celeb news XXL: Female rappers are running hip-hop, but it's not translating to album sales

[Wicked]

 

The female hip-hop movement has been thriving in the last few years. So much so that many rap fans have surmised that the ladies are running the game. It's been decades since a large number of women have been taking over the genre simultaneously. The current names include some hit makers: Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Cardi B, Latto, Sexyy Red, GloRilla, Ice Spice and others. However, star power, hit records and cult followings aren't always transferring to album sales.

 

Using the last 12 months since August of 2023 as a barometer, the lackluster sales numbers have continued, despite female rappers having a large hold on streams, radio play and the conversation online. In the last year, only Nicki Minaj has been able to crack 100,000 units in her first week. Her Pink Friday 2 album debuted with 228,300, and that was assisted by the return from a four-year album hiatus.

 

A different story is told when combining the first-week sales for three of the most popular newer rappers right now. Sexyy Red, Ice Spice and GloRilla's 2024 projects—In Sexyy We Trust, Y2K! and Ehhhthang, Ehhhthang, respectively—don't even add up to 100,000 units. This is despite each woman having a Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit and being considered the most popular of the latest crop of femcees.

 

Below are the album sales for the last year of some of the most well-known female rappers in the game, confirmed by Billboard charts source Luminate.

• Doja Cat, Scarlet (Sept. 20, 2023) — 72,000
• City Girls, RAW (Oct. 20, 2023) — 10,000
• Baby Tate, Bate Tate Presents: Sexploration: The Musical (Oct. 27, 2023) — 2,000
• Lola Brooke, Dennis Daughter (Nov. 10, 2023) — 4,000
• Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday 2 (Dec. 8, 2023) — 228,300
• Tierra Whack, World Wide Whack (March 15, 2024) — 5,000
• Flo Milli, Fine Ho, Stay (March 15, 2024) — 16,000
• GloRilla, Ehhhthang, Ehhhthang (April 5, 2024) —33,100
• Rapsody, Please Don't Cry (May 17, 2024) - 5,000
• Sexyy Red, In Sexyy We Trust (May 24, 2024) — 28,000
• Megan Thee Stallion, Megan (June 28, 2024) —64,000
• JT, City Cinderella (July 19, 2024) — 27,000
• Ice Spice, Y2K! (July 26, 2024) — 28,200
• Latto, Sugar Honey Iced Tea (Aug. 9, 2024) — 29,000

 

While hip-hop was the most listened-to genre of music in 2023, its market share was down nearly two percent from its peak in 2020, according to a report from Newsweek. This means artists outside hip-hop are starting to take more shine. These days, blockbuster debuts only seem to be generated by pop icons like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, and country star Morgan Wallen.

Read More: Female Rappers Are Running Hip-Hop, It's Not Translating to Sales - XXL | https://www.xxlmag.com/female-rappers-album-sales/

 

 

[TaylorsSquad]

We need Cardi B to comeback and save female Rap. 

[Sheep]

I'm a barb but Nicki, like almost every other pop and rap act that moves albums, came from an era where people purchased music. It's a really unfair comparison.

 

Let alone the fact that in some of these cases, we're comparing girls who got a novelty hit or two to the queen of rap.

Edited August 20 by Sheep

[Soda Pop Queen]

What is the purpose of an article like this in 2024 except to throw shade? We've been in the streaming era for almost a decade now and Hip-Hop was one of the first genres to be affected because the majority of Rap fans stream their music. Add them being female artists on top of it, who generally are less streamed than male artists anyway, and of course you get these sales results. 

Edited August 21 by Soda Pop Queen

[CristianGarcia]

They're not running it at all. They're fighting to see who will stick to the brand. Cuz once this trend is over most of them will be gone.. 
 

Similar to the wave of Beyonce clones in the early 2000's. (Amerie, Cassie, Mya, Christina Milan, Nivea, Rihanna, etc.) and only one of them succeeded. 
 

This is the same case and I think Doja will be the only one tbh 

 

 

[Wicked]

1 minute ago, Soda Pop Queen said:

What is the purpose of an article like this in 2024 except to throw shade? We've been in the streaming era for almost a decade now and Hip-Hop was one of the first genres to be affected because the majority of Rap fans stream their music. Add them being female artists on top of it, who generally are less streamed than their male artists anyway, and of course you get these sales results. 

They're including equivalents its not just about purchases, but the article wasn't meant to be shady I think.

 

Quote

Showcasing the sales numbers for women in hip-hop is in no way a slight. Female rappers might be falling victim to a numbers game. While men and women listen to male rappers, a man who listens to hip-hop might be less inclined to stream or buy an album from a female artist, cutting their pool of potential buyers substantially.

Despite the overall flat sales, the ladies of hip-hop keep pushing the envelope and are a driving force in a genre that has been dominated by misogyny. About damn time.

If you believe Vince Staples, Tyler the Creator and several other rappers accounts, this is fallout from major labels no longer caring about the artistic development of hip hop, the women are just being hit harder from it. 

9 minutes ago, Sheep said:

I'm a barb but Nicki, like almost every other pop and rap act that moves albums, came from an era where people purchased music. It's a really unfair comparison.

 

Let alone the fact that in some of these cases, we're comparing girls who got a novelty hit or two to the queen of rap.

There's men moving 100k every first week that weren't apart of the 'buy music' era, like Rod Wave and Uzi Vert.

[dumbsparce]

Running social media and pop culture doesn't mean running hip hop as a music genre. This misconception is what lead to talentless baddies getting a shot at a recording career and painting a whole subgenre in a very poor light.

[Sheep]

5 minutes ago, Wicked said:

There's men moving 100k every first week that weren't apart of the 'buy music' era, like Rod Wave and Uzi Vert.

and within her generation, Nicki wasn't selling as well as her male peers, especially not after PF.

Edited August 21 by Sheep

[Tropez]

19 minutes ago, CristianGarcia said:

They're not running it at all. They're fighting to see who will stick to the brand. Cuz once this trend is over most of them will be gone.. 
 

Similar to the wave of Beyonce clones in the early 2000's. (Amerie, Cassie, Mya, Christina Milan, Nivea, Rihanna, etc.) and only one of them succeeded. 
 

This is the same case and I think Doja will be the only one tbh 

 

 

Of topic for a second. But these were not Bey clones. Mya debuted in the 90s before Beyoncé was even known. Christina, Amerie, Nivea, had albums before Beyoncé even thought about being solo. Rihanna wasn't even a clone, she was doing reggae pop in like 2005. 
 

Just because they're black and sing mostly r&b/pop doesn't mean they're a clone. No one does this with male artists, why do female artists have to have clones and comparisons? 

[Devin]

bc most these girls are just ass n tiddies. with no real talent or artistry to back it up.

[GeminiCat]

I think social media has created the illusion that many of these female rappers are bigger than they actually are or even running hip hop over the men, its the enhanced visibility and celebrity/influencer status via social platforms, plus the opportunity a song can blow up and go viral on tiktok, reels, etc. Female rappers are hyper visible online which helps with promotion of music and themselves as brands, it may appear that things are leveled but the reality is they do not have the same audience reach of male rappers. Straight men are still by far the largest consumers of rap music and they are not streaming any of these girls, lbr. Cardi was probably the last one with mass mainstream appeal that had a good balance of women, gays, straight men locked in..she fumbled so hard man. 

[Saint James]

49 minutes ago, Devin said:

bc most these girls are just ass n tiddies. with no real talent or artistry to back it up.

and poop

[Wicked]

46 minutes ago, Devin said:

bc most these girls are just ass n tiddies. with no real talent or artistry to back it up.

That's what the labels wanna invest in... I subscribed to a Black owned Hip Hop newsletter to receive a blast every week of underground & independent releases, those things will soon be the only way for us to hear real talent lol.

 

Mainstream female rappers need a Dr. Dre, ASAP Yams, etc,. like figure to oversee the creative direction of their work + they need management teams not building their social media profiles to make it seem like music is a side gig for them. Putting songs together for virality has proven to not work chile.

 

 

[CristianGarcia]

1 hour ago, Tropez said:

Just because they're black and sing mostly r&b/pop doesn't mean they're a clone. No one does this with male artists, why do female artists have to have clones and comparisons? 

Nah, towards the late 90's r&b starting moving away from the Whitney Houston's and Mariah Carey's onto faster paced music… or an R&B execution of what Britney Spears was doing at the time. 
 

When Beyoncé debuted with Destinys Child she was definitely the blueprint of what was needed to define the new wave of R&B music. I'm not even a fan of her like that but the market was open for someone who was beautiful, can sing, and can perform and Beyoncé took that title. 
 

When Amerie went #1 ppl said she would take Beyoncems spot and look now? Like I said these female rappers are just taking advantage of a "trend". 

Edited August 21 by CristianGarcia

[makeme]

Scarlet is eligible for Platinum and still chatting 

 

[toast]

It's an industry issue, but also a talent issue

[Tropez]

35 minutes ago, CristianGarcia said:

Nah, towards the late 90's r&b starting moving away from the Whitney Houston's and Mariah Carey's onto faster paced music… or an R&B execution of what Britney Spears was doing at the time. 
 

When Beyoncé debuted with Destinys Child she was definitely the blueprint of what was needed to define the new wave of R&B music. I'm not even a fan of her like that but the market was open for someone who was beautiful, can sing, and can perform and Beyoncé took that title. 
 

When Amerie went #1 ppl said she would take Beyoncems spot and look now? Like I said these female rappers are just taking advantage of a "trend". 

None of this is true. None of this happened. 

[CristianGarcia]

1 minute ago, Tropez said:

None of this is true. None of this happened. 

I'm 32. It definitely was happening..

[ImpressMeMuch]

2 hours ago, TaylorsSquad said:

We need Cardi B to comeback and save female Rap. 

 

2 hours ago, dumbsparce said:

Running social media and pop culture doesn't mean running hip hop as a music genre. This misconception is what lead to talentless baddies getting a shot at a recording career and painting a whole subgenre in a very poor light.

This. You can't come out with the same song and tired bars, just wrapped up in a new gimmick and visual and expect to see actual success in music. Eg latto, who seems to be regressing in rap ability as she progresses or ice spice who was a one trick pony 

[CristianGarcia]

9 minutes ago, Tropez said:

None of this is true. None of this happened. 

[CristianGarcia]

2 hours ago, Tropez said:

No one does this with male artists, why do female artists have to have clones and comparisons? 

Lol men get the comparisons too…

 

Justin Bieber, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Dj Snake etc. all had their biggest hits in the mid 2010's chasing Rihanna's sound. 

[Luckitty]

rap in general is not as dominant as it used to be in the late 2010s

[bad guy]

The Cardi B effect. Labels are signing glorified strippers with no talent besides being able to shake their ass, be sexy, or be vulgar. Granted at least for Cardi she entered at the perfect time because the only real competition was Nicki so it was easier for her to get the industry spotlight, but there was never any talent to back it up as we can see with how her career ended up. And before anybody mentions how female rappers in the 90s have always been sexual, vulgar, blah blah blah, they could also actually rap as well. Labels do not care about talent at all and are just looking for replacements/quick cash grabs.

 

Doja is really the only rapper post-Cardi that is versatile enough to keep people interested. She did over 100k with Planet Her and can probably do it again with the right roll out. 

[Gorjesspazze9]

Yeah I think it's more that times have changed. It's all about social media hype over catalogue. Cuz those sales are tragic af

 

Doja really is the only exception. Like she can at least tour worldwide unlike the rest of these women. Well and Cardi too of course. But I think after that it's Meg and then the others will be forgotten in like 5 years. 

[Bhabylon]

These girls aren't making great albums

Except for maybe JT and Doja. But Doja is too polarizing and JT is fresh off of her Arby's parking lot tour 

Latto is talented but can't make good songs, Meg can make a good song, but has yet to put out a solid, definitive body of work 

Ice is too busy trying to sing about poop and farts and Sexyy Red is...