Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Rico Nasty, Tierra Whack, Young M.A., Leikeli47, and Lizzo are a part of the growing list of promising female rappers that have made their mark throughout 2019 and the start of 2020. Naturally, with this comes the people who insist on pitting successful women against each other in an attempt to stir up unnecessary drama, those who shut them down because their lyrics are either too boring or too explicit, and those who think that women in general just aren’t meant to rap. 

These women are told that they’re copying someone’s flow or overall aesthetic, that they don’t have the rapper look or aren’t pretty enough to even reach the bar; they’re constantly underestimated, slut-shamed, and insulted, basically facing backlash for pretty much any and every thing they do. This almost never happens to male rappers, and it’s a shame for many reasons, especially when these women have contributed better lyrics to the rap genre than those who have been in the game for decades.

One of the common criticisms of these female rappers always comes down to their gender and the way they express their sexuality. Jermaine Dupri, who was worked with and produced for many influential black artists such as Alicia Keys, Monica, Janet Jackson, TLC, and Mariah Carey, said in 2019 that female rappers these days were like “strippers rapping. As far as rap goes, I’m not getting who is the best rapper. I’m getting, ‘Oh you’ve got a story about you dancing in the club.’” Naturally, female rappers rightfully took offense. Male rappers rap about the same thing that female rappers do: sex, money, drugs, and partying, to name a few. 

But why is it different when women do it? Why is influential, creative, and out-of-this-world when male rappers make songs about these topics, but it’s unimaginative, disrespectful, and try-hard when female rappers do it? Why aren’t women allowed to break the gap between them and male rappers? Why do their songs have to fit into a specific, cramped up box in a genre that revolves around not limiting yourself and speaking your truth, no matter what it is?

These women of various backgrounds, with differing experiences and opinions, are allowed to rap about whatever they want. They shouldn’t have to hold their tongue to appease the male rappers who seek to oppress them. 

Rap as a whole wouldn’t be anything without black women anyways, as seen with iconic rappers like Lil Kim, Missy Elliot, Foxy Brown, and Lauryn Hill; they gave rap the diversity and freshness it needed, and their impact is still relevant and obvious to this day. Give female rappers some space, seriously. If you really want to support them and amplify their voices, then listen to their music and what they have to say outside of that. Stop putting them in a box that they’ve consistently been breaking out of.