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Despite Grammy Snubs, Black Women Dominated Rap in 2019
Our hot girl cup runneth over with an abundance of music that shows off Black female rappers’ prowess and power
IDGAF about what the Grammys say: 2019 was an epic year for Black women in rap music. This year felt like a throwback to an oft-cited golden era, in which quite a few Black women thrived in the rap game. Despite the Grammys foolishly and unsurprisingly overlooking the creativity, skill, and inventiveness of Black women in rap music, a rapidly growing audience is paying attention to the range of Black women rocking the mic.
Black women made their presence felt on magazine covers, highly anticipated mixtapes, and critically acclaimed albums. Newcomers and veterans alike cultivated new fans and reinvigorated a passion from some older ones. My hot girl cup runneth over.
For most of the first two decades of the 21st century, the dearth of women achieving widespread recognition in the rap game soured me on the culture. A “boys’ club” mentality anchored the coverage of women rapping. With the exception of Nicki Minaj, media outlets and mainstream audiences seemed to only pay attention to the boys. It felt like most blogs, websites, magazines, award shows, and radio and music channels only had the bandwidth to celebrate the achievements of this dominant force of a woman. Despite rappers such as Rapsody and Young M.A making great music and acquiring loyal followings during the 2010s, few Black women garnered the mainstream success their talent warranted.
While Minaj earned the queen of rap title in the 2010s, it was notable how few women got anywhere near the level attention their far-too-often mediocre male counterparts received. My contempt for the relegation of Black women to the sidelines of mainstream rap music was palpable, especially in my decision not to teach my popular gender and hip-hop course at Ohio State University.
I took a break from the course because, frankly, I felt uninspired to teach it. I never stopped loving rap music, but I realized and embraced my waning interest in teaching and writing about it. In early 2019, something changed for me. Black women rapping and the reception of these women by audiences reignited my interest in…
