Two years ago when Terror Squad's "Lean Back" was tearing up the charts and filling up dance floors across the world, there was much hype surrounding the lone female in the click, Remy Ma. Fans were losing their minds over her verse on the track and critics were anxiously waiting for the release of her solo album. Everyone was expecting Remy to blow big time, but I remember thinking... "that’s just not going to happen".

On the run up to her debut album release "There's Something About Remy", it was obvious that the "power's that be" over at her label SRC /Universal Records, lacked interest in her project from the start, because as far as I could tell, the full promotion and marketing machine, used to generate interest in her male counterparts projects, were not being used effectively to push her solo efforts, and as expected sales of the album were disappointing, which was a shame but did not come as a surprise.

The days when Queen Latifah, Salt 'n' Pepa, MC Lyte, Roxanne Shante, Monie Love and even Lil Kim and Foxy Brown ruled the roost have long gone. In 2006 the idea of nurturing and investing in female Hip Hop talent has all but diminished. These day's if you're a female rapper your only option seems to be getting yourself inducted in to an all male click (preferably a well known one), who in reality are more interested in just adding the token female to the click, and have no interest whatsoever in helping you to push your career to the next level. But once you have been successfully inducted in to their world, you're then expected to play your part dutifully as the 1st lady, appear on numerous tracks and patiently wait for the chance to release your first solo single / album… two years down the line. At this point the fans have grown tired of the long wait, and your click doesn't seem to know what direction to take you in, so turn their attentions elsewhere, leaving you and your career in limbo.

Founder / CEO of Phuturehype Denise Destini, who dedicates her time helping to promote female Hip Hop talent here in the UK, say’s "female Hip Hop talent isn't being taken seriously enough. It kills me when I think of how a talented artist like Rah Digga has been treated. I mean she has to be the most under-rated rapper out there. For almost 10 years now she has been a member of Busta Rhymes’ Flip Mode Squad and is still struggling for recognition and the success that she so rightly deserves. She's shown loyalty to Busta, but it's now time to cut the apron strings because he isn't doing anything for her. He has always been pre-occupied with moving from label to label and promoting his own career. She would see more of a result going it alone". 

To an extent the industry is perhaps only partly to blame for the situation on a whole. I can think of two southern female rappers in particular who should NEVER have been allowed near a microphone. These artists have gone down that same tried and tested route of discussing the delights of what’s happening between their legs time and time again. There's only so many times you can spew out those same tired lines, talk about the size of your behind, and wear the ugliest outfits known to man, in the vain hope that your music and the way you present yourself visually will guarantee maximum exposure and platinum sales.

When Lil Kim burst on to the scene and started the ball rolling with her brand of sexually explicit imagery, a woman talking about herself in such a manner was something new within the world of Hip Hop, and she became a huge hit because of that. But now when the nameless artists whom I've mentioned above attempt to go down that same road, I feel it turns the music buying public off because it's all old hat and just reeks of desperation, which has also helped to contribute to the current demise of the female rap star. 

However, I am not about to give up hope. Somewhere out there, there's a future female rap star being shaped and molded who will forcefully shift the focus off the men for a minute and on to female talent within the Hip Hop world for positive reasons. Just like MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and Salt 'n' Pepa did all those years ago.

WRITTEN BY JANICE SPENCE (EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF WRITE ON POINT MAGAZINE)