The treatment of female Hip Hop artists in the music industry is something not often talked about in the mainstream. While many female artists must face sexism and misogyny in the music business, its always been more common the Hip Hop world. There are some cases where they simply don’t get the credit they deserve compared to their male counterparts.
A great example of someone who dominated the rap game for years and didn’t receive proper recognition is Missy Elliott. The five-time Grammy-winning artist is a writer and producer, in addition to being the only female rapper to have six albums certified platinum. When she appeared at the 2015 Super Bowl supporting Katy Perry, much of today’s generation had no clue who she was. The past few years Missy has been releasing singles to build hype for a comeback. Her most recent being “I’m Better (Feat. Eve, Lil Kim, & Trina)”.
Some notable songs Missy penned: Signs” (Beyoncé), “So Gone” (Monica Brown), “Free Yourself” and “Two Weeks Notice” (Fantasia), and “12 Step” (Ciara). Her album-producing credits include Whitney Houston’s Just Whitney, Mary J. Blige’s No More Drama, ‘N Sync’s No Strings Attached, and Mariah Carey’s Butterfly.
While accepting the Innovator of the Year award at the 2015 Billboard Women in Music event, she talked about being a woman in the industry and who inspires her:
