MC Lyte, Monie Love, Lady of Rage and Queen Latifah.
Many imitators and fabricators have come through the hip-hop game that tried to touch them but couldn’t.
So let’s take a look at the women who are falsely presenting themselves as MC’s and mention some who do not get the recognition they deserve.
First there are “artists” like Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Trina, Jackie O, and Khia, who are hailed as MCs but do not really hold a candle to any of the aforementioned ladies.
Much of their lyrics are so ratchet and raunchy that you would need a condom just to listen to most of them.
Lil’ Kim and Foxy are two of those rappers that could truly be considered lyricists if they toned down their sexual overtones. The straw that broke the camels back for me is when Kim proudly says she can “make a Sprite can disappear in her mouth.”
Khia’s first hit song, “My Neck, My Back” came out around when I was in 7th grade, and I wasn’t really feeling it as much as many of my black female classmates.
The song had little girls singing about subjects that should not even have been on our minds at the time. Jackie O and Trina, both hailing from South Florida, are definitely not female MC’s. But in a world of catchy hooks they reign supreme.
“I’m single again/and back on the prowl” not really a lyrically heavy song, but you heard women of all ages singing out that hook loud and strong, even when they weren’t single and on the prowl.
Then Jackie O, in her song “P**** Real Good” makes it known that a certain part of her anatomy pays all her bills and keeps the cops from writing her tickets.
Then, at the other end of the spectrum, you have rappers who are so bubble gum that they make you sick from the sugar rush they give you.
Much of their lyrics are air headed and have no substance to really grab you and make you listen. Rappers like Lil’ Mama, Young B, Teyana Taylor and Lil’ Nana are not hip-hop.
Lil’ Mama will be my first case of wackness. She spent much of her debut album rapping about what she thought girls her, well our age are going through.
But honestly how many of us on a daily basis are thinking of our lip gloss and how popping it is (I’m more of a Carmex girl myself).
Then there is her single “I’m What It Is” which basically talks about how fly she is. The only thing I like about the song is the backbeat. She even has audacity to call herself “The Voice of the Young People.”
Young B and Teyana are two rappers that are not even worth me really going into (just listen to “Chicken Noodle Soup” and “Google Me”).
Being that females are the major buyers of the hip-hop art form, it ceases to amaze that there are no female MCs.
It’s not like inner city black men are the only ones who have problems, or the only ones who can verbalize their pain. But something else that I noticed is that artists like Jean Grae and Rah Digga, are never really given the credit they deserve as being female MCs that I can aspire to be.
Now. I’m not saying that hip-hop has to be so deep that we’ll never understand you, but please present something that can stick to my lyrical ribs.