Female rappers are back in Style

Female rappers are in again! 2010 has definitely seen the up rise of female rap talent, and urban artists. Nicki Minaj boasts over a million followers on twitter, In October 2010, Minaj became the first female rapper to have seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 .Nicki has softened the hard core image of the female rap game through her playful, animated character and her flamboyant girliness.

Nicki’s success has inspired other female artists to emerge onto the male dominated industry; Cher Lloyd from the X Factor is a prime example. Cher’s mixture of rnb and rap also softens the gangster stereotypical image of female rappers, despite masses of negative press, such as The Sun, who labelled her ‘Chavvy Cher’, she’s definitely got a huge buzz surrounding her, and has sparked interest in other chart toppers such as N Dubz’s Dappy who told Zoo magazine ‘She's crazy and spontaneous, so she's definitely like me. Team N-Dubz is right behind her to win’.Whether you love or hate her, Cher will definitely be making her stamp on the music industry, the general public seem to favour her sweet, girly melodies over her shouty, feisty rap style. Her rap voice has hints of an American twang mixed with her Worcestershire accent, which at times sounds a bit like a 17 year old female version of Tim Westwood, but her talent and stage presence is undeniable!

Nicki Minaj is definitely ruling the world right now, her fan base is gigantic and she has consistently been the hot topic of the celeb world. However, her fame and success could still be seen by some as a result of her style and image, she has unquestionable talent and amazing lyrics, but is she being treated as an equal contender to other male rappers? or has her dominance emerged from her style and persona? Loving the Nicki Minaj and Cher buzz either way! We need some more female rappers to add to the collection !!  

Sex SELLS-Lady Gaga or Prototype ?

Lady Gaga’s arrival has created a formula that’s has intoxicated new as well as older, legendary artists.  One of the obvious stamps she’s made on the music industry is her in-your-face, overt expression of sexuality.  Lady Gaga has claimed ‘ All music is inspired by sex. It’s the primal rush and instinct and the insatiable need for orgasm and procreation. Isn’t that why we’re all here? Love and sex are the only reason to make art.’ Poker Face and Alejandro both play on blurring gender roles and bisexuality. Gaga made it clear from day one that she swings both ways, other artists  now seem to be cashing in on this new trend of lesbianism??  In her new video ‘Not myself Tonight’ Christina Aguilera wears latex bondage like sex outfits, whilst girls grope each other in the background and she sings ‘tonight I’m kissing all the boys and the girls’, the song’s called ‘Not Myself Tonight’, so at least she’s not keeping it a secret that she’s joining the club and following the new bi curious craze.   It’s not just Gaga’s eccentric, punkish fashion sense that has set the dress code for the music biz, the melody and style of her songs are also being mimicked. Gaga’s chorus’ often include simple, catchy  lines which she repeats over  techno-pop sounding beast. For some strange reason, artists who used to be RnB, rap, etc have converted to this dance, techno pop sound and are producing the same repetitive melodies, take Kelly Rowland for example, her music has always been commercial and mainstream, however she was known and loved in and after Destiny’s child for her soulful voice and RnB hits, her new music video for her techno-dance club track presents her as some sort of bondage- space captain, It's not fair to blame the artists, it’s probably the record labels that are overusing Gaga’s style and it's clearly washing out the originality of music these days!

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