The 90s is universally considered the "Golden Era" of female rap. While many will highlight the success female rappers had on the charts and at award shows, what often goes underappreciated are the albums these ladies dropped.
We got Da Brat's "Funkdafied," Lil Kim's "Hardcore," Foxy Brown "Ill Na Na," Missy Elliott's "Supa Dupa Fly," Lauryn Hill's "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," Eve's "Let There Be Eve...," and many others. These albums were so impactful that they not only shaped the culture but connected millions of Black girls by becoming the soundtrack to many of our lives.
In 2017, Hip Hop writers declared female rap was entering into another "Golden Era." Rap girls like
Cardi B, Tierra Whack, Rapsody, Kash Doll, City Girls, Saweetie, Latto, Doja Cat, and Megan Thee Stallion started dominating the Hip Hop conversations and the charts. However, while these ladies can drop a hot single, their albums don't seem to have the lasting impact that the ladies of the 90s had with their projects. The only female rapper to receive praise for her album was Cardi B, who won a Grammy for Invasion of Privacy. However, after her, projects by female rappers at best get mixed reviews.
Now, it must be pointed out that these female rappers have to deal with toxic STAN culture, the toxic "anybody can be media" culture, and people's ability to give "hot takes" 5 min after an album drops via social media. People no longer gather together to listen to music or listen by themselves with headphones while reading the credits in CD booklets. Instead, they are rushing to social media to call something trash for attention. But, putting all aside, even those who can still listen to albums without a biased ear concede something is missing.
For me, I think a lot of these albums are missing:
An Overall Compelling Theme/Message
Continuity
Storytelling
I'm not going to elaborate because I have mentioned this before, and I really want to know y'all opinion. If you think about albums created by female rappers and why some resonated with you and others didn't, can you pinpoint what was missing? Do you think the ability of a hot single to carry an album has made female rappers too singles-focused?
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