Hip-hop can no longer be a men’s-only club
Women play an important role in the success of hip-hop, both as a genre and a culture. Through their lyrics, beats, leadership and style, women have helped carry the genre to the peak it sits at today.
But women’s success in the rap industry isn’t just a recent phenomenon. The “godmother of hip-hop,” Sylvia Robinson, started Sugar Hill Records, which released the seminal hip-hop track “Rapper’s Delight.” In 1988, the legendary MC Lyte became the first woman to release a solo album, with the massively successful “Lyte As A Rock.”
The album’s success opened the door for the next generation of women MCs, with artists such as Queen Latifah and Monie Love becoming mainstream successes and popularizing the idea of successful women rap recording artists. Today, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B have become Grammy-nominated, record-breaking superstars.
Many women producers are making an impact behind the scenes too. Producers such as 9th Wonder and WondaGurl have consistently been producing top hits like “90210,” “Duckworth” and “The Season/Carry Me.” Yet despite their success, there are still far fewer women producers than men — a trend evident across the music industry as a whole.
In 2017, more than 83 percent of music artists were men and less than 17 percent were women. This gap gets even bigger when looking at producers.
Outside of music creation, many women have played pivotal roles in the management of the genre. Women such as Karen Civil are leading marketers and strategists, while Kei Henderson serves as CEO of King Me Collective, which manages platinum artist 21 Savage.
As members of the media, women have played a profound role as both journalists and editors. Danyel Smith, current culture lead at The Undefeated, was the first women editor of Vibe Magazine. Angie Martinez’s catalog puts her alongside legendary hip-hop journalists, both past and present.
While there are many successful women in the industry, it would be a mistake to assume they got their fair share of recognition, awards or opportunities. Exceptionalism makes many people blind to the apparent inequalities still at play.
There is still a huge gender gap between rappers. Some feel that the rap game is only set up for one successful women rapper at a time. In an interview with Complex, Chicago artist Dreezy said: “I always feel like I’m getting compared (to other women). When it comes to females, it’s like the pit of death, like crabs in a barrel. We gotta fight for the top type of stuff.”
Artists that achieve success still struggle with many questions, such as why people are so quick to put them into boxes. Despite good sales numbers, they find it hard to jump into the “top rapper conversations,” weighed down by the limiting stigma of being a woman rapper
In an interview with The Atlantic, Leslie Gaston-Bird, the Audio Engineering Society vice president for Western USA/Canada, said, “It’s always a sexy woman performing … a sexy woman singing who’s produced by an amazing man behind the glass.” Women producers often suffer from this flawed norm, with their work being discounted with a gross lack of recognition. To date, no women has ever won a Grammy Award for “Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical.”
Women continue to make an impact on hip-hop, but labels have an obligation to sign more women artists, free from binding expectations and limits on their artistry. Record companies and labels should hire, recruit and train more women to enter the field. And above all, fans must be willing to listen and be vocal.
Jalen Nash is a junior political science major. His music column appears weekly in Pulp. You can email him at janash@syr.edu or follow him on Twitter @ja_nash3.
