Top Five Female Hip Hop Artists

For the most part the hip hop game has been dominated by male artists, but there have been some standout female artists who have held their own with their male counterparts. I will look at who I think are the top five female MCs.

Number five would have to be the pitbull in a skirt Eve. Eve's 1999 debut album Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders First Lady, enter the Billboard 200 at number 1 and went double platinum. Her sophomore effort Scorpion which was released in 2001 garnered Eve international success with the songs "Who's That Girl" and her duet with Gwen Stefani "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", which won Eve a Grammy award. Eve has been able to use her success in music to cross over into a decent acting career. She has appeared in both Barbershop movies and starred in her own sitcom for several years. This year Eve is returning to the music scene with a new album title Here I Am.

Coming in at number four would be Da Brat. Da Brat's 1994 debut Funkdafied went platinum. She was the first female rap artist to go platinum. Da Brat has put out several other successful albums including Unrestricted which also went platinum. Da Brat is also well known for making guest appearances on other artist's projects. She has shown her lyrical skills on songs with Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, Lil' Kim, and Missy Elliot just to name a few of the many artists she has work with.

Number three is Queen Latifah. Today Queen Latifah is probably better known for acting in movies than for her rapping skills, but back in the late 80s and mid-90s Latifah could rhyme with the best of them. Latifah's 1989 debut All Hail the Queen received critical acclaim. That album featured the uplifting "Ladies First", which was a duet with Monie Love. One of Latifah's most successful songs was "U.N.I.T.Y." off of the Black Reign album. "U.N.I.T.Y." talk about how women need to be treated with respect. The song won Latifah a Grammy award. Queen Latifah now spends most of her time acting and producing movies. She even received an Oscar nomination for her work in the film Chicago.

Number two is Lauryn Hill. From the beginning Lauryn Hill established herself as a top notch lyricist. She was always a standout performer in her group The Fugees. Her solo debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill topped the R&B Album chart for 6 weeks and went 8 times platinum. Miseducation also earned Hill five Grammy awards, which at the time set a new record for women in the music industry. In 2002, Hill released MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, which was not as popular as Miseducation, but did go on to become a platinum album. There was some talk that The Fugees were going to put together a reunion album, but so far nothing has materialized.

The number one female hip hop artist is MC Lyte. Lyte has proven that she has lyrical skills on songs like "Cha Cha Cha", "Cappuccino", and "Ruffneck". She has also proven that she can battle on the mic, when she came out with "10% Dis" which was aim at rap rival Antoinnette. MC Lyte help open the doors for future female rap artists.

All five of these women have shown not only do they have the skills to compete with other female artists, but that they can also compete with their male counterparts. These artists have pave the way for the next generation of female rappers.