# Greatest Female Hip-Hop Artist
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 17, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825 "2008-01-17T03:52:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/1 "2008-01-17T03:52:46Z")
Who is the greatest female rapper of all time? I’m going to go ahead and vote Lauryn Hill. She was amazing with the Fugees. As a matter of fact, they were pretty much her back up dancers.
Also, whomever ghost-wrote MC Lyte’s lyrics in the 80s was an unbelievable talent.
I can’t even think of any other female rappers that touch those two, and I am privy to quite a few female rappers, including some pretty obscure good ones.
I hope this thread will bring to light some talents that I haven’t heard of though.
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### Author:  [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/2 "2008-01-17T04:46:27Z")
I’d probably say Missy. As a writer and a performer, she’s kind of head and shoulders above anyone else. Lauryn was always much more of a singer with occasional rapped verses, but Missy is an emcee’s emcee through and through.
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### Author:  [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/3 "2008-01-17T04:57:22Z")
No, no, no. Please don’t say that. Please. Lauryn Hill with the Fugees was a Hip-Hop Artist. It wasn’t until she left them that she became a singer.
Missy has only disapointed me after her “I Can’t Stand The Rain”. Even with that song, I give her few points for lyrical skill. I really can’t deny her crazy points for originality though.
Also, I think this is supposed to be in Cafe Society, but I couldn’t figure out how to report the damn thread to the mods. I put it in IMHO by mistake.
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### Author:  [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/4 "2008-01-17T05:05:50Z")
[QUOTE=Nzinga, Seated]
No, no, no. Please don’t say that. Please. Lauryn Hill with the Fugees was a Hip-Hop Artist. It wasn’t until she left them that she became a singer.
Missy has only disapointed me after her “I Can’t Stand The Rain”. Even with that song, I give her few points for lyrical skill. I really can’t deny her crazy points for originality though.
Also, I think this is supposed to be in Cafe Society, but I couldn’t figure out how to report the damn thread to the mods. I put it in IMHO by mistake.
[/QUOTE]
I mean, I guess Lauryn rapped a little in the Fugees, but she always struck me as more of the hook singer of the group while Clef and Pras took the verses. I mean, “ready or not,” “fugee la,” “killing me softly”…the biggest singles are all built around Lauryn sweetly singing, not busting rhymes.
Dude, Missy took OFF after “I can’t stand the rain” - I mean, that song was hot, but she got ridiculous after that.
The only other fairly recent female MC of consequence that even springs to mind is Charli Baltimore, and that’s not saying much.
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### Author:  [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/5 "2008-01-17T05:24:11Z")
[QUOTE=TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW]
I mean, I guess Lauryn rapped a little in the Fugees, but she always struck me as more of the hook singer of the group while Clef and Pras took the verses. I mean, “ready or not,” “fugee la,” “killing me softly”…the biggest singles are all built around Lauryn sweetly singing, not busting rhymes.
Dude, Missy took OFF after “I can’t stand the rain” - I mean, that song was hot, but she got ridiculous after that.
The only other fairly recent female MC of consequence that even springs to mind is Charli Baltimore, and that’s not saying much.
[/QUOTE]
**TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW** , you are breaking my heart, I am not kidding.
Yes, Lauryn did pour her lovely voice on the tracks, but she killed with the lyrics. From Ready or Not:
"I play my enemies like a game of chess, where I rest,
No stress
If you don’t smoke sess, lest.
I must confess, my destiny’s manifest
…
Frontin’ niggas give me hee-bee-gee-bees
So while you’re imitating Al Capone
I’ll be Nina Simone
And defacating on your microphone"
Woah!!! That is hot stuff, baby.
What Charli Baltimore could do with that, I simply cannot imagine.
I think I will admit that I may have been a little hard on Missy though. The more I think of her, the more I remember some really good stuff from her. I have never really been a fan though.
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### Author:  [@tesseract](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tesseract)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/6 "2008-01-17T05:29:14Z")
Please tell me she is not the hip-hop truth with this, POST-Fugees.
It’s funny how money change the situation
Miscommunication leads to complication
My emancipation don’t fit your equation
I was on the humble, You on every station
Some wanna play Lauryn Like she done
But remember not to gain new under the sun
Everything you did has already been done …
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### Author:  [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/7 "2008-01-17T11:46:56Z")
I don’t believe there are any great female hip hop artists.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/8 "2008-01-17T14:13:55Z")
I always thought Lauryn was more of a talented R&B singer with some occasion to rap. Missy gets my vote for best female hip hop artist…but “Miseducation” and Missy’s last 2 albums are the extent of my female hip hop artist knowledge. I am not very well versed in the Fugees.
What’s your specific beef with Missy, **Nzinga**? She’s got fantastic beats (granted, probably thanks to Timbaland) and while a lot of her raps are sexual in nature, they’re pretty “female empowering.” Plus she sings more about relishing big asses than Sir Mix-a-lot ever did! 😃
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### Author:  [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/9 "2008-01-17T14:24:51Z")
\
Let’s hip-hop this one over to Cafe Society.
IMHO \> CS
\
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### Author:  [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/10 "2008-01-17T14:32:49Z")
\
Also, if you must include the full lyrics, please link to them elsewhere. Remember it’s a potential copyright violation to post full lyrics.
Under Fair Use you may use a small snippet of them, but the entire song could lead to trouble.
Thank you.
\
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### Author:  [@Ice\_Machine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Machine)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/11 "2008-01-17T14:36:13Z")
I can’t answer the OP but I have a small hijack with some questions to fight my ignorance that I didn’t think warranted their own OP.
I thought MC stood for Master of Ceremonies, how does it translate in the context of rap music?
I have trouble understanding the different genres. To me R&B is the more melodic music with actual singing whereas hip-hop and rap are both spoken lyrics with backing music. The difference being hip-hop is more music with heavy beats to dance to and less words and rap is more lyrics and less music. Am I anywhere close?
I guess I do have a semi-related comment. If my understanding is at all correct the little I know of Lauryn Hill she’s more R&B with some hip-hop in my mind.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/12 "2008-01-17T14:40:59Z")
The MC (master of ceremonies) is also the person with the microphone running the show. Is that not what a rapper is too?
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### Author:  [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/13 "2008-01-17T14:45:11Z")
If Lily Allen counts, I pick her.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/14 "2008-01-17T14:45:21Z")
What’s next:
World’s tallest dwarf.
World’s shortest giant.
The hairiest bald man.
The man with the palest suntan.
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### Author:  [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/15 "2008-01-17T14:52:35Z")
Missy is a massively talented artist when it comes to assembling the whole package and wickedly original to boot, but I’d argue that she’s only just competent when it comes to her MC skills. I think to qualify for the title of “greatest”, you definitely have to prove you could hold your own with nothing but your voice and a mic.
Lauryn Hill probably comes the closest, though she loses points for turning into a lunatic crackpot ever since she started popping out the next generation of Marleys.
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned M.I.A. yet, though. Her style is absolutely unique, and while it’s probably not as mainstream-friendly as Missy or Lauryn’s, it’s instantly recognizable - shouldn’t be much longer before she gets some recognition on this side of the pond.
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/16 "2008-01-17T14:57:35Z")
I’ll presume the lyrics quoted thusfar are a lot more impressive when heard in the song than when simply read in print.
They sure do have a lot of words that rhyme with each other, though. Yep.
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### Author:  [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/17 "2008-01-17T14:58:39Z")
Queen Latifah hasn’t been mentioned yet? I think she is getting overlooked because she has gotten away from hip-hop and rap and more mainstream with Chicago, acting etc.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/18 "2008-01-17T15:17:02Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask]
What’s next:
World’s tallest dwarf.
World’s shortest giant.
The hairiest bald man.
The man with the palest suntan.
[/QUOTE]
Huh?
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### Author:  [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/19 "2008-01-17T15:27:09Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ]
Huh?
[/QUOTE]
meaning picking the best female rapper is like picking the worlds tallest dwarf- pointless as you are still a dwarf.
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### Author:  [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-female-hip-hop-artist/433825/20 "2008-01-17T15:29:09Z")
I love Lauryn Hill but like the others I’ve always considered her a singer first, Hip Hop Artist second. The amount of rapping she does was never on par with Clef and Pras.
I give my vote to Ladybug Mecca of the Digable Planets!
\*
now you see that I am 68 inches above sea level
93 million miles above these devils
play me in the winter
play me in the summer
play me in the autumn
any order…\*
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