- Maxwell Cavaseno

If you were to say a certain rapper defined 2011, it would be really hard to select just one. Depending on your perspective, this was either a good year for the throwbacks (Freddie Gibbs, Curren$y), the reigning champions (“The Throne”, Lil’ Wayne), the iconoclasts (Tyler, The Creator, ASAP Rocky), the genre-defiers (Death Grips, Das Racist) or those who shall bring forth the downfall of rap and/or humanity (Mac Miller, Lil’ B). But above all, one name isolated itself into the collective minds of Hip-Hop, as none were more offensive, thought-provoking, defended, and analyzed than Kreayshawn. But ignoring all the absurdity surrounding her musical career’s rocket to wherever it may go, one thing is for certain, females in rap are back. And thank the fuck for that.

Look, let’s be clear; Hip-Hop has always had a majority of masculine performers, despite the fanbase of the genre being much more balanced. However, in the last year, it seems that feminine rap has taken a dose of steroids and shot back into the genre with more value than a novelty female of a hot crew. That said, the movement of new female rappers appears to be budding so well, that it’s actually starting to develop sub-movements in itself. A wonderful development, allowing for something truly fascinating in an already tumulous and chaotic era of hip-hop so devoid of proper structure.

If there is any proper indication of this movement’s genesis, let’s be fair, it was Nicki Minaj. Now I know that plenty of the artists mentioned in this article will probably bemoan any sort of comparisons to Ms. Super Bass and may not enjoy her music… But she had a platinum record, a string of number one hits, and maintained a respectable place in rap both as a personality and as a skilled MC. Let’s be real: Nicki Minaj is ground zero for new female rap. Because Minaj has legitimatized the woman as a rapper in a way that’s been dead since the post-Lauryn Hill Cataclysm of the past decade. While dozens of female rappers have appeared, many of them were unable to thrive in the music industry beyond novelty singles, poor career decisions, or a struggle to be taken serious as a rapper. The beauty of women can be a crippling curse if you want rap fans to treat you as more than a pin-up star. However, due to an overt ‘trimming of the fat’ in the music industry, more and more female raps have been coming out of the mouths of the singers who’d have requested a guest verse not too long ago. Making matters worse, music itself has now been a ‘side career’ for females in the media with some degree of fame, not limited to certain porn stars who’ll remain nameless. And when a porn star is getting more draw to her mixtapes then a real artist, you know there’s a problem.

But ah, Minaj! Glorious Minaj! Graced by the co-signs of not one, but TWO of the greatest rappers of the decade. Heralded as a ‘problem’ long before any of her infamous guest verses and/or remixes. She has made it possible for a woman to be overrated, overexposed, influential and respected as a rapper since… Oh, let’s be real, since fucking Latifah. She’s gone up against some of the GOAT contenders, she’s effectively neutered a few of her predecessors… She may have multiple personalities, including who supposedly possesses male genetalia. You can certainly dislike her, but you cannot deny that she’s helped break dozens of the restrictions and encroachments placed upon the ‘femcee’.

As a result of Nicki’s success, more effort has been placed on remembering her predecessors. Indeed, Lil’ Kim launched a vicious, confused campaign laced with envy against the current ‘queen’ of hip-hop that gained her a decent amount of attention to her new mixtape, however negative it may have been. Older southern heroines like Gangsta Boo and Trina found themselves treated with more reverence than they had a few years prior. Even those who were only a few years more established in the game than Nicki, such as Diamond of Crime Mob, found themselves being regarded with a bit more respect than usual. But in reality, those who came in after the Minaj Explosion are those best suited to mill through the rubble, making their own worlds.

Generally, the new wave of female rap has seemingly generated into two waves, which I propose might be both traceable back to Nicki as well; one movement is a sort of hyper-active sexually-overbearing “Fembot Rap” that relies on overdriven raps and overly-confrontational vanity. One part typical hip-hop bravado, one part ‘porn star feminism’, these rappers are packaging themselves to their markets as best as possible; be they for urban hipsters, frustrated backpackers, and the general population of tumblr.

Their competitor is less nourished, but also potentially rearing grand ideas: a wave of calmer, though often no less lusty, female rappers for whom a vibe of… well, cuteness is the key. This new wave of ‘Cute Rap’ is often laced in a playful charm, sometimes disguising amateurism from it’s artists. As a result, the raps employed may often border on the disposable and silly side, but due to the soothing quality it provides a very relaxing contrast to the other camp of female rappers with their pounces and prowlings.

“Fembot” rap is actually fairly obvious when it’s pointed out, because quite frankly, the emphasis is on a simple concept: Here is the female MC, and she is a “Bad Bitch”. This is nothing new for female rappers, ever since the olden days of Roxxane Shante. Perhaps this is where I find less enthusiasm for the field… At the basic core of ladies such as Azelia Banks, Iggy Azalea, and Nitty Scott, they are more or less the same character. The majority of difference is presentation, and audience. The lyrics involved are more or less unconcerned with revealing greater details about who they are beyond the character they play ‘on wax’. These girls understand that they are fantasies, true blue “Barbies”, and leave the concerns over who they are to the listener’s imagination. Rather, they dazzle the listener with the technique-driven speed rap, or other cliched rehashes of recent trends in the rap continuum in order to encroach within the territories of sub-movements. (Case in point: Jerking).

“Cute” rap is at this point, much less easy pinpoint. Currently the only two female rappers who seem to be furthering this perspective are Kilo Kish (member of the Kool Kats Klub and supposedly prepairing a record with production handled by Matt Martians of The Super 3), and Kitty Pryde (of Jokes In Trousers). Save a compelling vocal similarity, the duo have rather differing approaches. Kitty favors recognizable instrumentals, while nimbly releasing words in her soft-spoken voice with careful consideration. Kilo, while blessed with fascinating production, seems to simply shrug off and mumble her raps with an underlining irreverance. The strengh laden in both of these artist isn’t in death-defying multi-sylablistic side-winder lyrical runs. It’s actually in the notion that they can whisper something shy and private within the ear of the listener, developing an intimate mirror-image to the post-Flockavelli demand for louder, faster and better.

There are exceptions that fail to fall into either grouping, but some are compelling (Kreayshawn, Dark Sister) and some are not (Snow da Product). Some are even still continuing in the tradition of the female rappers who came before the new wave (Nat’ee). But it is hard to comprehend wherein the balance lies in order to become an identifiable female rap character that everyone truly appreciates.

After all, let’s look a bit deeper at Kreayshawn. The young entrepenurial lady of the year has toyed with both her adorability and her bragaddocio to varied successes. Also, she is more or less the only one of these newcomers with a major label deal. But I will be frank; due to her inability to follow-up “Gucci Gucci Mania” with either a song of valid quality (let alone that she wrote herself), and her frequent burning of bridges, I fear that nothing will come of her behavior. A shame, for with her downfall she takes her much-bemoaned sidekick V-Nasty, who requires no ghostwriter, and is just as offensive yet surprising a freestyler as SODMG’s beloved MTV Riff Raff.

Yet another fluke is Memphis’ Dark Sister. When the two ladies behind tracks like “Red Velvet” and “Haunt You”, unleashed their work, it was clear that they enjoyed raunchy descriptions of sexual detail, and threatening their female and male competitors in their dark world. Yet at the same time, the sung hooks and occasionally brief asides of longing that served as undercurrents benath all the grim wickedness painted a much more sympathetic picture to the dark minds behind the art. In a distant way, it’s comparable to Earl Sweatshirt’s “Stapleton”, where after so many tracks of overwhelming misogynist bravado, he reveals the heart inside the darkness and mutters to his departed victim/crush “I just wanted to know what you were doing…”. What makes Dark Sister so interesting as female rappers isn’t the witchy ways, or the ties to their love of the Memphis past; it’s the delicate details buried beneath the churning, violent surface.

Through all of 2011, the surprising abundance of female rappers has been a welcome disruption in the rap game. As a result, it is hard to say what the upcoming years will provide us with. Shall we see women in rap serve as further examples of trend-watching, marketing and brand-building for sucessful male rappers? Will they be used as distractions from the negative quality of their musical brethren with pseudo-positivity? Or just maybe, will they serve as a counter-point that leads to a genuine sense of duality within rap today? Don’t ask me, I’m just here to watch.