Rap as a genre is almost completely male-dominated. Until recently, Nicki Minaj has single-handedly ruled the women rap scene for years. Cardi B joined the industry last year and did huge numbers with her album Invasion of Privacy. She had the most Grammy nominations of any woman this year, and almost every song on her album is certified gold or platinum. Following the path of these rap artist trailblazers, there are many up-and-coming female rap artists entering the scene that are demanding our attention. 2019 is the year of the female rap artist and I am so here for it.
Megan Thee Stallion
Houston born and raised Megan Pete, professionally known as Megan Thee Stallion, has grabbed the attention of many after being the first woman to sign to 300 Entertainment label. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Pete said, “I feel like I have to put on for my city because we have so many legends and so many greats. But I don’t feel like we ever really had a female rapper come from Houston or Texas and shut s*** down. So that’s where I’m coming from with it.”
Although she is busy performing and recording in the studio, Pete is still a full-time college student. She is studying health administration at Texas Southern University. Her mother, Holly Thomas, was a rapper and Megan grew up under her influence. Her mother (who was also her manager) just recently passed away in March. Megan Thee Stallion’s latest EP is called Tina Snow, which was released December 21, 2018.
Dreezy
Seandrea Sledge (stage-name Dreezy) was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. Sledge looked to the fine arts to escape her childhood troubles, which got her into singing and rapping. She was named “Princess of Chicago Rap” by Vice Magazine in 2014. Sledge’s claim to fame was a remix she made of Nicki Minaj and Lil Herb’s “Chiraq.” In an interview with Billboard, Sledge said, “I was just working, but there’s ways that you gotta finesse the industry now and it’s all about the Internet, it’s all about marketing, all about social media right now. So I feel like my growth since then has been just getting more business savvy, learning the game, definitely, and figuring out my sound.” Sledge’s most recent album, Big Dreez, was released in January 2019.
Rico Nasty
21-year-old Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly, otherwise known as Rico Nasty, gained her popularity after her single “Poppin” hit 5 million views on Youtube. Her father was a rapper, and she quickly picked up her skills from him. Kelly started rapping in high school and actually released her first mixtape when she was only in 11th grade. Speaking on the media in an interview, Kelly said, “They’re never gonna not put you in a box. It’s something that they have to do because nine times out of 10 people don’t understand creativity.” Her latest album, Nasty, was released in June 2018.
Here’s to hoping all of these hard-working, talented ladies land a spot on the Freshman XXL rap list of 2019. These three young women are being unapologetically themselves and working their way up to the top.