The freshman class of female rappers is moving in solidarity with senior class strength.
Flo Milli has racked up an impressive list of songs and features with her peers including Latto, Monaleo, Lola Brooke, Rico Nasty, organically fusing her unique sound with theirs.
“I remember I saw Flo Milli in Portugal (for Rolling Loud in 2022) and I went, man, she’s from Alabama and I’m from Maryland. … We would have never thought we’d be doing a show in Portugal on the beach,” Rico Nasty, 26, told USA TODAY in April as she kicked off her North American tour.
Flo Milli, 23, has a smile while reminiscing on that same moment. “I remember we literally ran across each other at the airport. That was my first time overseas so it was cool. Like (Rico) said, being from a small town and then you’re in another country where people know you and they’re screaming your name … It’s cool to experience that, especially in this day and age where female rap wasn’t always accepted like how it is now.”
The rappers have teamed up twice: In 2021 for Rico’s Nasty’s song “Money” and again in 2022 for Flo Milli’s song “Pay Day,” both showcasing their love for money.
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The frequent collaborations between Flo Milli and her peers show — Nicki Minaj and Cardi B‘s ongoing tension aside — that young women in hip-hop are putting the love of the craft over rumors about beef that plague the genre.
“We all respect each other. And as corny as it may seem, we’re all so happy to be here,” Rico Nasty said of the bond. “We were all little girls at one point watching the big screen watching Nicki Minaj, watching Missy Elliott and Eve and (Lil’) Kim — we were watching them all on TV like ‘How are they doing this?'”
She adds: “And now we’re like in a pivotal point in hip-hop where there’s like a crazy amount of female rappers so I think it like goes past territory at that point. And everybody’s just happy. Happy to be here, happy to be getting recognized, happy to get the opportunities that we do.”
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The chance to be a part of a competitive legacy in a male-dominated sphere drives hip-hop’s young female class to push for more seats that have historically been set aside.
Latto, 24, emphasizes that by collaborating with other female artists she hopes to “rewrite the story for women, especially women in music how people just think it can only be one at a time for whatever reason.”
The Ohio-born, Georgia-raised rapper has a lengthy list of featured artists in her songs from Cardi B to Megan Thee Stallion and GloRilla, whom she invited on her 2022 song “FTCU” along with Gangsta Boo and shared the limelight with for a Sprite Hip-Hop 50 campaign in June.
It’s not enough to just rap. For women, there’s usually an expectation to maintain certain beauty standards, have lyrically flawless bars and be able to dance in order to gain attention — a triple threat that is less prevalent among men in the industry.
“We understand how difficult it is to try to become a successful female artist, especially a Black female artist,” Monaleo, 22, admits. “It’s difficult and you have to go above and beyond most of the time and you still get half of the recognition.”
The 22-year-old Texas native has had her foot on the gas since the release of her debut album “Where the Flowers Don’t Die” and the birth of her son in May. Less than five months later, she’s hopping on the road to tour.
The shared struggle between these artists and their continued push for success fuels their bond rather than dividing them.
“It’s just cool to have other girls that kind of have the same path as you and then y’all meet and you get to tell each other y’all’s stories on how it came about. It’s cool to have that sisterhood,” says Flo Milli. Brooke, 29, adds: “It’s something that I feel like I need because guys don’t always understand this, you know? No matter what I’m what I’m doing in this world, I do feel like sisterhood is very important.”
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The connection between Brooke, Monaleo, Rico Nasty, Flo Milli, Latto and other young female artists goes beyond hopping on features and commenting on Instagram.
“We’re all watching each other grow up, watching each other go through different phases … Our failures are put on blast for all of us to see. Even that creates a sense of community because we all know we’re all flawed,” Rico Nasty says. “And that’s what makes us beautiful.”
As important as public solidarity is for them, Monaleo adds that she and her collaborators “care about each other as individuals and human beings” in addition to their admiration of each other’s craft.
“We all understand those different struggles and there’s solidarity in those struggles and so we just kind of make sure that we check in on each other outside of social media,” she adds.
Latto says she’s always down to jump on a remix, interview new female talent on her Apple Music show “777 Radio” and bring out guest acts like she did with Brooke, Saweetie and TiaCorine at Coachella in April.
“It’s like a girl’s night (when we get together),” Brooke, the co-host of the Hip Hop Museum Tour opening with with Mass Appeal and CÎROC Ultra-Premium Vodka, says with a bright smile. “We just vent to each other, just hang out (and) have a good time.”
“When the fans and the blogs and people on the outside see us linking and just showing each other love, it shows them that we can come together and we can win simultaneously,” Latto adds.
When it comes to the notion that female rappers have a lot of beef, the “Big Energy” rapper brushes it off. “It was always the men doing that. Either the men or the fans.”
