The girls we didn't just see as sex symbols, that made us dance and made us sing along. Not just gifted in music, but beautiful and sexy aswell. Though they're all a bit tomboyish, it all comes with the game:
Salt And Pepa
The 3 sold over 15 million records worldwide, were the first well-known, commercially viable, female hip-hop crew to make it big. Cheryl James ("Salt"), Sandra Denton ("Pepa") and Deidra "Dee Dee" Roper ("Spinderella") are still to date the best selling female act with 5 albums to their name. They've been nominated numerous times and won many awards, 3 American Music Awards nominations, 1 Grammy win and 4 other Grammy nominations and won 3 out of 4 MTV awards they were nominated for.
MC Lyte
Lana Michelle Moorer gained fame in the 1980s for being the first solo female rapper to release a full length album with her "Lyte As A Rock" album. Lyte started rapping at age 12 and was helped by her brothers to eventually launch her hip-hop career. Her most notable hits are "Keep On Keepin' On" and "Cold Rock A Party" featuring Missy Elliot. She also has an extensive TV career with features on MTV Unplugged, In Living Color, Moesha, New York Under Cover, My Wife and Kids, In The House and The District. She's also been on the big screen, with roles on movies like "Fly By Night" and "Civil Brand".
Nicki Minaj
The present queen of the female hip-hop industry took the throne in the most notable way. Not just a rapper, but an icon, a business woman and a fashionista. Onika Tanya Oraj signed with Young Money Cash Money in 2009 after being discovered by Lil Wayne but it was by far not a quick road to stardom for her. She had released 3 mixtapes before being discovered and then started working on her debut album "Pink Friday". Pink Friday entered the Billboard charts at number 2, kept at bay by Kanye's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy". Despite Kanye leading the way to the number one in the first week, Nicki's album was the first to reach platinum status. She's the first female rapper to make it to MTV's Annual MC List. Nicki Minaj is the only female rapper to have a line of dolls on sale made in her image and has other female rappers like Lil Kim hating her for her success.
Salt And Pepa
Lil Kim
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Lil Kim portrays her street life in her music more vividly than any other female rapper to make it big. Inspired by the legendary Notorious B.I.G, she started her career with the rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A. Her solo album only came in 1996 labelled Hardcore and was certified double-platinum with hits like "No Time" and "Crush On You". Her following albums "The Notorious K.I.M" (2000) and "La Bella Mafia" (2003) were also certified platinum. Lil Kim then went to jail for a year after lying to a jury about a friends involvement in a crime, her fourth album, The Naked Truth, was released while she was incarcerated. This album earned her a 5 mic rating from The Source magazine but but only sold about 400 000 copies unlike her other platinum albums.
Nicki Minaj
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