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Curated playlist

21st-century American women rappers

  • BeyoncéOn the 13th of December 2013, Beyoncé released a complete album on the iTunes Store with no warning and no promotion. Within six days it had sold one million digital copies, a record for any album on iTunes at the time. The artist behind…
  • Sha-RockSha-Rock began in hip hop as a breakdancer, not a rapper. She later became known as the first female rapper.
  • Fergie (singer)Fergie, born Stacy Ann Ferguson, sang on a song that held the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 straight weeks in 2009. That song, "I Gotta Feeling," stayed at number one longer than any other song that year. By then her records had…
  • Queen LatifahQueen Latifah picked her name from a book of Arabic names at age eight. She added the title "Queen" herself.
  • Lauryn HillLauryn Hill stood at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards and said, "This is crazy. This is hip-hop!" She had just become the first woman to win five Grammys in a single night. Her wins spanned album, song, vocal performance and best new artist,…
  • Missy ElliottMissy Elliott and Timbaland wrote and produced nine tracks on Aaliyah's 1996 album One in a Million.
  • Doja CatIn August 2018, Doja Cat uploaded a homemade music video in which she fantasized about being a cow. Within a week it had passed three million views. The American rapper, singer and producer was born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, and the…
  • Cardi BCardi B reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated the 25th of September 2017, with a song called "Bodak Yellow." No solo female rapper had topped that chart since Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in 1998. The woman behind…
  • Megan Thee StallionMegan Thee Stallion's mother took her to recording sessions instead of daycare.
  • KeshaKesha's big break in 2009 came from walking into a recording session by accident.
  • The Lady of RageThe Lady of Rage rapped on The Chronic and Doggystyle before she had an album of her own.

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