Rasheeda FrostB次元官网网址檚 relationship with hip-hop started in 1981.

She was a kindergartener when her mother gave her a record player, and she would continuously spin it, not knowing what it was. Then her mom gave her a record from The Sugarhill Gang.

B次元官网网址淪he mustB次元官网网址檝e just known hip-hop was embedded in me at such a young age,B次元官网网址� the MTV B次元官网网址淟ove and Hip-Hop: AtlantaB次元官网网址� reality star said.

B次元官网网址淚 played that record until I tore it up.B次元官网网址�

Frost fell in love with hip-hop. Lyrics, music videos, and magazine covers display a genre that is male-centered and male-dominated. But Frost took her passion a step further and joined the ranks of female rappers and emcees who battled , sexism, and patriarchy to send hip-hop spinning in a different direction.

B次元官网网址淚 had to go out there and work triple as hard, make sure IB次元官网网址檓 respected, not get taken advantage of as a female, and really go hard for what I know and stand for something,B次元官网网址� Frost said.

From The Sequence releasing the first rap record by an all-female group in 1979, to MC Sha-RockB次元官网网址檚 iconic performance on B次元官网网址淪NLB次元官网网址� as a part of Funky 4+1, female rappers have always been a part of hip-hop.

Women have gone from donning a male-imitated aesthetic, to owning their sexuality in lyrics, to selling out stadiums. At hip-hopB次元官网网址檚 50th anniversary, female rappers are taking their moment to shine B次元官网网址� while still demanding respect and facing challenges.

Msia Kibona Clark, an African culture and feminist studies professor at Howard University, said women were B次元官网网址渓argely invisibleB次元官网网址� in hip-hop during the B次元官网网址�80s and early B次元官网网址�90s.

B次元官网网址淓arly on the idea was to imitate men in terms of the aesthetics, and the idea was the hip-hop uniform B次元官网网址� baggy clothes and sneakers and t-shirts,B次元官网网址� said Clark.

Clark said early female rappers had the challenge of navigating sexism and sexual harassment, as well as carving out a perspective that often wasnB次元官网网址檛 heard.

In an interview with The Associated Press, hip-hop icon Queen Latifah called it B次元官网网址渢he dark ages of hip-hop because it just wasnB次元官网网址檛 enough women voices.B次元官网网址�

SiriusXM host Roxanne Shante started entering rap as a young teen in the 1980s. The hip-hop legendB次元官网网址檚 battle tracks solidified her as one of the earliest and fiercest emcees at the age of 14.

B次元官网网址淚 came in as little sis; even to the point of where sometimes they didnB次元官网网址檛 even want to let me participate, because sometimes the men felt that I was that good,B次元官网网址� Shante told the AP.

Entertainer and philanthropist Yo-Yo was known for rapping about female empowerment and demanding respect, but she still dealt with having to B次元官网网址渟tay in a womanB次元官网网址檚 place.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭hose were some of the challenges when the record labels only respected men,B次元官网网址� Yo-Yo said.

Female emcees found themselves having to defend the genre as well as prove themselves worthy of holding the mic.

B次元官网网址淲hen there was negativity or any kind of misogyny, it only pushed us even more,B次元官网网址� said DJ Spinderella, a member of the hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa. B次元官网网址淥ur first goal was to shake our thing, but then the fact that we were inspiring women to become their better selves despite the negative was important.B次元官网网址�

By the late B次元官网网址�90s and early 2000s, women were becoming more visible in hip-hop. Female artists offered a variety of sounds from Lauryn Hill to Missy Elliott.

But challenges persisted. As more women entered, some were uniting on hit records such as B次元官网网址淟adies Night,B次元官网网址� while others were pitted against each other. The hypersexualization of women was also ramping up.

Although female rappers have pushed sex positive lyrics since the B次元官网网址�80s, the mid-to-late B次元官网网址�90s saw the advent of artists such as LilB次元官网网址� Kim and Foxy Brown more overtly displaying and owning their sexuality. This drew controversy B次元官网网址� and hypocrisy.

B次元官网网址淲hen I came out with songs like B次元官网网址楳ake It VibrateB次元官网网址� and songs like B次元官网网址楪eorgia PeachB次元官网网址�, I got a lot of resistance from radio because they said it was too sexy,B次元官网网址� said Frost, who released her first album B次元官网网址淒irty SouthB次元官网网址� in 2001. B次元官网网址淚t was a battle every single day just to be heard, to be respected.B次元官网网址�

As rap continued to evolve, rappers such as Remy Ma and Trina continued to hold down the booth. Nicki MinajB次元官网网址檚 impact on the genre was explosive in the 2010s B次元官网网址� as reflected by her winning the BET Awards best female hip hop artist from 2010 through 2016.

The late 2010s saw a change in technology. Internet access gave rise to a new era of artists using social media as a way to gain traction. Hip-hop became bigger in pop culture and hip-hop artists became the faces of popular brands and fashion labels.

The shifting pop culture landscape, along with the tenacious work of female rap pioneers, helped pave the way for an explosion of female rappers and artists.

B次元官网网址淚 love it. I think that we have our own table. We just donB次元官网网址檛 have to get in to fit in. I think women are making powerful moves,B次元官网网址� said Yo-Yo.

The theme of female empowerment remains but the message has changed B次元官网网址� with artists such as Megan Thee Stallion and the City Girls rapping about sexual liberation and hypergamous values, as well as women having their own money.

The pervasiveness of misogyny and patriarchal violence still threatens the existence of female rappers. Some experts think that female rap is more hyper-sexualized than ever before.

ThereB次元官网网址檚 also a push for more femme-presenting queer and non-binary artists to have a platform in a genre that has been largely homophobic and heteronormative since its inception.

B次元官网网址淢y hopes for the future of hip-hop is to definitely see more queer people in the mainstream,B次元官网网址� said Itz(asterisk)Nobi, a femme-presenting non-binary rapper. B次元官网网址淲e definitely have such an interesting angle to share as far as just humanity and being a person.B次元官网网址�

READ ALSO: