Is She “Overrated” or is She Just a Woman?

by Lucia Schmid

Female rappers across the world are absolutely no strangers to controversy. Whether incredibly successful in mainstream rap or just starting out in the industry, there seems to be another standard of rules that women must abide by which don’t seem to apply to men. 

The inherent misogyny in the Hip-hop industry is mostly found on social media, with threads calling female rappers “overrated” or too sexually explicit. This negativity, however, doesn’t stop in a conversation on Twitter—reputable music sites and journalists also take part, with claims that female rappers focus too much on being provocative and not on being lyrically talented. There is a normalization of misogyny towards female artists that allows this double-standard to continue to thrive. In the article “Why do we have different expectations for female rappers”, author A. Harmony points out the very distinction in the name “female rapper.” ‘On one hand,’ She says, ‘the distinction is necessary in this male-dominated genre—and that’s an issue in itself. It’s a sad truth but thanks to years of conditioning, we tend to consider male rappers the default and rely on a modifier for clarity’s sake (“no, I meant who are your top five female rappers?”).’ 

There is also an implicit double standard in the judging of female rap as “too explicit” when many songs by male rappers today are loaded with sexually explicit messages but are simply not judged for it. Male sexuality in rap is seen as “badass” or dominant over women, while when a female tries to take this position, it is seen as inherently negative and dirty. 

Even extremely popular female artists such as Nicki Minaj continue to face criticism on their explicative lyrics and videos; people were shocked when Minaj’s Anaconda music video was released for its unapologetic sexual references. Ironically, she takes these lines from the iconic song “Baby Got Back” by male artist Sir-Mix-A-Lot, who was not judged by the same standards when he released his own song filled with sexual messages. Minaj turns the lyrics around by making objectifying comments about men, which is perhaps why it received so much backlash.The idea of a woman reclaiming her sexuality back from men, especially men in the rap industry, is a large threat to the normalization of this double standard.

Unlike male rappers, female rappers are also judged on factors completely separate from their music, such as their physical appearance and the image they project to Hip-hop fans. While a male rapper can put minimum effort into their appearance, female rappers must work towards an impossible standard of physical attractiveness. They are either criticized for showing too much skin or not looking desirable enough. Either way, they must fit into the male perception of what a woman in the rap industry should look like. Female rapper Lady Leshurr gave an interview about this double standard of appearances, 

“Whereas for women, it’s still based on image, and men will always think about what the female looks like before they hear what she’s gonna say. It’s always going to be ‘She’s ugly’ or ‘Look at her hair’. Whereas guys can just put a hoodie and a snapback on and record something and everyone will be like ‘Yeah they’re sick’.”

If female rappers were judged by the same standards as male rappers are- i.e., by their talent in rapping- we would be able to gauge the success of all rappers today, not simply a woman being successful “among other female rappers”. By changing the way we discuss female artists, we can begin to shift the power structure to call out these unequal standards and create a fair playing ground in the music industry.

ST.ART does not own the rights to any images used in this article.