Billboard crowns Nicki Minaj Greatest Female Rapper of All Time

Congratulations to Nicki Minaj, who has been crowned the greatest female rapper of all time by Billboard.

via: Billboard

Today’s rap landscape wouldn’t have been possible without the pioneering role of women MCs. In an era when the field was predominantly male in the ’70s and ’80s, these fearless wordsmiths, including MC Lyte, Roxanne Shante, Salt-N-Pepa and Queen Latifah emerged to transform it.

MC Lyte, the first-ever female MC to release a solo studio album, and Roxanne Shante, who showcased her dominance during her lyrical tussle with UTFO, are just a few examples of the incredible talent that emerged. Salt-N-Pepa, with their magnetic personalities and sex appeal, showed the world that women can run the game with the best of them, both on and off the mic. And then there’s Missy Elliott, whose innate creativity not only made music videos motion-picture quality but also threw convention out of the window, leaving a lasting impact on the genre.

Some of the greatest masterworks in rap today were crafted by women — including Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which won five Grammys, Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday, which was certified triple platinum, and now Doechii’s revered Grammy Award winning project Alligator Bites Never Heal. The genre doesn’t move without women. With a flurry of artists today zipping past the competition, ranging from Megan Thee Stallion to Cardi B to GloRilla and Latto, it’s hard to imagine what hip-hop would be if women MCs didn’t have a say in the genre’s ever-growing evolution.

Below, the Billboard staff compiles our picks for the 25 best female rappers of all time, along the following criteria: body of work/achievements (charted singles/albums, gold/platinum certifications), cultural impact/influence (how the artist’s work fostered the genre’s evolution), longevity (years at the mic), lyrics (storytelling skills) and flow (vocal prowess).

See our picks below, and let us know who you think is the best female rapper ever.

Here's what they had to say about Miss Onika Petty: “I’m number one, y’all go argue over top four,” Nicki Minaj boastfully flexed on Pink Friday 2. Who else did you expect to see at No. 1 on this list? Fifteen years after she left earth with her godly verse on Kanye West’s “Monster” and delivered her seminal Pink Friday debut album, the First Lady of Young Money is still running laps around the competition. Minaj quickly usurped the throne and stylistically rewrote the playbook for female rappers, while becoming an architect of pop music in the process. Whether she’s tapping into her storied rap personalities Harajuku Barbie, Roman Zolanski or Chun-Li, or just spitting as Onika, the story of rap can’t be told without Minaj – and she’s got plenty of “sons” around the industry running through the doors she busted down.

The Queens icon became the first female rapper to eclipse triple-digit Billboard Hot 100 hits in 2018 (with 149 entries to her name as of publishing) and her connection to the Barbz remains stronger than ever, as the Pink Friday 2 World Tour became the highest-grossing tour for a female rapper in history. One thing’s for sure, the road to the crown on a list like this still runs through Gag City. – M.S.

Do y'all agree with Billboard's list? Be sure to sound off in the comments, and check out the rest of the 15 female rappers and their placement below...

11. Cardi B

12. Da Brat

13. Trina

14. Left Eye

15. Megan Thee Stallion

16. Doja Cat

17. Rapsody

18. Remy Ma

19. Latto

20. Monie Love

21. GloRilla

22. Lady of Rage

23. Gangsta Boo

24. Doechii

25. Tierra Wack