2020 has undoubtedly been the beginning of a new era for women in Hip-Hop! It’s certainly important to call out the elephant in the room while addressing that in several cases male rappers have been known to have both misogynistic and derogatory lyrics towards women. In a society where there has been a foundation created on patriarchal views and contributing to that “Boys Club” mentality, you can certainly see how that could creep into the Hip-Hop community, allowing male rappers to benefit through male privileges. Putting the focus on where we are now, we are seeing a much needed change and it’s shaping the future of Hip-Hop!

Earlier this year Nicki Minaj’s remix of Doja Cat’s “Say So” reached number one in the USA, making it the first song by two female rappers to top Billboard’s chart. As if that wasn’t good enough, this was then followed by Beyoncé’s remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage”, which had reached number two on the charts. Let that sink in, three female rappers had outsold every other artist in the USA!

Fast forward to last week where we saw the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards’ “Ladies First” cypher, which featured Brandy, Teyana Taylor, H.E.R. and Erykah Badu. All of these powerful women took their turns rapping over the instrumentation of Brandy’s hit “I Wanna Be Down” bringing us lyrics, consciousness and delivery that will continue to embody the culture in it’s truest essence.

“Say a prayer, Breonna Taylor seemed intentional. Black Queen’s with dreams, beautiful exceptional. Say you wanna be down but still ain’t arrest them though” – H.E.R. 

During this cypher Breonna Taylor was honoured and there was a focus on Black pride as well as womanhood.

Watch the Ladies First cypher here: