50 years of hip hop: the pioneer queens who dominate the genre
Women have come along way since the early days of Hip Hop, we are honoring the women who have opened doors and smashed glass ceilings to make sure their voices were heard – loud and clear.
Women have come along way since the early days of Hip Hop. Now, as the culture celebrates his 50th anniversary, we are honoring the women who have opened doors and smashed glass ceilings to make sure their voices were heard – loud and clear.
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 07: Cardi B performs at Z100's Jingle Ball 2018 at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
From Queen Latifah to Cardi B, there’s a growing list of female trailblazers, who have changed the game. XXL Editor-In-Chief Vanessa Satten says there are many female Hip Hop success stories, who are powerful cultural forces in their own right with their talent and authenticity.
Vanessa Satten says, “I think we will always be talking about Queen Latifah, will always be talking about Salt-N-Pepa , we’ll always be talking about Nikki and Foxy and Cardi for her wins with the Grammys, and Kim for the tone she set for women, Lauryn Hill, the impact she had, she almost stands alone.”
Nicki Minaj accepts the Gamechanger Award onstage during Billboard Women In Music 2019, presented by YouTube Music. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Billboard)
Rapper Rah Digga rose to fame as the first lady of the Flipmode squad at a time when women had to be affiliated with a male artist or a group in order to be seen and heard she went onto a solo career as an artist and actor. She says as the culture has grown, so have the opportunities.
“You have women dominating charts, you have women in the boardroom, executives, they’re on the field, they’ve actually transcended from trying to scratch and claw the way to the top of the business. They’re pretty much running the business.”
Emerging Hip Hop, artist lady London looks to the greats for inspiration, as she builds a multi – faceted career that would’ve been unimaginable a decade ago. “I’ve always been very inspired by confident women who walk, and stride with pride in who they are, and embracing the craft 100%, definitely any type of boldness or confidence.”
(L-R) Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion accept the Best Rap Performance award for ‘Savage’ onstage during the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Los Angeles Convention Center on March 14, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images f
Vanessa Satten says, “I think you see more mainstream acceptance, you see, endorsement deals, you see headline performances, collaborations, you see all of these things that didn’t exist, because there wasn’t a huge, thriving women in the Hip Hop community.”
There are also more women behind the scenes than ever before. I hope you join us for this exciting conversation on the next episode of Street soldiers, Friday night March 10, 2023 right after the 10 o’clock news.
After that you can watch this episode anytime on our “Lisa Evers Street Soldiers” playlist on the FOX5NY Youtube page.