Back in February we dropped a list of 7 dope women holding it down for Northern California rap. It’s been one of our most popular lists. Now more than ever, it feels important to highlight the ladies who are putting on for hip-hop in the region, so we’ve decided to deliver our second installment of 7 Female Rappers that Slap from the Bay & Sac. As always the goal is to put you on to some great new music. Read on below to familiarize yourself with 7 more of the Bay Area’s best female rappers of 2018 that have been on our radar as of late.
Nyny – Vallejo, CA
NyNy is only two songs in, but is already becoming one of the more intriguing Bay Area up and comers. The photographer turned rapper who initially built a following by photographing SOB x RBE and other rappers on tour, has expertly leveraged her connections to launch a rather promising career. Her first release was “Down To Ride”, a collaboration with Houston artist Cuban Doll recorded over Cassie’s classic 2006 debut “Me & You”, was only released this past August. Less than a month later we received her follow up “Wake It Up”, a “Planet Rock” sampling advisory to get familiar with her before it’s too late. If you had to liken her rap style to anyone, the closest comparison would be Mike Sherm, and his straight forward, no-frills delivery. The 18-year-old college student is audibly new to this and still honing her craft. We expect to hear more from her soon as she’s been teasing a new single with SOB x RBE’s designated gasser, DaBoii, titled “Arco”.
Lil Kayla – San Francisco, CA
If you’ve been paying attention to Bay Area rap at all in the past 3 years, you’ve likely come across Lil Kayla’s name at least once or twice. In 2017 she garnered a lot of attention resulting from a beef with Oakland rapper UC Lil Kayla over their shared use of the moniker. One thing anyone listening will notice is that Lil Kayla gasses. Despite many months passing between releases, it’s typically worth the wait to hear her commandeer a popular instrumental and season it with her own sauce. When she isn’t dissing rivals like Stunna Girl, UC Lil Kayla, and Cuban Doll, her verses cover her success at getting men in relationships to behave poorly and spend money and time on her. Kayla can definitely rap really well. What has yet to be seen in her 3 year career is whether she can put together a complete body of work with wholly original production. Here’s to hoping there are more singles and/or a project on the way.
Queen Pin – Oakland, CA
Oakland’s own Queen Pin first caught our attention in August with “CFWU”, a remix of YG’s “Big Bank” and a collab with Pu Tang members Qing Qi and Big Chief. She cleverly opens her verse saying, ”My n*gga holds me down like a wrestler” and ends the 4-bar stanza with “I call my n*gga daddy, call my father by his first name”. She sprinkles infectious quotables throughout her catalogue. She showcases a confident personality on April’s Bossin Up: The Introduction, a 9-track project produced in its entirety by San Francisco duo Division comprised of ChrisOnThaBeat and MarBTheProducer. “Un-Cut”, a standout from this project, is a banger that sounds as if it could’ve come straight out of Detroit. Check it out below.
Lula Baybee – Hayward, CA
We can thank Lil Slugg for introducing us to Lula. She credits Slugg, her boyfriend and the father of her daughter, for inspiring her to finally begin taking rap seriously. The North Hayward native uses hip-hop to address her haters, and there are a lot of them. Lyrically, Lula’s more than solid so the hate feels a bit misplaced. She also has a decent delivery for today’s standards, despite having a high vocal register that may take some getting used to. Though the bulk of her releases feature Slugg in some capacity, she recently released “Choppa Girl”, a slapping L-Finguz produced solo record that finds her taking aim at unnamed social media adversaries, and threatening to resolve her conflicts with firearms. With more records like “Choppa Girl”, Lula stands to silence some of her detractors. She and Lil Slugg have a joint project on the way called Dangerous.
Girlz N The Hood – Oakland, CA
Most of us are familiar with the late-July tragedy that occurred at Oakland’s MacArthur BART Station and claimed the life of 18-year-old Oakland native Nia Wilson. We’re familiar the news coverage, the memorials, and the protests that followed. Less of us are familiar with the music videos on YouTube that find Nia Wilson rapping alongside her sister and friends. Those videos are credited to Girlz N The Hood, the rap quartet of which Nia Wilson was a member. In the wake of the loss of their friend and sister, the remaining members of Girlz N The Hood, recognizing that life is short, put the pedal to the metal to complete the body of work they began with Nia. The 10-track All 4 Nia, is dedicated to Nia’s memory and finds these 4 girls embodying the energy that she carried. The members of Girlz N The Hood are scrappy Oakland natives who like to function, and don’t mind funking when the situation calls for it. Their attitude plays out on nearly every track of their raucous debut mixtape. I recognize that this actually brings the total count to 10 female rappers that slap, but just go with it.
WaniGotTheJuice – Vallejo, CA
Before rap, WaniGotTheJuice was posting Yiking tutorials to YouTube. These days the Vallejo native is steadily building a fanbase for her music. To date she’s released a handful of promising singles including “Aretha Franklin” which won Thizzler’s #FWMFriday a few weeks back. Wani makes fun slaps while delivering bars that simultaneously find her caping for the ladies and positioning herself as one of the guys. She has no problem asking her bros “where the hoes at?”, and is equally enthusiastic in encouraging her ladies to “take that n*gga dough”. She brings the same energy to her music videos that can be seen in her dance tutorials from 2012. We’ll be looking forward to seeing what she does for the remaining year.
Queen Foreigner – Marin City, CA
Marin City’s been experiencing a bit of a rise with acts like Domo, Berk, and Queen Foreigner. The small city has been slept on, but these three rappers and friends have been going to work to change that. Queen Foreigner is currently the Jungle’s leading lady, and the 19-year-old up and comer is taking the role seriously. She’s been building a fanbase that feverishly eats up everything she drops, and receives the hometown support like only a small city can provide. On “Like Me”, a remix of the Hot Boyz’ “I Need A Hot Girl”, she dismisses her man’s exes, and her ex’s current and future romances, while outlining why no other woman could ever hope to compete with what she brings to the table. She brings the best of both worlds, her gun holds 30, and her weave is 30 inches.
