We talk about male rappers all the time. We get it, there’s a lot of them. Today we’re going to change things up a bit and highlight some of our favorite ladies doing their thing. All of these acts are on the come up and are sprinkling new and exciting energy to the game. If we put you on to someone new today, then our job is done. Read on below to get familiar with some of the best female rappers in 2018 from The Bay & Sac!
Saweetie – Hayward, CA
Saweetie is a rapper from Hayward, who finished high school in Sacramento and went to the University Of Southern California for a communications degree. The model-esque emcee first garnered attention on Instagram, and experienced an unexpected breakout when she dropped her debut music video for “Icy Girl”, a bossy freestyle to the instrumental of Khia’s raunchy classic “My Neck, My Back”. On it, she drops bars that are both aspirational and self-assured with a measured delivery that implies she’s been rapping for a while. Today, “Icy Girl” has gotten more than 9 million views on Youtube. She plans to release an EP this year on her self-owned label, Icy. She’s brand new to the game, but her interviews imply she’s got plans to be around for a while, and we think she will be.
Stunna Girl – Sacramento, CA
Stunna Girl is an exciting new act out of Sacramento. One of her claims to fame is a beef with fellow Sacramento rapper Noni Blanco, from which her standout cut and diss record “Let It Drip” was born. As a rapper, Stunna Girl’s strength lies not in her flow, but the fact that she’s a proficient shit-talker who convinces you that she lives what she raps. When she says “I done let it drip” while waving around a .45, you believe her. Much of her persona is wrapped in a sex-positive air, reminiscent of Lil Kim and Nick Minaj who came before her. She claims to have all the men wrapped around her fingers, and the ladies hate on her for it. Stunna Girl does it for who she calls the “get money bitches”, ladies who do what it takes to collect the bag, whether it be sex work, sliding cards, scamming, and the like. If no one else is making music with those ladies in mind, she is in an authentic way.
Siri – Oakland, CA
Siri is an eclectic new face in Oakland rap that you’ll want to know in 2018. Her style combines boom-bap rap, neo-soul, and even punk. She leads a band called Grocery Outlit. She’s been riding the wave of her 2017 EP, the Wax Roof produced GAWDBAWDY, and has turned that into some amazing performance opportunities. She’ll be performing at Oakland’s Fox Theatre later this month, opening for Tune Yards. On top of that she’s practically Oakland hip-hop royalty. She’s the daughter of Souls Of Mischief frontman Tajai Massey. Don’t expect to get 93 Til sounds from her though. She’s an ever-evolving artist whose vast influences grow everyday. Siri has been in the studio making new music with Wax Roof, and we expect that she’ll be on to something dope this year.
Ally Cocaine – Oakland, CA
Ally Cocaine gases everything she touches. The Oakland rapper initially gathered a following dropping freestyles and challenge entries on social media websites. She has a knack for spitting aggressive, rapid-fire verses. She delivers them with an accent that almost sounds southern. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had roots there. You can hear this on her sole music video “Drip”, and on her fire contribution to our Best Of Thizzler Cypher. If I’m allowed to, I’d wager that she listened to more than her fair share of Boosie, and the Hot Boyz growing up.
Qing Qi – San Francisco
Qing Qi will tell you from her own mouth that we’ve slept on her, but that changed earlier this year. The San Francisco rapper made a bit of a splash with her single “FUCKNIGGAHS”. The Parts Unknown produced record struck a chord with any lady who has ever dealt with a dishonest, manipulative, committal, broke, or “ain’t shit” man. Qing Qi takes these guys to tasks on a song that eventually devolves into a cathartic rant which ends perfectly with satisfying, “lil bitch!” The most interesting thing about Qing Qi is her expressed feminist ideals and intentions. With her crew Pu Tang Clan, she hopes to put on for the ladies and show the guys how it’s done. Her upcoming mixtape, If The Nigga Ain’t Shit, Play This For His Bitch, is for all the women suffering from the disease that is fuck niggas. It drops on Valentine’s Day.
Noni Blanco – Sacramento, CA
Noni Blanco began rapping at 8 years old, recording her first song at 15, but has really become a problem in the past year. She’s shown that she’s a versatile spitter with a lot of different flows, though the topics mostly remain the same and center around her tough exterior, willingness to beat you up, and desire to secure the bag. She’s also proven that she’s got a killer instinct which is showcased on “The Real”, her response to a diss sent by the aforementioned Stunna Girl. The gloves came off, and the rebuttals turned rather scathing and personal. Noni Blanco’s arguably Sacramento’s leading lady, having received the cosign from the Mozzy camp, and racking up hundreds of thousands of views on her Youtube videos. 2017 we got her album Pretty Militant. In 2018, we hope to see even more from her.
Bby Laana – San Francisco, CA
Bby Laana calls San Francisco’s Fillmore home. The rising rapper who attended a creative arts charter school is definitely one to watch. Having built her initial fanbase on Twitter by sharing vicious freestyles recorded in the passenger seat of a car, she’s poised to kick off a successful career in rap if she can prove to be consistent. When I say this girl can rap, I mean it. Many of her lyrics center around taking advantage of unfaithful men, and adding them to her roster. One thing that she wants the listener to know, is that she’s the one doing the playing and not the other way around. Last November she dropped a single called “Lies” with SOB x RBE’s Lul G, which hinted at her being an adept songwriter in addition to being a more than proficient emcee. Her catalog of recorded music is still pretty small, but we’re hoping 2018 changes that.
