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Last Active 07-27-22 7:57 am
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| Best Female Rap Albums: Cream of the Crop
The best female rap albums to date, in my opinion. None of that Nicki Minaj, Kreayshawn, Cardi B bullshit. | | 1 |  | Lil' Kim
Hard Core
The album that inspired this list, Lil' Kim's 1996 debut, "Hard Core", has been hailed by rapheads and critics alike. Its gritty, graphically sexual tone with a tinge of pop sprinkled on top was revolutionary in the world of hip hop, and its great success helped spawn a new generation of female rappers like Foxy Brown, Trina and Eve. | | 2 |  | MC Lyte
Lyte As A Rock
It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that "Lyte as a Rock", which was the first album release of MC Lyte, is the album that brought female hip hop to the masses. While there were other female rappers like Roxanne Shante, MC Lyte was truly the first one to really bring it to another level of respectability and skill. A lot of the songs on "Lyte as a Rock" continue to be referenced in multiple rap songs to this date, specifically with "10% Dis" and "Paper Thin". | | 3 |  | Missy Elliott
Supa Dupa Fly
If Lil' Kim's "Hard Core" album was the album that revolutionized sexuality in female hip hop, Missy Elliott's "Supa Dupa Fly" managed to take the other end of lyricism and dense technicality to another plateau. The tight, concrete production by Timbaland and surreal, abstract lyricism from Missy combined with interlaced R&B influences makes "Supa Dupa Fly" her finest effort to date, and absolutely one of the most solid records released by a woman in hip hop. | | 4 |  | Yo-Yo
You Better Ask Somebody
One of Ice Cube's protégées, Yo-Yo was one of the main ladies of the West Coast hip hop circuit, releasing her major debut at the age of 19. While that album, "Make Way for the Motherlode", was a solid release, I actually believe that her brightest moment wouldn't come until 1993 with the release of her third album "You Better Ask Somebody". Her in-your-face conscious lyrics fired at full velocity with a rugged, street-savvy production, adding an extra emphasis on her lyrics. Unfortunately, this end-result would end up being a one album deal, as her later releases have a much greater focus on poppier production and topic matters. | | 5 |  | Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Arguably the most sacred record released in female hip hop history, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" remains one of the most unique and beloved rap albums out. It was released when female hip hop was starting to morph into a more sex-based nature thanks to the massive success of artists like Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown, so in that case, the album stood out like a rose in a desert. The production is amazing, the vivid wordplay and soulful croons of Lauryn Hill are amazing, this album is amazing... but I'm sure you knew all of that by now. | | 6 |  | Ghetto Twiinz
Got It on My Mind
While all the attention of female hip hop was largely focused on the East and West, two twin sisters were making a ruckus down South. The sisters which make up Ghetto Twiinz predates the highly sexual and violent nature of Lil' Kim's "Hard Core" album by a year with the release of their 1995 debut album "Surrounded by Criminals", although their brightest moment wouldn't come until 2001 with the release of their fourth album "Got It on My Mind". The album showcases some of the rawest, most razor sharp delivery Ghetto Twiinz have ever put on wax, with tracks like "Head Bustin" and "Rumble with the South" being some of the most noteworthy tracks they have recorded. The stripped down production of the album also gives it an extra layer of rawness which meshes with the twins's incendiary styles wonderfully. | | 7 |  | Trina
Diamond Princess
Trina, in my opinion, was one of the best female rappers using the Lil' Kim formula of the late 90's and early 2000's. Making her debut as a fiery hoodrat on the popular 1998 track "Nann Nigga" by Trick Daddy, she later broke out on her own with her 2000 album "Da Baddest Bitch". Despite having impressive sales, the album ended up sounding a bit too similar to her influences critically speaking, although with her 2002 follow-up "Diamond Princess", Trina finally let her own styles shine through. She combined newly-found poppier elements of the time which was popularized by Eve, along with the raunchy sex raps from her previous effort, with her signature flow that can be both rapid and smooth to create a stellar album. The best example of the end result is the smash single "B R Right" which featured Ludacris, which is both lyrically impressive and a good piece of turn of the millennium hip-pop. | | 8 |  | Menajahtwa
Cha-Licious
One of the many artists on Ruthless Records that never got their real break due to Eazy-E's untimely passing, Menajahtwa released one album, 1994's "Cha-Licious", before morphing into Twa-Zay and splitting all together in 1999. Unlike the cringey bounce influence of Twa-Zay, Menajahtwa was damn good and full of street tales, both in the dark and light senses. The duality of tones in the album is what makes it so good to me, personally. Definitely one of the most underrated female rap albums of all time. | | 9 |  | Boss
Born Gangstaz
Maaannnn.... Boss had a rough deal. For those who don't know, Boss (also known as Bo$$) was a female rapper from Detroit that was very good at what she did. Very, very good. The problem was, though, she bullshitted her entire back history. While her rhymes were very street oriented with stories that revolved around a gangsta lifestyle, it ended up being that she was actually brought up in a respectable household and attended private school. As soon as that story came out, Boss's story was over. As a result, her only album to date, 1993's "Born Gangstaz", is often glossed over, despite its success upon its initial release. The flow of Boss is surely one-of-a-kind, and the production is deep and heavy, producing a gritty under-appreciated masterpiece of an album. | | 10 |  | The Conscious Daughters
Gamers
One of the earliest female hip hop collectives, The Conscious Daughters first formed when the two members, CMG and Special One, met in high school in 1985. Fast forward 11 years, The Conscious Daughters released two albums: their 1991 debut, "Ear to the Street", and 1996's "Gamers". While "Ear to the Street" had a more serious tone to it, the appeal of "Gamers" relies on how fearless the two emcees are, bellowing out bars that can be compared to the bravado of their fellow male emcees. That fearlessness combined with the strong production values absolutely puts "Gamers" on the list. | | 11 |  | Deadly Venoms
Antidote
One of the most interesting female hip hop collectives on the list, Deadly Venoms started out in 1993 as a showcase of some of the most lyrically gifted female emcees of the time. By 1998, they became a loose associate of Wu-Tang Clan, and were set to release their debut album "Antidote", which ultimately was pulled within hours of its release. That is very disappointing to say the least since the ladies concoct one of the most mystifying female gangsta rap albums to date, backed by lush production that practically oozes Wu-Tang-esqued eeriness. | | 12 |  | Rah Digga
Dirty Harriet
One of the rawest female rap albums of all time, "Dirty Harriet" serves as the long-anticipated debut album release of underground veteran Rah Digga. Originally breaking out as a member of the underground supergroup Outsidaz, she later departed to be a part of Busta Rhymes's Flipmode unit, and finally releasing "Dirty Harriet" in 2000. Its hostile and street-oriented nature made the album stand out like a sore thumb among the all time commercial high of female hip hop, most of which was highly sexualized in nature. And while there are some sexual blips featured in "Dirty Harriet", it is much more focused on making some of the purest street music that mainstream rap had to offer. And it is pretty much that fact alone that makes the album such an uncompromising gem. | | 13 |  | Rasheeda
Dirty South
Combining sex appeal with a splendid flow and a knack of churning out some rather technically executed rhymes, Rasheeda made her solo debut with the release of "Dirty South" in 2000, at the young age of 18. Although not wildly successful upon release, it does contain some of the most ambitious raps of the time, and is heads-over-heels better than her stuff with her previous group Da Kaperz. A maturity statement if there ever was one, most significantly in the field of flow. | | 14 |  | Smallz One
The Diary of a Black Widow
Unarguably the odd one out on the list, Albuquerque's Smallz One has been delighting her cult following with dark, horrorcore-styled rhymes for over a decade now. While all of her efforts have been impressive thus far, her best moment to date has to have been her 2009 debut "The Diary of a Black Widow", which vividly describes numerous morbid scenarios, backed by an atmospheric production. While there are those who view horrorcore as more of a parody subgenre of hip hop, artists like Smallz One have been absolutely making solid efforts to legitimize it with sharp, cold rhymes and a haunting flow. And not just in general, but also by paving the way for female emcees to do horrorcore legitimately as well. | |
Drifter
05.23.18 | Where's Lady of Rage? I haven't actually heard Necessary Roughness but I'm sure it's top tier | Hawks
05.23.18 | 7 is so great props for including. | Cygnatti
05.23.18 | why not, i guess | discovolante
05.23.18 | I've actually never really dug Lady of Rage that much, Drifter. Aside from "Afro Puffs", she just never did it for me. And most definitely, Hawks. | MyShadow
05.23.18 | i dont see gangsta boo or amber london here but otherwise gd stuff | luci
05.23.18 | broke with expensive taste tho | guitarded_chuck
05.23.18 | gangstaboo [2] good list doe | Drifter
05.23.18 | Man you gotta hear Puffin on Blunts and Drankin Tanqueray. It's Dr. Dre doing an intro and outro and Lady of Rage w/ Tha Dogg Pound freestyling over a dope beat | bloc
05.23.18 | You MUST check out Heather B - Takin Mine. Best female hip-hop album of all time by miles imo. | Drifter
05.23.18 | I find it funny how similar Lil Kim and Foxy Brown sound. Whenver I hear songs featuring them I never know if it's one of the other | combustion07
05.23.18 | 4 is the shit same with her other album around that time too. Always dug Missy. I'll have to check 14 | ZombieToyDuck
05.23.18 | Princess Nokia-1992 Deluxe is pretty great
also check Rapsody-Laila's Wisdom | discovolante
05.23.18 | Drifter: Yeah man, I remember that. I forgot to mention it, but that’s definitely a solid track. And Foxy Brown has a more deep voice, kinda can get annoying to me lol.
bloc: I actually remember listening to a bit of Heather B a year or so ago. I’ll definitely look into her more. | JDubb
05.24.18 | Great list!
| Mentasm
05.24.18 | damn, | platnum
05.24.18 | kreayshawn > | Masochist
05.24.18 | I really love that you did this list, and I hope you get a feature for this underrated sub-genre. But as is the usual when it comes to lists like this, I gotta point out what's missing. In this case, it's Queen Latifah - 'Black Reign'. To me, it's hard to talk about female rap artists and not mention Queen, especially this album. "U.N.I.T.Y." is such a jam!
Anyways, still a great list. Thanks for putting effort into it! | discovolante
05.24.18 | Yeah, Latifah was on the verge of getting put in. But I’ve just never vibed to her that much. Same reason Monie Love wasn’t put in. | GodLovesUgly
07.02.18 | Awesome job man, you heard Bahamadia - Kollage? |
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