female rappers are still seen as a bit of a novelty sometimes – but they’ve been in the game almost as long as the men.
the principle change since the 80s has been that female rappers no longer are required to dress like rottweilers in order to be taken seriously. like the new jill swingers of the early 90s, who were forced to rock the then unlikely pairing of lumberjack shirts and doc martens with visible underwear and heavy matt makeup. this was way before all saints made boyswear cute.
if they have anything in common at all with the female rappers of the 90s and 00s, it would be with jean grae and missy rather than foxy brown and lil kim. this was resolutely not about sex – it was about competing with men on a level playing field, rather than resorting to stereotypes.
roxanne vs roxanne was thankfully, not as intense as east vs west coast but at the time it was every bit as sincere. i don’t think girls are as bothered about which coast they’re from…this is why we run things.
b-beat girls – for the same man
carmen – throw down
finesse and synquis – soul sisters
jamaica girls – rock the beat
jj fad – supersonic
le tigre – we like the cars that go boom
neneh cherry – buffalo stance
the real roxanne – bang zoom
roxanne shante – roxanne’s revenge
salt-n-pepa – i like it like that
two sisters – b-boys beware
wee papa girl rappers – wee rule
