These 10 women have decisively shaped the hip-hop genre and influenced many rappers

HipHop, like so many other areas, is still a male domain. A lot has happened there, especially in rap, but women have always had a hard time in hip -hop. It is all the higher to count on some female MCS that they bitten through and delivered grandiose, although they certainly had it much heavier than their male colleagues (as in most other areas). We have put together some of the most important rappers of all time.

Even if the hip-hop scene is still considered male-dominated: women were and are important clocks of culture. They were always and will always be.

Many may not know them (yet), but according to HipHop history, it was the first: Sharon Green aka Mc Sha-Rock from theSouth Bronx. She experienced the first few days of hip -hop, among other things, was a member of the Crew Funky 4 + 1 (and as such one of the first rappers on television) and is considered a "mother of the mic". She is also the first rapper whose voice was pressed on vinyl. As the first rapper in general, she is therefore the original core and model of all rappers who came after her.

Queen Latifah was also there early, albeit ten years later than MC Sha-Rock. Queen Latifah's debut albumAll Hail The QueenPublished in 1989, she was just 19 years old, and at that time she even received a Grammy nomination. Your third albumBlack ReignIn 1991 was the first of a rapper who was awarded gold. This was largely due to the single it contained on itU.N.I.T.Y., on which she raised awareness of violence against women and their objectification - that was also the first. It also rapped about domestic violence, nuisance on the street and toxic relationships, which made it ahead of her time. It was also part of the native tongues, a loose merger of so -called CONSCIOUS rapper, which raps less about violence and hard road life, but rather positively on Afro -centered topics (which included, for example, a tribe called quest, de la Soul and the Jungle Brothers). Queen Latifah is also a successful singer and actress. Without question one of the most important female voices in the hip-hop community.

The first and most important all-girl hiphop group to this day is Salt-N-Pepa, consisting of Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra denton) and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Your first albumHot, Cool & ViciousFrom 1986 was the first of a female rap group that was awarded gold, which the crew primarily its hitPush Itowe to, who at least made it up to 20th place on the single charts. Salt-N-Pepa have always campaigned for promoting women and rapping over sex from a female perspective (Let’s Talk About Sex). At that time, the band opened the door for many women who also went to the mic afterwards.

One of the first and most important rappers is also MC Lyte, whose solo albumLyte As A Rockfrom 1988 was the first solo album of a female MC. She was also the first rapper who was ever nominated for a Grammy and the first one ever got gold for a single. Without Mc Lyte, many women would probably never have come to rap. Lyte started rapping as a 12-year-old, at that time under the artist's name Sparkle, and already recorded her first song at 14. Your first singleI Cram to Understand U (Sam)From 1987 it was also the first to deal with the topic of cracking. An incredibly important woman.

Lauryn Hill first appeared as part of a band in the hip-hop cosmos: namely at the fugees, together with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel. The Fugees only published two albums, but in particular their recordThe Scorecaused a great attention internationally, which was mainly about the hitsinglesFu-gee-la,Ready Or Notand the cover songKilling Me Softlylay. After that, however, the Fugees ended. Two years later, Lauryn Hill published her solo debutThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hill- and it was prepared to become the first female superstar of hip -hop. Lauryn Hill sold more than twenty million units of this, won five Grammys and let the expectations of the successor go into an immeasurable one, only: He never came. The fame and the associated pressure became too much for her and so she pulled back more or less from the public, only played live from time to time. This year she was also seen in Germany again, but left no last impression. Too bad, because your plate is still divingThe Miseducation of Lauryn HillAgain and again in lists of the best rap albums ever.

No list of the most important rappers of all time does without Missy Elliot, which ultimately took the place that Lauryn Hill did not want to take: that of the first female rap superstar. Elliot had the decisive advantage that she not only had the necessary exceptional talent, but also had a congenial songwriting and producer partner at her side, namely Timbaland. While Timbaland significantly shaped the hip-hop sound image in the nineties and nineties, Missy, as an accomplished rapper, convinced with unusual outfits and almost inexhaustible creative energy. Your hits likeSock It 2Me (feat. Another legendary rapper, namely da brat),Get Ur Freak OnandWork ItTo date, classics have not been killed. In addition, Elliot is successful as a songwriter for other women, including such top -class players such as Aaliyah, Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Without question: Missy Elliot is one of the big ones in the biz.

If you look at German rappers today like Lady Bitch Ray, Shirin David, Katja Krasavice or Ikkimel or American protagonists like Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion and many others, then follow all of a pioneer: Lil 'Kim (actually followed more Two: Foxy Brown appeared on the scene at the same time and propagated a comparable image). In the mid -nineties, Kim wanted to break with the images of previous rappers, who were primarily trying to score lyrically, but largely ignored their femininity and tried consciously to score with skills instead of sexyness. However, Lil 'Kim believed that both are possible, and so the predominantly male hip-hop scene would like to clap her rapeseed lightly, in lingerie and/or in high fashion in front of the bib. Lil 'Kim has the idea of ​​how to move as a self-confident woman within the hip-hop scene to expand a sexualized component.

When it comes to the most important women in the hip-hop scene, the gangsta Boo from Memphis, who died unexpectedly in 2023, will often be forgotten. This is mainly due to the fact that the Memphis sound and generally rap from the dirty south long led a kind of shadowy existence, which many were agreed with by many compared to what came from the East and West Coast (that changed Only a few years ago). Only on a crew from the Dirty South could all agree: the legendary Three 6 Mafia, whose member Gangsta Boo was. In 1998 her first solo album appearedEnquiring Minds, on which she was able to show for the first time that she was also able to wear a complete longplayer. Successful rappers such as Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion and Glorilla still regularly state that they have been significantly influenced by Gangsta Boo and their way of rapping.

Is now considered the Queen of Rap: Nicki Minaj, the most successful female protagonist of the hip-hop scene. She sold more than a hundred million records and set various records as a rapper. However, one has to say: Without the previously mentioned protagonists, she would have had it much more difficult. So she certainly benefited from the preparatory work of others. Not to forget: With Lil Wayne, who signed her with his Young Money label, she had a prominent and influential advocate. She also helped her to be an outstanding singer and a rapper, which gave her a correspondingly large target group. Without Minaj, the hip-hop world would definitely be different today.

Last, but not least: the New York rapper Cardi B, the first known in 2015 as an actress of the reality formatLove & Hip Hop: New Yorkhas achieved. Shortly afterwards she started working on her rap career and published two mixtapes that brought her a contract with Atlantic-and in the publication of her only but much attention albumInvasion of Privacyfloated. Songs likeGet Up 10,Money Bagand of courseBodak Yellow- All flawless hits. Let's see how your career will continue in the next few years ...