rappers like Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, and Cardi B continue to monopolize the charts. Apps like TikTok make the road  easier for an artist to be discovered and well known. 

  One of the newest artists to hit the charts is a rapper by the name of Glorilla. Her song “F.N.F” reached TikTok and sparked the interest of rap listeners and young people on TikTok, allowing her to reach over seven million views and having one of the top trending music videos! The song was such a hit that it managed to reach the ears of the acclaimed  Cardi B, resulting in a collaboration with  the two rappers recording another chart dominating song, “Tomorrow 2.”

  While Glorilla is a name now known by many, another artist has shot her way up to the top— Ice Spice. The rapper’s song was popularized yet again catching the attention of Drake, but with its popularity came some tension on the app. The song “Munch” has  a catchy beat that encourages the  listener to jump around, rock with a little groove  and just have fun with it. 

  However, other people were upset at how fast the song skyrocketed to fame and blamed it on the issue of colorism, a term defined by prejudice or discrimination against people with a dark skin tone, usually in the case of people within the same ethnic or racial group. 

  So, for the reasons given, people believe the reason for Ice Spice’s instant fame is due to being a pretty light-skin girl. Many would argue that the song is below average because only a couple verses from the song are catchy while the rest of the song is unknown and the internet is wasting their time investing in artists like her when their attention should be drawn to “better” artists like Lola Brooke.  

  Lola Brooke from Brooklyn, New York, is now catching the attention of people with her new song, “Don’t Play With It.” Some people would argue that Lola isn’t as famous as rapper Ice Spice, simply because she’s a dark-skin woman. But whatever the ongoing feud between what rapper is better, the fact of the matter is that women are finally climbing the charts. 

  Big Latto is another famous rapper who’s song “Big Energy” is currently the highest charting song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Her song is now the longest charting solo female song in history. 

  Big Latto found her way to fame through a popular TV show “The Rap Game” in 2016, a competition based show where teenagers are given a chance from rapper Jermaine Dupri to be signed to a record label. Starting out with her name as Miss Mulatto, Latto won season five earning herself a record deal. Now the rapper goes by the stage name Big Latto and now has her songs at the top of the music charts. 

  Because of the talented women in today’s music industry, history is being made  and a new path is paved for women all over the world who dream of winning a grammy or performing on stage now have a chance at success.