by: Ariel Wodarcyk

This week, sources leaked the alleged XXL Freshman 2019 list online. Every year, XXL magazine celebrates up-and-coming rappers and hip-hop artists by featuring them in the list. This year, despite the rise in emerging female rappers documented on every media outlet from The New Yorkerto Refinery29to Mic, only two women, Rico Nasty and Saweetie, were featured on the leaked list. We think there are more women in rap who deserved a spot, so we made our own list of artists to watch out for.

bbymutha

In bbymutha’s single Fuck Me, the rapper demands her hookups “fuck me good before you fuck me over,” which might just become my new Tinder bio. The single mother of four lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and often incorporates recordings of her kids in the beginnings of her songs. Born Brittnee Moore, she chose the name “bbymutha” to cast away negative connotations of the term “baby mama.” This year, she released three albums, two EPs, and a couple of singles. That’s an insane amount of content to push out in just one year, but all of it is fire. bbymutha’s confidence is contagious, especially on Triangles off of her Muthaz Day 3 album.

Tierra Whack

Whack’s debut album, Whack World, keeps things short and sweet. Each of the 15 songs are exactly one minute long, just enough time for a clever little insult (“Patty Cake, Patty Cake, fuck Patty, Patty Fake” on Silly Sam) or an upbeat ditty with heartbreaking lyrics on Pet Cemetery. Whack World is a mix of singsongy rap and experimental R&B for a sound that is uniquely Tierra.

Megan Thee Stallion

You want a song to hype yourself up while doing your hair/makeup/walking into a meeting with your ex? Listen to Megan’s Hot Girl and bounce along to her Texas drawl: “All the hot girls make it pop, pop, pop/Bad bitches with the bag say ‘ah-ya-ya.” Her intoxicating beats sound like an updated version of early 2000s rap, especially on Freak Nasty, another track off Megan’s 2018 EP, Tina Snow.

Kash Doll

Kash Doll’s deadpan delivery of lines like “I ain’t gotta get naked for no tennis bracelet/But I need twenty bands for a f*cking anklet” on her 2018 single Ice Me Out is what first got us hooked on the rapper. Her 2018 album Brat Mail converted us into full-on Kash Bratz, which is the rapper’s nickname for her fans. We especially like the lyrics on Check, where Kash doll raps, “Now list the Dolly, not Parton, but pardon my French/Give no f*cks about no n*gga, give no f*cks about no b*tch.”

You can check out these artists, as well as the women featured on the leaked XXL list, on the playlist below.