Male music artists continue to diminish the contributions of women in rap, including Ja Rule.
After a recent interview with media company The Shade Room, the rapper is feeling the heat for failing to name female rap pioneers like Lil Kim, Missy Elliott, Trina, and Eve amongst the women who shaped the genre with their
music. When asked whether Nicki Minaj receives her just due for her role in hip-hop, Rule responded, “I think Nicki gets proper praise. Her place in the game is solidified. It’s solid. There were no female MCs out and about until Nicki came back out. Before her, the last one was, like, Lauryn Hill.”Fans were enraged to see some of their favorite female MCs left off the list and took to the comments to let it be known.
“So he’s just gonna skip Lil Kim like she wasn’t dominating the industry as an iconic female rapper for years?” one fan responded.
“Love Nicki but I’m truly tired of the Lil Kim disrespect.”
Not to be confused with the longstanding feud between the fanbases of the two New York-born female rappers, people also chimed in about other artists they felt had been snubbed by Rule.
“Missy Elliott had the game on lock for long period as well let’s not forget”, another commenter posted.
This follows a trend of rappers and producers dimming the light on female rappers, like Grammy-Award winner Jermaine Dupri, who was forced to eat his words about the growing number of artists who have skyrocketed to fame over the last few years. When asked about who of the new crop of talent he was a personal fan of in an interview with PEOPLE, he stalled before offering, “The reason why I can’t say is because I feel like they’re all rapping about the same thing.”
He continued, “It’s like strippers rapping and as far as rap goes, I’m not getting who’s the best rapper. I’m getting like, ‘Ok, you got a story about you dancing in the club, you got a story about you dancing in the club, you
got a story about you dancing in the club.’ Who’s going to be the rapper?”Twitter and female rappers alike responded with a myriad of artists and tracks that were diverse in storyline and ability. According to Rolling Stone, even Issa Rae noted that Dupri’s disregard was a catalyst for her HBOMax series Rap Sh*t.
Being loud and wrong is still the chosen avenue of some men in the music industry.