Lana Michele Moorer, better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a full solo album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. The album spawned the singles "10% Dis" and "Paper Thin". In 1989, she joined the supergroup Stop the Violence Movement, and appeared on the single "Self Destruction", which was the inaugural number-one single on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.
Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics.
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott, also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began on her musical career as a member of the R&B girl group Sista during the 1990s, of whom were part of the larger Swing Mob musical collective—led by DeVante Swing of Jodeci. The former group's debut album, 4 All the Sistas Around da World (1994) was released by Elektra Records and met with positive critical reception despite commercial failure; she collaborated with album's producer and Swing Mob cohort Timbaland to subsequently write and produce material for other acts, including 702, Aaliyah, SWV, and Total. She then re-emerged as a solo act with numerous collaborations and guest appearances by 1996, and in July of the following year, she released her debut studio album, Supa Dupa Fly (1997). The album quickly saw commercial success and became her mainstream breakthrough, peaking at number three on the Billboard 200 and spawning the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 single "Sock It 2 Me".
Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and singer. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Shawntae Harris-Dupart, better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, she began her career in 1992 prior to signing with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings that same year. Her debut studio album, Funkdafied (1994) sold one million units, making her the first female hip hop solo act to receive platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the second female hip hop act to do so after Salt-N-Pepa.
Monica Denise Arnold is an American singer, rapper and actress. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, she began performing as a child and became part of a traveling gospel choir at the age of ten. Monica signed with record producer Dallas Austin through his label Rowdy Records in 1993, and gained prominence following the release of her debut studio album, Miss Thang (1995). Her follow up releases were met with further commercial success; her second, The Boy Is Mine (1998) remains her best-selling album and spawned three singles that peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100: "The Boy Is Mine", "The First Night", "Angel of Mine".
Eve Jihan Cooper is an American rapper, singer, and actress. Her debut studio album, Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady (1999) reached number one on the Billboard 200—making her the third female rapper to accomplish this feat—and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album spawned the hit singles "What Ya Want", "Love Is Blind," and "Gotta Man." That same year, she guest featured on The Roots' Grammy Award-winning single "You Got Me" as well as Missy Elliott's single "Hot Boyz," which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.
Robin Yvette Allen, known professionally as the Lady of Rage, is an American rapper, singer and actress best known for her collaborations with several other Death Row Records artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on the seminal albums, The Chronic and Doggystyle. The Lady of Rage has been described as "one of the most skillful female MCs" with a "mastery of flow" and "hard-core lyrics".
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, better known by her stage name Foxy Brown, is an American rapper. Upon signing to Def Jam Recordings in 1996, she released her debut studio album, Ill Na Na in November of that year to critical and commercial success. It peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), sold over seven million units worldwide, and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "I'll Be".
Katrina Laverne Taylor, known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles "Nann Nigga", "Shut Up", and "Take It to da House". In 2000, she released her debut album Da Baddest Bitch. Afterwards, she made an appearance on the remix of "One Minute Man" by Missy Elliott and Ludacris. In 2002, she released the Kanye West-produced single "B R Right" featuring Ludacris, from her sophomore album Diamond Princess (2002).
Nicole Monique Wray, also known as Lady Wray, is an American singer and songwriter. Her 1998 debut single "Make It Hot" was certified gold. In the 2010s, she began pursuing a more traditional soul sound, first as part of the duo Lady with Terri Walker and subsequently as Lady Wray. As Lady Wray, she has released two albums: Queen Alone (2016) and Piece of Me (2022).
Louise Amanda Harman, better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is a British rapper, best known for the songs "9 to 5" and "Love Me or Hate Me".
LeToya Nicole Luckett is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a founding member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. As a member of Destiny's Child, she achieved four US Top 10 hit singles, "No, No, No", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Say My Name" and "Jumpin', Jumpin'", and won two Grammy Awards. In the 2000s, she began her solo career after leaving the group and signing a record deal with Capitol Records. Her solo debut album, LeToya (2006), debuted at number-one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA, that same year.
Marion Hall is a Jamaican singer and songwriter whose career has spanned over two decades. Formerly known as the Queen of Dancehall, she is best known for her guest appearance on No Doubt's "Underneath It All," which went triple Platinum and won a Grammy for No Doubt.
Juanita Stokes, currently known as Needa S., is an American singer and rapper.
Baller's Lady is the debut studio album by the American rapper Passion. It was released on August 27, 1996, through MCA Records. Production was handled by Kirv, Mark C. Henry and Studio Ton. The album features guest appearances from B-Legit, E-40, Rappin' 4-Tay and Too $hort. The album was a commercial failure and only made it to #85 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, causing MCA to drop her from the label.
"Rapper's Ball" is a song by American rap artist E-40, featuring rapper Too $hort and Jodeci lead singer Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey. It is a single from the lead rapper's 1996 album Tha Hall of Game and is a B-side for E-40's song "Things'll Never Change", featuring The Dove Shack rapper Bo-Rock. The song peaked at #29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart along with "Things'll Never Change", becoming E-40's most successful song as a lead artist until "U and Dat" featuring T-Pain and Kandi Girl peaked at #13 on the Hot 100 in 2006. This song is considered a classic by most west coast rap fans, especially in E-40's hometown Vallejo which is in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. This song is also notable for featuring a diss to Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. in which E-40 says, "Don't buy an $85,000 car before you buy a house", making reference to Biggie owning expensive cars but still not having purchased his own home. In the video, Tupac Shakur, who makes a cameo appearance, winks at the camera when this line is said. This song is also one of Too Short's successful songs amongst many Platinum Albums Too Short has recorded with other Bay Area HipHop Rap Legend. Later several Top Artists around the Bay would collaborate on the album Derty Werk by T.W.D.Y. a west coast supergroup formed by Ant Banks and released in 1999. The music video also features another Rap artist from the Bay Area most known for his Raw Gangsta Rap lyrics, Ice-T arriving with Too Short & playing pool with Tupac, albeit doesn't perform.
"Where I'm From" is the lead single by American former rapper Passion taken from her only studio album, Baller's Lady. Released in early 1996, the song became a minor hit on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs charts.
Deja Monét Trimble, known professionally as Dej Loaf, is an American rapper and singer from Detroit, Michigan. She is best known for her 2014 single, "Try Me" and its 2015 follow up, "Back Up". The latter received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and served as the lead single for her debut extended play ...And See That's the Thing (2015), which was released by Columbia Records. Both songs, along with her guest appearance on Kid Ink's 2015 single "Be Real", peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100. Her debut studio album, Sell Sole II (2020) was met with positive critical reception, although it failed to chart.
Lola Chantrelle Mitchell, better known by her stage name Gangsta Boo, was an American rapper. She rose to prominence as a member of Three 6 Mafia, which she joined at the age of 14. After releasing six albums, she left the group and its record label after the release of her second solo album, Both Worlds *69 (2001), due to financial disputes and issues regarding promotion of the album. She subsequently released several solo albums and became known for collaborating with artists such as Eminem, Run the Jewels, La Chat, Latto, GloRilla, Outkast, Foxy Brown, Tinashe, Lil Jon and Yelawolf.
