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Steve Jennings / Contributor via Getty Images, Paras Griffin / Contributor via Getty Images, and Paras Griffin / Contributor via Getty Images
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Megan Thee Stallion, Doechii and GloRilla
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Anyone who thought Hip Hop’s leading women were going to slow down after breaking into the industry clearly wasn’t paying attention.
2024 was a year of nonstop flexes for the ladies: Nicki Minaj reminded everyone why she’s still untouchable, GloRilla proved her rise was no fluke and Doechii positioned herself as rap’s next big star with Alligator Bites Never Heal. At the same time, Megan Thee Stallion gave the genre a blueprint for dominating the scene without a major label backing. There were plenty more artists who made their mark, including Latto, Sexyy Red and Anycia.
In 2025, the energy is different, the stakes are higher and — if the previous years are any indication — female rap is primed for a bigger and better era. Rap-Up rounded up 14 women shaping Hip Hop right now.
1. Nicki Minaj
It goes without saying that most of the women on this list wouldn’t be here without Minaj. She carried female rap on her back for over a decade at a time when the industry wasn’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for Black women in Hip Hop — or even women in general. Her record-breaking debut, Pink Friday, gave us hits like “Roman’s Revenge,” “Super Bass” and “Moment 4 Life,” while subsequent albums like The Pinkprint and Queen only cemented her reign. Though she’s had her moments — “Big Foot” and her many, many run-ins with petty trolls — it’s hard to imagine there being much of a market for female rap if not for Minaj.
“Get ’em, Glo! Get ’em, Glo!” Memphis, Tennessee has never fallen short on rap legends, and for the past several years, GloRilla has been proving she’s next in line. Since her polarizing breakout with Hitkidd, “F.N.F. (Let’s Go),” the roaring Leo has shown time and time again why she’s not one to underestimate — whether through going bar-for-bar with her contemporaries or holding her own on any stage. Her debut album, GLORIOUS, spawned fan favorites like “TGIF,” “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” and “I LUV HER,” but more importantly, it showed how far she’s come since Anyways, Life’s Great… and Ehhthang Ehhthang.
3. Doechii
Let’s give a round of applause for the third woman in rap history to win Best Rap Album. In a genre where lyricism has, for better or worse, taken a backseat, Doechii is revitalizing its presence in rap. The Grammy Award-winning Alligator Bites Never Heal saw the self-coined Swamp Princess affirming her self-worth on “BLOOM,” paying homage to old-school Hip Hop on “BOILED PEANUTS” and showing her duality on “DENIAL IS A RIVER.”
On her 2024 single “MPH,” she puts it plainly: “I could give them the conscious s**t, but I’m too busy giving them c**t.” With a Top Dawg Entertainment backing and high fashion already taking notice, Doechii’s music could very well set the precedent for the next generation of Hip Hop stars.
4. Megan Thee Stallion
Megan has a namesake that speaks for itself. At 5’10”, she’s taller than “your favorite rapper” and can probably outrap most of them, too. Her Tina Snow EP introduced “Freak Nasty” and “Big Ole Freak,” both of which can still hold their own against today’s hits, even half a decade later. Since then, the Texas rapper’s star power has only gone up, with Good News and MEGAN amplifying her undeniable reach and presence.
5. Cardi B
As the first woman in rap history to go diamond multiple times, Cardi B’s career came at the perfect time. Her Invasion of Privacy is debatably one of the best albums to come out of the 2010s. It housed the “Bodak Yellow” — which once held the title of longest-running No. 1 by a female rapper on the Billboard Hot 100 — the Latin-infused “I Like It,” and one of the New York phenomenon’s most vulnerable offerings, “Be Careful,” among many more.
The Bronx native’s ever-growing feature run suggests her sophomore album will deliver on everything she’s promised, plus some. Whenever she decides to bless us is TBD, but we’re counting on 2025.
6. Latto
Beyond her guest appearances and collaborations with several rising and established artists, Latto also recruited an all-star cast for her third and arguably best studio album, Sugar Honey Iced Tea. “Put It On Da Floor Again” saw her and Cardi B tag-teaming punctuating snares and bass, Megan and Flo Milli hopped on her viral “Sunday Service,” and the Atlanta native holds her own on offerings like “Brokey” and “Big Mama.” Even before then, she maintained a firm hold on the genre with “B**ch From Da Souf,” “Muwop” and the Mariah Carey-approved “Big Energy.”
7. Doja Cat
Though she often finds herself at home in the pop genre, Doja Cat’s roots are unmistakably Hip Hop. She has well over a dozen cult favorites to back it up, too: “Rules,” “Get Into It (Yuh),” “Attention” and many more. With her Scarlet era in the rearview and Vie waiting in the wings, Doja Cat remains one of the most inescapable forces in music.
8. JT
JT didn’t waste any time proving she could stand on her own after City Girls’ split. Fans got an early taste with “JT First Day Out” and RAW’s “No Bars,” but 2024’s “Sideways” and “OKAY” made it clear the Florida native has no limit. As a solo artist, the Miami native is more self-assured, a little wiser and fully in control of her sound. She put all of that on display with her debut mixtape, City Cinderella, which landed at No. 27 on the Billboard 200 chart.
9. Sexyy Red
Some call her Trina reincarnated, she calls herself the “Female Gucci Mane,” but one thing’s for sure: Sexyy Red is responsible for some of the raunchiest music Hip Hop has seen post-pandemic. Her famous “My coochie pink, my bootyhole brown” line on “Pound Town” made that crystal clear, and the Hood Hottest Princess creator only doubled down on her wild antics and unfiltered bravado. Love it or hate it, the St. Louis rapper talks her talk — no matter who’s pressed about it.
10. Ice Spice
Like many of the artists mentioned earlier, Ice Spice could easily claim ownership of a movement, or, at minimum, she rode one so effortlessly it became synonymous with her. She came out swinging with “Munch (Feelin’ U),” followed by “In Ha Mood,” “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” with PinkPantheress and “Princess Diana” featuring Minaj. All of the aforementioned tracks helped bring rise to New York’s sexy drill, a subgenre she more or less brought to Y2K! while sprinkling in her own innovation.
11. Flo Milli
After gaining attention for “Beef FloMix” and “In The Party,” Alabama powerhouse Flo Milli has steadily built her career with more hits, including Baby Tate collaboration “I Am” and the mega-viral success “Never Lose Me.” Female rap — and stan culture’s never-ending search for the next artist to obsess over — moves fast, and every era seems to demand a new frontrunner. Flo Milli has positioned herself in every way to take that spot.
12. Coi Leray
When discussing women in Hip Hop, people tend to overlook Coi Leray’s grip on TikTok during the pandemic — “No More Parties,” “BIG PURR (Prrdd)” and “TWINNEM” were everywhere. However, the soon-to-be mother of one deserves her flowers, too. Sure, she may not be pulling the same numbers as she did at her peak, but her recent music feels more grown-up, true to herself and, as she puts it, “sexy.” That all comes through in Lemon Cars, executive-produced by Mike WiLL Made-It, and What Happened To Forever?, on which she cycles through the many stages of heartbreak.
13. Tierra Whack
One of Philadelphia’s finest, Tierra Whack has constantly reinvented herself through LPs like Whack World and WORLD WIDE WHACK, the latter being her debut album of six years in the making. The “Only Child” artist’s ability to meld humor, vulnerability and quirky brilliance into something entirely her own is exactly what keeps her in a league of her own.
14. Anycia
A healthy percentage of Hip Hop’s favorite artists come from Atlanta, and Anycia is well on her way to joining that legacy. Her raspy delivery on “BRB” set the stage for a Kevin Durant co-sign, and hits like “SPLASH BROTHERS” with KARRAHBOOO and “ATM” make her another artist to watch. Safe to say, Anycia isn’t going anywhere, especially after the Latto-assisted “BACK OUTSIDE,” which landed on her commanding debut, PRINCESS POP THAT.
