10 Songs You Should Add To Your Women-in-Hip-Hop Playlist
Hip-Hop is still a fairly young genre of music, but there have been a lot of stories told since its inception in the late 70s. It’s a male-dominated genre, so women’s voices aren’t always amplified. But today, and in honor of Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating the ladies. Get into this list of 10 songs by Black women in hip-hop to remind you to hype yourself up!
1. “Da Ladies in the House”
In 1995, Big Kap put together an impressive group of lyricists that included Lauryn Hill, Precise, Bahamadia, Uneek, and Treep. They obviously proved that women could hang tough with the fellas, who dominated rap at that time. The video got some play on Video Music Box but the mellow groove is often left out of classic song status in discussions about 90s hip-hop.
2. “Savage (Remix)”
Meg Thee Stallion enlisted Beyonce’s help to give her already hit single, “Savage,” a turbo boost. Beyonce sang the hook but she also flexed some impressive flows as well. Two of Houston’s finest went hard to rep their hometown. Throw this song on when you want to hype yourself up for a day or night out on the town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEIqjoO0-Bs
3. “Afeni”
Rapsody’s album Eve is an entire womanist mood. Every song is named after an inspiring woman and discusses relevant topics related to confidence and celebrating Black womanhood, but “Afeni” is especially deep, with Rapsody eloquently going in on self-hating Black men — you know, the podcast bro types who like to disparage Black women.
4. “Ladies First”
Queen Latifah tapped Monie Love for the women empowerment anthem of the century. This is one song everyone knows, and it’s about women unifying to make positive changes in the world.
5. “Love is Blind”
Eve’s groundbreaking and heartbreaking song about domestic violence is a sad story, but it’s cathartic to hear her vow to avenge her friend’s death at the hands of an abusive spouse in the fictional but inspired by real-life events tune.
6. “Ladies Night”
Left Eye, Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, Angie Martinez, and Da Brat got together and created another classic women empowerment anthem. It’s about having a good time during a night out with your girls. Keep it simple and have some fun.
7. “Work It”
Missy has always been a clever lyricist, especially when it comes to talking about sex. This is yet another example of that. In “Work It” she makes it clear that she is a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to put it out there.
8. “Da Baddest B**ch”
The title is self-explanatory. Crank this up when you need to remind yourself who you are.
9. “Lyte as A Rock”
MC Lyte makes it clear in the intro that she coined the phrase, “Lyte as a rock” as a metaphor to explain “how heavy the young lady is.” It’s a classic song, but the gist of it still rings true: Be great.
10. “My Woes”
Chicago’s very own Sasha Go Hard put her own spin on the concept of what it means to be ride or die for friends. Crank this up on a girl’s night out.
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