only female rapper that i heard while growing up was Missy, cause when i use to watch the MTV Hits music video channel when i was in the 5th grade she was the only one really poppin around that time who made videos.
and something about her funky flow and style gained my attention, which is why i love Nicki cause she took that and took it further
so after listening to Missy, other females were bland too me, just did not appeal. until Nicki.