00:00Now let me kick a little song about this lady named Boo
00:03Haven't you heard of the things that Ms. Boo is capable of doing?
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo
00:08And today we're counting down our picks for the groundbreaking female hip-hop performers
00:12who paved the way for tomorrow's stars
00:15I'd rather be famous instead
00:17I let all that get to my head
00:19I don't care, I paint the town red
00:22Number 10, Eve
00:24Need you to understand me, daddy
00:26I ain't your average
00:27Baby girl doing it, dog
00:29I'm well-established
00:30Is there anything this trailblazer can't do?
00:33Born Eve Jahan Jeffers
00:34She played a major part in orchestrating the female rapper takeover of the early 2000s
00:39Becoming the third female rapper to hit number one on the Billboard 200 album chart
00:43with her debut record, Let There Be Eve, Rough Rider's First Lady
00:46Selling over 200,000 copies in its first week
00:56That 1999 album was followed up by 2001's Scorpion
01:00That album featured the smash hit Let Me Blow Your Mind
01:02A Gwen Stefani collaboration that won the very first Grammy Award for Best Rap Song Collaboration in 2002
01:09Drop your glasses, shake your asses
01:12Face screwed up like you having hot flashes
01:14Which one? Pick one, this one, classic
01:17Number 9, Cardi B
01:19This swaggering megastar had a less than conventional rise to fame
01:30Following a troubled upbringing, Cardi, whose real name is Belcalese Marlenes Cephas
01:35Went viral on the social media platforms Vine and Instagram
01:38Following this, she was recruited to appear on the sixth season of the VH1 reality show Love & Hip Hop New York
01:45Becoming a breakout star in the process, Cardi left the show to more seriously pursue music
01:49And it definitely paid off
01:58Her eventual debut album, Invasion of Privacy, debuted atop the Billboard 200
02:03And became the first project by a solo female rapper to win Best Rap Album at the Grammys
02:08She followed up these achievements by becoming the female rapper with the most Billboard number ones
02:13Not bad
02:14If it's up, then it's up, then it's up, then it's stuck
02:17If it's up, then it's up, then it's up, then it's stuck
02:20Number 8, Nicki Minaj
02:21This one is for the boys with the booming system
02:24Top town AC with the cooling system
02:26When they come up in the club, they be blazing up
02:28Where are Barb's at?
02:29In all seriousness, there's a reason that Onika Tanya Mirage is sometimes referred to as the queen of rap
02:35Or several reasons
02:36Since being signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Records
02:38Minaj has kicked off an increasingly impressive list of accomplishments and accolades
02:42In this very moment, I'm king
02:44In this very moment, I slay, glide with a sling
02:47This very moment, I bring
02:49Following waves of social media buzz
02:51Her 2010 debut album, Pink Friday, reached the peak of the Billboard 200
02:55The first of three
02:57Giving her the most number one records of any female rapper
03:00Acclaimed for her musical versatility, outlandish personal style, and sharp lyricism
03:06Minaj has also garnered praise for advocating for artists to retain a greater share of their streaming revenue
03:11There's a non-zero chance that you've never heard of Roxanne Chantay
03:26And that's a shame because Chantay deserves her flowers as one of hip-hop's founding figures
03:31She's even been described as the genre's first female star
03:34While we can go back and forth as to who truly deserves that distinction
03:37What's inarguable is that Chantay gave the genre one of its pillars
03:41The diss track
03:42A 14-year-old Chantay freestyled Roxanne Roxanne
03:52Which took aim at rap group UTFO for reneging on a scheduled concert
03:56Ushering in the Roxanne Wars
03:58While Chantay has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since the early 90s
04:02Her influence on shaping hip-hop cannot be understated
04:05Number 6
04:15Salt and Peppa
04:16Sometimes referred to as the first ladies of rap
04:28The trio consisting of Salt, Peppa, and DJ Spinderella crafted some of the nascent genre's earliest major hits
04:34In fact, their debut album, 1986's Hot, Cool, and Vicious
04:38Was the first record by a female rap act to hit both gold and platinum status
04:43As if that wasn't enough
04:52The hip-hop trailblazer's 1993 album Very Necessary became, up to that point
04:57The best-selling album by a female rap act with over 7 million copies sold worldwide
05:02The group won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a duo or group
05:07Just ahead of Queen Latifah's win at the same ceremony
05:10Becoming one of the first Grammy-winning female rap outfits
05:13Number 5
05:20MC Light
05:21For a video full of women who have amassed an impressive amount of firsts
05:31Lana Michelle, MC Light Moorer may have one of the most impressive
05:35That remarkable achievement would be becoming the first female rapper to record a full-length album
05:401988's Light as a Rock
05:42Upon its release, Light as a Rock was hailed by critics as one of the genre's most important
05:46Not just at the time, but especially in retrospect
05:49Said Pitchfork's Simon Pearce
05:58One of the first artists to call out the misogyny and sexism that were unfortunately all too common in hip-hop
06:10Light is more than deserving of a place on today's list
06:13Number 4
06:23Lil' Kim
06:23After escaping a fraught home life and dropping out of high school, Kimberly Denise Jones met Christopher Wallace
06:37Whom you might know better as the notorious B.I.G., forever changing her life
06:42Initially a member of the rap group Junior Mafia, Lil' Kim, as she now went by, broke out with her debut solo album Hardcore
06:49The record was on the receiving end of intense controversy over its raunchy explicit rhymes and Kim's exuberant joy in delivering them
07:01Rolling Stone noted that quote
07:03Hip-hop had never seen anything like Brooklynite Kimberly Jones at the time of her solo debut
07:07As such, Lil' Kim is often imitated but never quite duplicated
07:12Number 3
07:18Lauren Hill
07:19Billboard named her the greatest ever female rapper
07:29She's won 8 Grammys
07:31The most for any female rapper
07:33She was the first rapper to appear on the cover of Time
07:36Need we go on?
07:37Ms. Lauren Hill is one of the most innovative, most beloved, and often most controversial hip-hop performers of this and any other era
07:44First rising to prominence via her film roles and membership in the Fugees
07:54Hill's debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauren Hill became the first album by a female rapper to debut atop the Billboard 200
08:01And Hill herself the first rapper, regardless of gender, to win the Grammy for Album of the Year
08:07Now can we please get a sequel?
08:09In three weeks since you've been looking for your friend
08:11The one you let hit it and never called you again
08:13Remember when he told you he was about to bend your mans?
08:16Number 2
08:17Missy Elliott
08:18Missy be putting it down
08:19I'm the hottest ground
08:20I told you I'm f***ing
08:21Y'all can't stop me now
08:23Owning the music charts in the late 90s and early 2000s
08:26Reliable hit maker Elliott's absence from the recording industry has been deeply felt
08:31Debuting as part of the ill-fated R&B group Sista in the 90s
08:34Elliott went on to nourish one of hip-hop's most commercially successful careers
08:38Crucially, Elliott's considerable solo success was instrumental in proving that female rappers could not only compete with the guys
08:45They could roundly outdo them in every way
08:48A four-time Grammy winner, Elliott is also the highest-selling female rapper of all time
08:57Having sold over 40 million records, said ABC's Gab Burke
09:01Missy Elliott, quote, railed against the male-dominated mainstream rap scene throughout her career
09:06Constantly pushed the boundaries and cemented a place for women in hip-hop
09:10I've got a cute face, chubby waist, thick legs in shape
09:14Rump shake in both ways, make you do a double take
09:18Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions
09:21Bahamidea
09:22Megan Thee Stallion
09:31Remy Ma
09:37Tierra Whack
09:45Trina
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10:14Number 1, Queen Latifah
10:17Yeah, maybe you saw this one coming
10:26But how could you blame us?
10:28Born Dana Elaine Owens, Queen Latifah is the definition of a game-changing...
10:32Well, you get it
10:33Boasting a powerful singing voice in addition to her skills on the mic
10:36Latifah first garnered critical acclaim for her take on rapping
10:39But don't you be calling me out my name
10:42I bring rap to those who disrespect me like a dame
10:44That's why I'm talking
10:46Specifically, she turned her focus both inward and outward
10:49Speaking on issues important to her and to black women as a whole
10:52Often referred to as the queen of rap, and for good reason
10:56All Music's Steve Huey summed it up by noting that Latifah was
10:59Quote, certainly not the first female rapper
11:01But she was the first one to become a bona fide star
11:04Which hip-hop queen is your favorite?
11:11Are there any we missed?
11:12Be sure to let us know in the comments below
11:14Do you agree with our picks?
11:16Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo
11:18And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
11:22We'll see you next time
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