Sole Survivor...

Last of a Dying Breed
written by JusHH

The Bet Hip-Hop Awards do not have a category for Best Female Rapper.

Missy Elliot won the last Grammy Award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance…

…in 2004. It was discontinued in 2005.


Last time I talked about the moment in time where the female emcee started its decline. Lil’ Kim’s success and undeniable influence on the music industry marginalized the female rapper right into extinction. And it doesn’t appear that things are going to change anytime soon. Today’s female rapper’s are so desperate that they either hyper-sexed vixens trying to capture the same lightning that Kim had (think Trina) or they are going the other direction and trying to be super gangsters (think Remy Martin). The rest are either too old or don’t have the personality to capture and hold people’s attention (think Jean Grae – for both, unfortunately).

See in order for the female rapper to return, she needs to overcome a lot – and that’s before she even picks up the mic. 1) She has to be young; preferably under 25 because her fan base has to be young enough not to have any long standing prejudices. 2) She must have a strong personality – strong enough where she doesn’t have to be “put on” by a male rapper. The lone female in a male crew just doesn’t get the necessary respect to make it as a solo artist. 3) Her image must transcend the music so that she is mentioned in conversations regardless if her song is playing. An example of this is a woman who has an incredible sense of fashion and sets trends for others. This will allow her name to grow so that if she drops an album, she will have an audience large enough to make an impact. 4) And lastly, she has to be able to rap – and I mean go in and burn up the booth. Female rappers who have limited talent are forced to rely on a gimmick like sex to sell and gimmicks have no long term future. In my opinion, only one woman has all of these traits and has the best chance of saving the female emcee...

Lil’ Mama.

4) Let’s start from the bottom, Lil’ Mama is nice. Say what you want but give her 16 and she is going to do some damage. I was first convinced of her ability when I heard her tear up the “Show Me What You Got” beat. This had me spending a good portion of my afternoon looking at all of her stuff on YouTube. She had the one of the best performances on the “A Millie” beat. Her song “L.I.F.E” is a gripping song that shows that she is well beyond her years in terms of maturity and talent. Yeah I know what you are thinking. Isn’t that the same girl who said her “Lip Gloss is poppin’”? Yes, but “Lip Gloss” and its popularity not only speak to her ability but why she is the only one that can save the day. First off, she was 17 and in High School when she did that song and it showed that she was strong enough to make a song about what she knows and kids rallied behind it. Plus I’d rather a 17 year old girl rap about her lip gloss than what she can do with her lips – real talk.

3) As of today, most people don’t even know that Lil’ Mama is a rapper. If you ask 100 people who Lil’ Mama is, 95 of them will probably reference America’s Best Dance Crew. Lil’ Mama has gotten national attention as one of the expert judges on Randy Jackson’s popular dance competition. With that show having millions and millions of fans and strong Hip-Hop roots, how hard do you think it would be to promote her album? She has a much greater chance at achieving commercial success and creating a strong, loyal audience for her music.

2) Lil’ Mama is not apart of anyone’s group and did not have to be cosigned by any existing male rapper. Therefore her relevance is more credible and people will respect her as a solo artist. (Seriously, who ever thought that Amil or Mia X would do anything?)

1) Her age, 19, makes her the perfect age to lead the female comeback because her core audience won’t remember the heartache of losing Lauryn or despising the Trina’s of the world. They would see her as a girl in their age bracket with the same swag and grind and give her an honest chance to win them over.

Miss Niatia Kirkland has the ability to “undo” what Miss Kimberly Jones did and reignite the torch that Miss Lana Moorer and Miss Dana Owens carried for so long. She is the only one that can make sure that the sacrifices that Miss Rashia Fisher and Miss Tsidi Ibrahim made wasn’t in vain. Maybe she can provide redemption for the Miss Reminisce Smith’s and Miss Katrina Taylor’s of the world. Maybe she can even inspire Miss Lauryn Hill and Miss Eve Jeffers to get back in the booth. And maybe, just maybe…

… she can join Missy and win the next Grammy Award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance.