Times are always changing in the music industry. Take American R&B for example. At one point, this genre could only be found only in the USA, but those days are long gone. Thanks to globalization, it can be just found in just about every country now, with its own cultural twist. I bet you didn’t know there’s a Canadian singer named Aqyila(@aqyila) who will be at the top of the discussion in the coming years. Returning from a small hiatus, the Toronto R&B artist recently announced a new project titled For The Better with the release of her single, “Hello”.
“The name ‘For The Better’, is from the song “Hello”. When Allie the Dreamer and I wrote the song, we want the listener to feel motivated and affirm that sometimes when things don’t work out, it’s because better is coming your way.” – Aqyila on Picking A Project Title
I feel one part of Aqyila’s talent that is constantly overlooked is her singing. I don’t think many people truly realize how beautiful her voice is and it was dope to see her put it to work on her newly released single. Right out the gate, she confirmed that she understood the assignment based on the way she started the song is on such a great note. I commend her for making such an ambitious body of work as you can tell she’s clearly taking a chance and stepping out of her comfort zone.
“With every song I release, I love to challenge myself to try something new. With “Hello”, I really wanted the ending to have a floating feel too it, and I’m super proud of all the harmonies that were layered throughout and at the end. I haven’t created something like this before.” – Aqyilia on creating “Hello”
It’s crazy to me how music is can trigger so many emotions in me. Don’t go into this song expecting any surface-level lyrics. Aqyila’s motivational lyrics pertaining to staying encouraged during a time of distress hit deep and really resonated with me on a personal level. It’s kind of hard not to have empathy for her because you can actually hear the pain in Aqyila’s voice.
Remember the name, Aqyila, because I can assure you that she is destined for great things. With one of them being her upcoming EP, For The Better.
From MC Sha-Rock to Megan Thee Stallion: A Look at the Evolution of Female Artists in Hip-Hop Culture
Hip-Hop is More than Music, it’s a Culture, an Energy that Fills the Room, an Undeniable Vibe.
2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. The genre has come a long way: from lyrics, to fashion, to influence and everything in between. Women stepped into a male-dominated space but was able to kick down doors, debuting their indisputable talent. Women have shown their versatility in the rap game, giving Hip-Hop a global appeal.
We are celebrating the golden era as Hip-Hop turns 50 this year. It can be said, that women stormed the scene in the 80s, and began to earn the respect they deserved.
“If there wasn’t women in rap, I couldn’t even imagine the culture of hip-hop. Female emcees were always on the front line.” -MC Sha-Rock
Real Queens of Hip-Hop on ABC
Founders of an Era
Early pioneers in the rap game include MC Sha-Rock who laid the foundation for female emcees in 1981. She was a part of the group The Funky Four + 1 More and was the first Hip-Hop group to appear on Saturday Night Live.
Shortly after MC Sha-Rock, Roxanne Shanté stepped on the scene at the tender age of 14. “My skills started when I was nine years old watching Nipsey Russel on Hollywood Squares. He rhymed every response to everything they asked him. I was amazed”. In 1985 at the age of 15 she entered into the battle to be named the best rapper in the MC Battle for World Supremacy. She battled 12 boys and lost at the very end because Hip-Hop wasn’t ready to crown a girl as it’s reigning champ. However, despite her challenges, she still inspired a whole generation of women that followed in her footsteps.
As Hip-Hop was just becoming a real genre of music the industry felt that Hip-Hop would not be taken serious if women held top positions in the rap game. But this just made them sharpen their pen that much more.
Moving into the late 80s, MC Lyte stepped into the game in 1987. She wore baggy clothes but her lyrical pen helped increase her popularity with songs like “Ruffneck” and “Paper Thin”. In an interview on ABC News she says, “Paper Thin was push back for dudes acting silly. It was me clapping back at dudes talking smack.” She made a statement, demanded respect and brought attention to sexism through her lyrics.
Queen Latifah is another lyricist that made waves with her music in 1989 with songs like “Ladies First” and “U.N.I.T.Y.”. Latifah’s mission was to lift women up and stand proud in her blackness as she states in an interview on the Whoopi Goldberg Show, “It was men who inspired me to speak my mind about womanhood. It was the Chuck D’s and KRS-One’s who made me not afraid to say, Hey I’m black and I’m proud.” These songs promoted the power women had to stand up for themselves. These women wanted to be looked at as equals, instead of accessories.
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Rap in the 80s and early 90s for women was about demanding respect and empowerment. Their music wasn’t the only thing that made a statement, so did their fashion. It went from fitting in with the boys with baggy pants, big T-shirts, backwards hats and Timberlands to a more sex-positive approach with Salt-N-Pepa and Lil’Kim.
Salt-N-Pepa stepped on the scene in 1985 with bold and seductive lyrics with a message. Monie Love says on an interview on Real Queens of Rap on ABC “The first sexual explicit, tongue and check, coy, toying with the sexuality aspect of being a woman in hip-Hop, Salt N Pepa.” They vocalized their sexual wants and desires in their top charting songs like “Push It” and “Shoop.” The duo weren’t shy about telling men exactly how they wanted to be satisfied. Their outfits were more form fitting, showing off more body than previous rappers, but nothing compares to Lil’Kim.
Challenging the Norm
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In 1996 Lil’ Kim turned the rap game on its head, making music that you couldn’t take on the family vacation. Her explicit lyrics and daring clothing choices sparked debates on sex and sexuality with some arguing that her outfits are too revealing. Lil’ Kim dropped songs like “Crush on You” “Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)” and “Big Mama Thang” that helped solidify her as a top contender. “I think my style and that I talk about the realness which is sexuality and I talk about money. I talk about you know, I talk about the realness on what’s going on in today’s society. It’s what separates me from other rappers” Lil Kim says in a 1996 interview with MTV News. As she took on the biggest rappers in her generation and was able to hold her own and dominate the game. Lil’ Kim has influenced a whole generation of artists that have come after her.
Foxy Brown, Missy Elliot, Left Eye, Da Brat, Eve and Trina have all earned their badge of honor in the rap game. As each person has given a different piece of themselves to Hip-Hop. Paving the way and painting a larger picture for the world to see the universal allure. Women gave Hip-Hop that feminine touch that was needed to help elevate it to where it is today.
Future Landscape of Hip-Hop
Women continue to change the game with the current and future landscape of women in rap appearing even brighter. Women are continuing to work together such as Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion on their hit song “WAP”. Their song spent six weeks as number 1 on Billboard Top 100 charts. Cardi B also collaborated with fresh-faced Glo Rilla on the record “Tomorrow 2” making that arguably one of Cardi B’s best verses on a track. This song also debuted on Billboard’s top 100 charts at number 9. Cardi B talks to Rotation on Amazon Music about collaborating with other women saying, “Females been collaborating for a long time and now females are back to collaborating again because when you a female rapper who’s the best person you can relate to, another female rapper”.
Saweetie and the City Girls came together to remix Saweetie’s hit song “My Type”. Latto is another artist who has earned her stripes in the rap game having multiple features with top artists. She recently released her new song with rapper Glo Rilla “FTCU”.
Nicki Minaj is another lyricist that has been successful with cross-collaboration making her a bonafide popstar. She has collaborated with Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Doja Cat and Madonna to name a few.
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Social media is a large influence on discovering female artists. One major platform is Tik Tok, where Flo Milli was discovered with her viral songs “Beef FloMix” and “In the Party” while Latto and Lakeyah also got in on the Tik Tok charts with their song “Mind Yo Business”.
This shows the evolution of Hip-Hop over the years and how it will continue to grow and evolve. Hip-Hop is the basis of the culture and the women in the game are the backbone as they continue to break records, own the rights to their music and find new innovative ways to break through the noise.
Happy 50th anniversary to Hip-Hop and Happy Women’s History Month!
RemixdMag’s best new songs are vulnerable to the core. From Tyler The Creator‘s “DOGFOOD” to Kenyon Dixon‘s “Slow Dancing (feat. Kincy),” listeners worldwide will be encouraged to pour out their hearts and soul into that person they can’t live without. Chlöe‘s new album, In Pieces, amongst the other records mentioned,are bound to connect with the deepest part of your soul. Don’t believe so? Read our selection below and tell us if you’re moved to pass along a declaration of love:
Tyler The Creator’s new single comes off his new album CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale, which carries songs that didn’t make it on CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST. His signature synths and upbeat tempo is met with a commanding drum line and bars that are just as impressive. In “DOGFOOD,” the idiosyncratic musician expresses the depths of his devotion towards a woman who has his heart. He just asks that she compensates him with some TLC. Similarly, he separates friends and acquaintances, saying, “If you don’t know my grandma name, then we ain’t really dogs.”
Elsewhere, Tyler, The Creator, does a little flex before giving his flowers to Virgil Abloh, a fashion designer who passed away in 2021. The two-time Grammy Award winner also humbles the egoistical fellas that think they’re beneath him. “Keep your chair rockin’ and my two cents in your pocket/Your only option, I don’t play no motherfuckin’ games,” he raps.
This week, Tyler also dropped “SORRY NOT SORRY,” which rides true to its name. Throughout the record, the WOLF legend affirms that he’ll always be unapologetically himself. Accompanying this is a visual that all fans will come to love because of how he represents all of his album’s themes. One user on YouTube called it “undisputedly the magnum opus of Tyler music videos.”
G-Eazy‘s “Tulips and Roses” interpolates Gabriel‘s “Blame.” The rapper’s jazzy three-minute record details his non-private lifestyle since becoming famous. G-Eazy also reflects on the people in his life and wonders if they’d stick around if he were less fortunate. As the song continues, he raps about his effortless return to the hip-hop game, “My star’s back shining bright, I just polished it,” he raps. “Something in my spirit woke back up/ Time to go to work pick the slack up/ Please no more comparisons you ain’t gotta bring that up/ Salute my brothers we can all coexist/ Took a hiatus, I’m like what did I miss?/ Gerald’s back in his bag they don’t do it like this.” G-Eazy’s short-lived break commenced after his mother passed away in 2021.
“PANIC!!!” is a blood-pumping hip-hop offering that finds Paris Texas asserting dominance over those who think they’re on their level. Some might even compare it to the likes of Tyler, The Creator, JPEGMAFIA, or Playboi Carti. Within the slew of braggadocious bars, the rapper uses a unique distorted flow that is synchronized with aggressive guitar loops. In the fourth verse you can even hear one of them rapping, “I’m really him what the fuck is assumption/I was getting 5-star shit for my luncheon/Keep on giving me lip imma bust it/I don’t really walk anywhere imma float in/I’m a real night mayor bitch put your vote in.” The confessional-like outro takes a turn at blending various rock arrangements, emphasizing the electric guitar and hi-hats. The new single comes on the heels of their 2021 EPs Boy Anonymous and Red Hand Akimbo.
Soulja Boy puts all attempts of ridicule to rest in “Bubblegum.” Slashing the competition with bars that are just as cut-throat, the “first to do anything” rapper gives opps a forewarning. “Playing with my name/Boy we gon’ see,” he raps. Soulja Boy also makes it known that there’s a clip by his hip for anyone who wants smoke. The video game tone and speaker-knocking bass give him ammo to detail his exotic kush, foreign whips, and glamorous lifestyle. In an autotune fashion, the creative wordsmith declares that he “cannot let these niggas test me.”
This week, he also dropped “Lamb Flow,” “Soulja Boy (Big Draco),” and “Get A Bag,” which can potentially signal a new EP or album. Joao Paulo said on YouTube, “Soulja Boy is level, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. He is on another level of hip hop.”
MVW’s SEGA-styled synths, heavy bassline, and rich variations of space trap are the foundation of Valee and Tony Shhnow’s wordplay in “Yo Yo.” MVW and Valee are also in the process of finishing their collaborative album. “Valee is my perfect match,” Waller says. “The way he approaches my beats? He sounds like incense smoke on the mic. We are creating something that’s going to have a real impact.” On “Yo Yo,” Valee and Tony Shhnow speak on trusting others to a certain degree. The rappers also take a moment to flex about their top-tier drip, cars, and fortune. At the same time, they leave a trail of not-so-nice words for their biggest haters. As they reflect on their humble beginnings, One notable line goes, “Life go up and down like prices do.”
Lou Phelps doesn’t mind going at a steady pace with his amore in “White Flower.” As the rapper stands on the sideline, he wonders if they can pick up where things were left off. His words of adoration are enhanced by a summery electro-house beat that urges one to live in the moment.
Between his smooth cadence, Lou Phelps asks this special someone where they stand. Although the musician understands that she hasn’t decided on the nature of their relationship, he hopes that he’s her number-one pick. Lou Phelps has two options: go all in or pull back and assess this situation. He lists one of many reasons they should make the relationship official while addressing her concerns. “I said/I/Can make your time fly/I know you wanna go around the globe/I just gotta know if it’s real or no,” he raps. “White Flower” is his first single of the year. In 2022, Lou Phelps dropped Touché, which has two songs produced by his brother KAYTRANADA and one produced by Lou himself.
Categorizing the track as a start of “a new era of the R&B you love,” Kenyon Dixon invites a potential lover to explore the unknown of what could be a beautiful relationship. The song samples Zapp and Roger’s “Computer Love” but also carries a mesh of funk and sultry R&B. Despite her attempts to keep a distance, Kenyon Dixon makes some convincing points about why they should stay close. As he calls her to the dance floor, he encourages her to “listen to ya body when it’s telling you.” Kenyon Dixon continues, “Let me pull you/Close to me babe ain’t that how it’s supposed to be?” Throughout the record, the passionate songwriter expresses the depth of his devotion and what happens when “the beat takes us to different places.”
Today, Chlöe has released her highly anticipated album, In Pieces. The song is about her wanting to get even with a lover who wasn’t faithful. Rather than “bleach his clothes,” she plans on hitting him where it hurts. Ironically, the song features hip-hop’s proclaimed “toxic king,” who speaks from the man’s POV. Some might even say the theme takes admiration from Ciara‘s “Like A Boy.” In the chorus, she sings “Pullin’ a you on you (You)/That’s what I wanna do (Do)/Huh, I know you wouldn’t like that (Baby)/If I cheat back.” Sonically, “Cheatback” is led by a sweet acoustic guitar and her gravitating vocal range. She dropped a ballad that coincides with her album’s name on Thursday. “In Pieces” is about not wanting to let go of a relationship meant to last forever.
Combined with enlightening rhythms and harmonies, simply put, “Hello” is a song that resonates. The introspective mood of the track reflects on Aqyila growing and evolving as a person, letting go of the past and saying hello to the future – she shares her understanding of why some things in life happen for the better.
