In 2017, 2018 I decided to transition my blog to pay more attention to female rappers. Nicki Minaj was almost 10 years in and I could tell that she inspired a lot of girls to start rapping. The Blog era hadn't ended yet and there weren't any blogs really talking about female rappers. Over the years, aside from the Queen Of The Ring girls; there were a few other popular NY girls like Young M.A., Azealia Banks, DonMonique, Nyemiah Supreme, Nya Lee, Young B (Bianca Bonnie), the duo BBOD, Feby, Jayda Marie,Young Ash, Jazzi Corleone and a couple more that I can't remember.
During my beginning transition to female rap coverage; girls from out of state like Molly Brazy, Stunna Girl, Asian Doll, Cuban Doll, Kash Doll, Katie Got Bandz, Rico Nasty, Bali Baby, Dreezy, and more, began to dominate. The only girls in NYC, I remember being relevant that still have a name today are Cardi B, Connie Diiamond, Billy B, Kyah Baby, Maliibu Miitch, Mani The Mogul, Dream Doll, and Young Devyn. In 2019, I moved to Atlanta to work alongside Molly Brazy's manager Winner Circles Pub's CEO Kash Johns. When I moved back to NYC at the beginning of 2020, there still weren't a lot of New York girls making noise; to be honest, a lot of them had fallen off. I remember doing an interview with Talk Of The Town and mentioning the 5 girls I was listening to. I named Nicki Minaj, Fakebitcheshero (Rocky From Philly), Lady London, Billy B, Mulatto & City Girls. I did begin hearing about girls like Lola Brooke, London Hill, Raina Simone, K Goddess, and Diamond Qing. Not sure if the bandemic helped but soon after; female rappers started appearing all over the city.
Since I began blogging back in 2016, I have always released a list similar to XXL's Freshmen's list in honor of artists to watch in NYC. Over the years, this list has ultimately become more female-driven. At the end of 2021, I released a list of top NYC female rappers. Garnering the most attention that any of my lists have ever gotten. During this time, the height of female drill rap would rise. For a long time, Billy B and OG Marlynmonrollup were the only girls in city surrounded by gang members in videos toting guns. Now, more girls were doing it.
A 16-year-old male rapper D thang was going viral for vulgar raps but this time he brought Nay The Dancer from his hometown RPT along. A girl with green hair who was already popular on Instagram after Nicki Minaj posted her dance video. Thus, the legendary drill song "Back Out The Henny" was born. Shortly after, other female drill rappers began to appear on my radar like Shani Boni, Lee Bands, JJ Morgan Ice Spice, Kenzo B, Legendary Rella, Winter Da Brat, and Princess Sany. Aside from the drill girls; Cokah, Yellowtapee, the duo Girll Codee, Swinderella, Steph G, Stormii Blu, Big Zen and more gained a spot on my radar as well. The female rap scene in NYC continues to grow welcoming new faces to me like Maiya The Don, Murda B, Breezy, Jenn Carter, Leaf, Manii Ling, Hazel Sno, Miah Kenzo, Tiny B, EBk Sin, Buggout B, Miya V, Kim Lee, Maee Kenzo, Zeffy Lee, Milani Bandz and so much more.
Now, although I know the majority of the history; I don't mind being fact-checked on what I don't know. Because even I, can't know everything. Alot of people know Cleotrapa as Ice Spice's "Baddie Friend" but she has been doing her own thing for some time now. Although, she garnered a lot of popularity by making funny videos on Instagram. I remember being super excited when she dropped "I Don't Trap" and put on for her hometown borough Staten Island. I have been told that Cokah is not new to this and has truly been putting in work for some time now. The Girll Codee recently gained lots of popularity but they went viral years ago rapping in their hometown of Red Hook. Remember those two girls spitting bars that everybody loved? That was them. I also heard that over the years, Yellowtapee got a lot of attention-rapping freestyles while sitting on her bed. Manii Ling, most known for "No Structure" featuring popular drill rapper Freshy Da General; recently revealed that in early 2019, she and Kim Lee went viral for their "Meet The Woo" remix. Apparently, it got so much attention that Pop Smoke's team had it removed from Youtube. Bringing many to question whether they can take credit for being one of the first females to experiment with Drill. Aside from that, I recently stopped by the studio and was introduced to a female rapper who was so humble but truly gave star quality. Come to find out, she wasn't a new rapper at all but Leaf who is well known for her 2017 project Trinity which featured Lil Yachty.
Connie Diiamond recently signed to the legendary Def Jam Records. Lola Brooke has collaborated with people like Ciara, Flo Milli, Meek Mill, and Latto who brung her out at Coachella. Diamond Qing's single "MVP" is set to air on Bel-Air this Thursday. Murda B might have set the record for doing numbers and gaining attention the fastest. London Hill and Ice Spice recently collaborated with their idol Nicki Minaj and are said to have deals with her label Heavy On It. Billy B continues to break barriers independently. Every day women continue to break barriers not only in Hip Hop but the world. I can honestly say that the recent recognition of women rappers in NYC has truly been amazing,
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