If the past several years have finally proven, without a doubt, that female rappers can compete head-to-head with their male peers—something MC Lyte fans have been aware of for years)—2014 finally proved that those women can outperform their male counterparts.
Aside from Pharrell Williams’s airwave-devouring “Happy,” Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” was the most inescapable song of the year. It spent two more weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart than the two male-led number one rap singles (Eminem’s “The Monster” and Pitbull’s “Timber”) combined—and when Iggy’s Ariana Grande collaboration “Problem” went to number two, she became the only act besides the Beatles to take the top two spots at once with her first two charting tracks. In a year that produced a fair number of newly minted superstars—Grande, Sam Smith, 5 Seconds of Summer—Azalea still managed to get more attention (and hold onto it longer) than any of them.
And Iggy wasn’t alone. Nicki Minaj put two singles–her own “Anaconda” and “Bang Bang” with Ariana Grande and Jessie J–in the Top 10. With eight singles as either lead or featured artist on the Hot 100 ,she had more songs on the pop chart than either Drake or Lil Wayne. If that accomplishment alone wasn’t enough to prove where the real star power on the Young Money roster lies, Nicki used her posse cut “Only” not only to son both other rappers, but also to state, for the record, that she got where she is without sleeping with either of them—despite what rumors might say. When her deliriously salacious “Anaconda” video racked up more first-week views than Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” it became clear that Minaj’s competition now extends well outside the boundaries of the rap world.
Rapper and internet celebrity (and Iggy Azalea foe) Azealia Banks also made headlines when she successfully dissolved her contentious relationship with her label Universal. In November, she released her long-awaited debut album—Broke With Expensive Taste—on her own label, and landed it at number 30 on the Billboard album chart.
Rapper and internet celebrity (and Iggy Azalea foe) Azealia Banks also made headlines when she successfully dissolved her contentious relationship with her label Universal. In November, she released her long-awaited debut album—Broke With Expensive Taste—on her own label, and landed it at number 30 on the Billboard album chart.
