Female Rap Has A Pretty Privilege Problem 

i wish we can have more female rappers or just female artists in general who have a gigantic artistic catalog of music that can overshadow their visual appearance and or the success that can build off of. im tired of seeing women being primarily visual aspects of enjoyment than seen as talented artists.

Rico Nasty is pretty big but not as famous as I thought she would be. She’s very creative and always giving a new look

Doechi is insanely talented.

I think Cupcakke is a perfect example of how important pretty privilege is in the music industry. And personally, I think that cupcakke is beautiful, but she doesn’t have the “body” that so many female rappers have today. It sucks because she is really the best of the best, one of my favorite rappers of all time, and it doesn’t matter that she is so sexual because she has BARS.

You mean the whole music/entertainment industry has a pretty privilege problem. We are assaulted by so much mediocrity these days behind a pretty face or banging body

My problem isn't necessarily pretty privilege, it's the fact a lot of it is deeply rooted in colorism and prejudice. Most people bash the city girls be it physically or musically which can be tied to the image of black women while Ice Spice gives people the fantasy of being a black woman without being a black woman.

It’s because the female rap scene is about selling looks and a persona, not the actual music

Funny how the culture changed in 30 years. Back in the day before Kim blew up Diddy reportedly told Kim that she was “too pretty” to be a rapper. Now it is a PRE-REQUISITE.

I would say Megan thee stallion is a great example to how pretty privilege has destroyed the landscape of female rappers bc she had to be above exceptional talented to be taken serious and it’s still a battle. For me megan is beautiful but in a pam Grier, lupita Nyong’o way, she has beautiful Afrocentric features but the industry much prefer female rappers with Eurocentric features aka Kim Kardashian, Ariana grande, Zendaya levels of beautiful being spicy white or blackish coded since being racially ambiguous is now the 21st century western standard of beauty and desirability, Q-Tip revealed a while back when Megan tried getting signed to record labels executors turned her down and told her that it was bc she wasn’t racially ambiguous and didn’t have a big social media following in the similar vein as cardi and Megan flipped this by making both her talent and personality the driving force to her virality. I feel this a big factor to other female rappers like doechii, rapsody, Tierra whack, and JT it’s not so much being sexualized that’s part of it but it’s also featurism and colorism attached to it bc as I previously stated being racially ambiguous is the new beauty standard and fitting into this new standards means getting entertainers who are the center piece to this new standards

Doja cat cupcakke Rico bree runway and flo milli are beautiful but bc they dont fit the female rapper ideal look they’re treated a way when doja lost weight and decided to shave her head ppl got so weird about her appearance and when she wears more wigs again now(she never stopped wearing them) ppl are nicer for bree and flo milli i can only say that’s straight colorism

the rap industry is so colorist

If Rapsody had redone her whole face and body and wasn't covered up she would be one of the top female rappers because she is definitely one of the most talented. Have you checked out her new album?

I recently saw a little music podcast where a segment touched on billboard’s “10 hottest female rappers right now” list. Some guys on this all-male podcast instantly assumes billboard had published a list ranking their looks and proceeded to rank the girls bodies🤦🏾‍♂️ Had billboard posted a top 10 list for male rappers the instant assumption would absolutely NOT be that the list was ranking the male rappers looks.

Record labels need to understand pretty privilege and getting a couple of hits doesn’t equal longevity these artists aren’t staying as long 3-4 years and they are silent.

I love Tierra Whack a lot. She's incredibly creative and has bars for days but like you said, because she isn't sexualizing her image in any way she doesn't get recognition she deserves. I think her music and visuals feel like breath of fresh air in the oversaturation of hypersexualized female rappers.

Mid af Spice has to bend over for interactions while Riot writes the nursery rhymes

You know a rapper who makes 🔥🔥🔥 songs almost on the level of a Kendrick or JCole but doesn’t get enough credit? Little Simz. She’s the strong, righteous rapper who could and should be huge, but may not have as much buzz cause she’s from the UK and also a woman who doesn’t really flaunt her body the same way that Nicki or Ice Spice do (not that there’s anything wrong with that but yeah)

I really struggle to see what you ppl see in ice spice. She is so odd looking 😭

I dont actually listen to Saweetie that much but she's far better than Ice Spice

i think Cardi is pretty but i definitely wouldn't consider her rise from her body - back in 2017 when she blew up I feel like she blew up because she didnt sound like anyone else, and she had a marketable personality. I think with time the body has helped moving towards Press, Up and WAP but back in 2018 i feel like most of her marketability came from her loud personality and the fact that her accent made her sound really different from others because while people like mariah lynn also had a personality like that, the way she raps definitely poses some similarity to Iggy Azalea who was defo still poppin back in 2015. I also think Latto is definitely someone who benefits from Pretty Privilege and probably Megan too.

I'm with you but saying pretty privilege wasnt an issue back in the day is maybe not super accurate when half those girls had to be dating a rapper just to get a shot.

Instagram has ruined society. It's the main factor in being appearance-centric instead of focusing on talent/skillset

Somebody commented Ice Spice is peak beauty standards and thats crazy to me 🫠

And the industry is Very colorist.

Flo milli should be way bigger

Not really cause let's be real some of um aint that pretty, they just light and new!😂 Yal call everyone in the limelight pretty! Stop it!

Honestly I still don’t understand why cupcakKe is not more famous. Yeah some of her songs are funny but even in those she has clever lyrics and wordplay. And she has other songs that are on more serious subjects and sexual so she knows how to do both. I think she’s really talented and intelligent and deserves more fame than she has for sure, if she had better production I think she would get there

You are right. You should check out BKTheRula. She is an underground female artist. A lot of ppl do believe she is pretty. But she doesn’t subject to the sexualization of female rappers. She is not girly when it comes to her wardrobe. But she will wearing pretty nails designs and makeup. But that is as far as she will go. And she also loves to wears her natural hair. That is something you don’t see often in the rap game.

Gimme a Light is such a headache.

ice could NEVER pull off a remix of doja cat's moo, or any of her songs. Doja js has that voice, ice doesn't

And this is why girls like Latto threaten Nicki Minaj. Pretty, gorgeous body AND bars. Metaphors. Double entendres. Triples. Ask yourself what she really did saying all the girls are eating now on Jason Lee show? Oh nothing. Nicki just needed a reason.

The BEST juicy version is on Colors 🔥

Doja gets away with everything simply bc of her looks. She would have faded away after Moo if she didn’t have the body she had. Even now, people will still ride for her after doing all the nasty things she has just bc of pretty privilege

Pretty privilege isn't the issue, it's the viral tik toks that get them famous right away, and then when the audience realizes they don't have real talent, they start flopping.

90's: Talent First + then Looks, 2024: Looks- 0 Talent. About sums it up.

First example should be LilKim because before her there was no Sexy female rappers they all dressed like the men did. Kim Revolutionized this and made it fashion and pretty. Nicki dressed tomboy when she started too til she got her body done.

Here’s some female rappers to check into; Lexii Alijai, LoLa Monroe, Lul Sis & Beanz real barz, real life.

Nicki minaj was the last female rapper who didn't get to where she was because of pretty privilege although she is talented and beautiful most female rappers nowadays are either in the industry beacuse they're pretty or beacuse the industry wants to get rid of a already established Rapper 😂

Ahhhh, I miss the days when you had to have actual talent to even get a spot in the industry

We needed a sister in the rap commentary sphere. Great video keep going and I'm sure you'll become a professional

I think it's less of a pretty privilege issue and more so colorism. Cause most female rappers people are naming in the comments are generally pretty/ conventionally attractive. Honestly, I'd argue that to make it in the industry black women kind of HAVE to be pretty, most most of the popular femme rappers rn are fairer skinned BESIDES Megan, JT, Sexyy Red and Flo Milli and it took them FOREVER to get popular. Like yeah JT was part of city girls, but she had to be in a group and get cosigned by 3 different rappers and date lil uzi before starting a solo career w a solid fanbase. All of those girls are talented and all the girls bring something to the table in different ways, but it's undeniable that the top girls rn are all light skinned

I remember on another video somebody made a comment about how Ice Spice looks like Ronald McDonald when she wears her little 'fro. Lmfao nearly pissed myself.

I like how you seem realistic and logical when talking about these topics.

Its the psychology behind all this body and face augmentation thats the central issue.

Brat looks the same! I love her!

Your commentary is top tier, I remember subscribing the first video I watched. But for some reason it says I wasn’t, I still saw this in my feed though so that’s good 😌 YT stop playing with her lol

Can’t Lie the prettier rappers are trash!

Many points were made here! Lol. I never really thought about how the aesthetics of Miami holding it down while JT was locked up contributed to the City Girls success but that is such an interesting point. Do you have a video that talks more about the way colorism plays into these artists success in addition to being "pretty"? Because no shade, but all the ones benefitting from pretty privilege don't always be pretty...sometimes they're just fairer skinned...I can't help but think that was an intentional commonality amongst the artists you said benefit from this privilege. Love your insights!

Pretty privilege?? Bia can’t sell water and toilet paper but sexy redd is the one of the highest streamed female rappers atm.

love lady london

I can’t believe ice spice went viral from boys a liar even tho it was pinkpantheress’ song 😭

It doesn’t All female rappers are pretty Your faves just have weak sales

Honestly tierra whack, Rico nasty, doechii!! Always surprised me they aren't waaayyy more popular! They are amazing artists & deserve way more attention

It was wild seeing the McDonald’s deal given that the only two people to get it prior was Jordan and Travis Scott who was big with the Jordan collaborations. Saweet and sour sauce was a good pun though.

Doja Cat honestly makes some tracks that I consider to be “disposable art”. Not bad tracks, but definitely not her best work. That Moo track will always be hilarious to me though.

I was a fan of Nicki before every knowing what she looked like or who she was affiliated with. I hard the "go hard " remix 🔥 and wanted to hear more

LIFE has a pretty privledge, duh

FACTS. You have to be pretty or strive to be pretty in order to make it now.😅

It matters but not for long. Pretty privilege only makes most of them c listers. The girls don’t really sell well. Only Nicki consistently sells and she is skilled.

When you said subscribe in the beginning, the subscribe botton started sparkling.

Girl i need u to talk about Rico Nasty pleaseee, i feel like ppl look over her beacuse she is alternative

It’s constantly looks over talent and it’s honestly the downfall

We up late 💅🏽

Armani Caesar is a woman in the rap game who has the "baddie look" but does lyric focused music - she's on Griselda. But, her collabs have been with other women in the undeground rap world or her labelmates. She did have a song with Kodak Black and most people weren't feeling that for several reasons. I feel like she should have WAY more attention because she does what people love saying is "missing" from women in rap and she has the look that her contemporaries have which brings people in like this video discusses. PLUS she doesn't only rap on the grimy, dusty Griselda beats, she has multiple freestyles and original songs on more current sounding production too.

doja cat changed my life when i discovered her in 2014, i was in love i tell you

Lady London from Def Jam is my fav female rapper

Embracing sex appeal isn't compromising your morals if that's who you are as a person. It's only against ones morals if they're doing something they don't want to or feel uncomfortable doing. Some women are naturally more sexual and are comfortable with it. I feel we need to stop putting our own morals and boundaries on others. You had me till that final statement

I think Saweetie actually makes good music despite not being a hardcore lyricist. Her music is still relatable and you can make sense of the lyrics. Sexy Reds music is worse than a lot of the “pretty girls” but since she’s the underdog she gets a pass to be mediocre AF. Her whole gimmick is being as nasty and doing things for shock value only it’s not shocking… just gross, but catchy I guess.

couldn't have said it better, great video

people who know nicki aint ever have surgery on her face are the OGS

I honestly don't think pretty privilege is bad just have some talent behind it

A lot of these are light skinned privilege through colorism.

Sadly ur body matters more then your songs now a days

Nicki evolved too because she is versatile and that’s when u had different genres. We don’t really have different genres but rap and pussy rap for females rn. Pop r&b urban isn’t really a genre. If a rap girl put out something like starships rn it would flop bc it’s a different time

The whole 🌏 has a pretty problem... 🤷🏿‍♂️

Rapsody is PHENOMENAL and her new album is top tier 🤌🏾 10/10. But she doesn’t sexualize herself and definitely gives off MC Lyte and Queen Latifa vibes in terms of her image. I hope her album does well and that she sells out all of her tour dates because she is deserving!

Artists create love. Some of these people just perform

Rapsody, Tink, Kamiyah, Dreezy, ScarLip, ect.

Who is saying she’s so mother cause that’s not how even how it’s used lmao

After feminist we now have @ all over

Not only does female rap have a pretty privilege problem, but it also has a colorism problem.

TRINA is ALL natural

coi leray fss

I generally just want to see more brown skin and darkskin female rappers win. With all of the variety, creativity, actual substance and talent- all of that. And when they do start popping up and out I hope they stop and don’t at all work with ppl that emulate them yet hate them😒. I just wanna see more brownskins and dark skins win period in the entertainment (music) industry😭😭🩶

Good afternoon: 1st person that literally came to my mind was Cardi B. But she not really a rapper to me. Latto is pretty.

I feel it's pretty privilege and a lot of colorism in the scene. Rappers like Flo Milli who are making bangers and rapping very well get nothing, while Ice is getting famous by the day.

Check the credits, Cardi is the only name added to her remixes. Let's stop it. Check the credits, Tate Kobang and a couple others been writing Nicki Minaj raps for a long time. Educating yourself helps.

Honestly i dont think NM has pretty privilege... if she did shed be a one hit wonder... secondly she isnt even pretty lol lets be fr

What about rubi rose

Pay it when it’s right in front of their face.

LIBIANCA Is a great example of 100% talents 0% Looks

female rappers are held up to pop star standards in term of aesthetics + they also need to be hypersexual in appearance and lyrics. While I'm not blaming her, I do think it started with Nicki and has just been exaggerated since then. I disagree that Doja's music was "corporate" tho, it was just pop. I dont buy she didnt like it because she gushed about the album at the time

Tiara Whack is crazy creative and fun to listen to. She’s definitely one of the ones being snubbed by pretty privilege

Ofc😂

Oh you mean like every other industry?

These are Nicki's sons😂

Cardi had no business doing that sht to her body

@3:13 I totally see it and would eat it up.

This is just pure haters hating 😅

I agree with what you’re saying but that voice is agonizing to sit through