The Top 30

For decades, the official “Women in Hip-Hop” discussion focused on the scarcity of female MCs with record deals. As the story went, (straight) men didn’t want to hear women rap; at best, they wanted to f*ck them.

In the pulsating heart of Hip-Hop where lyricism reigns supreme and storytelling is an art form, few voices resonate with the raw, unapologetic power of Lady Luck.

When it comes to Hip-Hop, it’s no secret that women are currently dominating the charts. A once male-dominated industry has now, though begrudgingly, become more diverse as female rappers have not only proven that they are just as talented, but that they can attract more fans, create chart-topping hit records and execute better performances.

The Hip-Hop genre is no longer the staunchly regulated boy's club of the '80s and early '90s. The framework set in place by trailblazing artists like MC Lyte and Queen Latifah has allowed, in part, for the empowerment of women in rap today.

The rush to capture the best Hip-Hop releases of the year is sometimes an exercise of futility, especially when one considers the volume of music that gets pumped out daily. In compiling this list, we’ve tried to include everything we listened to and loved, knowing full well we might have missed a gem here and […]

Believe it or not, at one point in time there was no Hip-Hop Internets. Back  then, OG websites you might not remember, like Hookt.com or 360hiphop.com, elbowed their way into the Hip-Hop journalism game that was once caught in a firm headlock by outlets such as The Source, Rap Pages and XXL. However, the dot com […]