! Entertainment National Sports Events Movies & TV Nick Rice 25 Hip-Hop Albums By Bomb Womxn Of 2018 December 14, 2018 - 4:50 pm by VIBE These ladies showcased a creative edge in hip-hop and rap not seen by their male peers. The female voice in hip-hop has always been present whether we've noticed it or not. The late Sylvia Robinson birthed the hip-hop music industry with the formation of Sugar Hill Records (and fostering "Rapper's Delight"), Roxanne Shante's 55 lyrical responses to fellow rappers were the first diss tracks and Missy Elliott's bold and striking music and visuals inspired men and women in the game to step outside of their comfort zones. These pillars and many more have allowed the next generation of emcees to be unapologetically brash, truthful and confident in their music. Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy and Nicki Minaj's Queen might've been the most mainstream albums by womxn in rap this year, but there was a long list of creatives who brought the noise like Rico Nasty, Tierra Whack, Noname and Bbymutha. Blame laziness or the heavy onslaught of music hitting streaming sites this year, but many of the artists on this list have hibernated under the radar for far too long. VIBE decided to switch things up but also highlighting rap albums by womxn who came strong in their respectively debut albums, mixtapes, EPs. We also had to give props to those who dropped standout singles, leaving us wanting more. READ MORE: 15 R&B Songs We Obsessed Over Most In 2018 Apple Music 1 / 26 Noname, 'Room 25' There’s an existential rebirth that occurs after heartache. Thrust into emotional fragility when abandoned, the trust of deflowering is no longer gleamed as sacred, but rather gutting when there’s loss behind the love. Following her 2015 debut Telefone, the tightrope act teetering between pure and conscious, Noname opens the portal into Room 25, an orchestra-driven inundation within the depths of looking-glass self and unrequited love. There’s a vintage air to Room 25, beginning with the soulful wails of “Self,” in which Noname prepares listeners for what’s bound to become the molding of the album (Maybe this your answer for that good p***y/I know ni**as only talk about money and good p***y). Somersaulting headfirst into the chilling enigma of “Blaxploitation.” Noname peers into the stereotypes of black Americans that even '70s-nostalgic forefathers Digable Planets and Camp Lo would tip their hats to. After the dust has settled, lost ones find their way to the pulpit during the nighttime revival of “Prayer Song,” exposing America’s facade of freedom and the trauma of police brutality. Assertiveness is also a relational factor that Noname knows all too well, as she plans to replace the cover of Room 25, originally created by artist Bryant Giles after he was accused of domestic abuse and rape. Despite the gray cloud that seems to follow Noname in reality and on wax, she still allows light spots to shine through, escaping the misery of a previous relationship by rendezvousing with a travel companion on “Montego Bae.” Fellow Chicagoan Ravyn Lenae replicates Noname’s flow on the chorus, but her soprano caresses are unmistakable. A card table cipher with Smino and Saba ensues on “Ace” celebrating their humble beginnings and the places it’s taken them, but Noname doubles back into the original pace of the album (“I’m just writing my darkest secrets like wait and just hear me out”). Resting on the edge of survival and oblivion, Noname seemingly pens her own eulogy, isolated in the false reverie of Los Angeles, away from the familiar comfort of home. The crux of Room 25 stems from the harp pluckings of “Window,” and if you listen too lightly, you’ll almost mistake it for a fairytale. Instead, violins corral Noname into a recollection of a full-speed relationship that sent her flying, eventually landing into a pit of despair. Sparring with the past, Noname comes to accept her journey, locking the door of Room 25 as a solace to heal. —Jaelani Turner-Williams Apple Music 2 / 26 Cardi B, 'Invasion of Privacy' After topping the Billboard Hot 100 in 2017 with “Bodak Yellow,” Cardi B set her sights on 2018 and delivered beyond expectations. The frenzy surrounding the Bronx rapper shows no signs of halting anytime soon as the former reality TV star continues to rack up multiple accolades whilst making history in the process. With the release of her critically-acclaimed album Invasion of Privacy, the projected 2019 Grammy frontrunner dominated the Billboard Hot 100 earning 255,000 album- equivalent units (103,000 of which were pure sales). Since debuting in April, the LP has been certified double platinum by the RIAA and produced a wide variety of hit singles including “Bartier Cardi” ft. 21 Savage, “Be Careful”, “Ring” ft. Kehlani and ‘I Like It” with Bad Bunny and J Balvin which topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the entertainer’s second #1. While breaking records seems like second nature to Cardi, the album is atop most, if not all “End of Year’ lists for a reason. While Invasion of Privacy equips listeners with flashy anthems including “Drip” featuring Migos and “Money Bag”, the rapper’s vulnerability remains one of her biggest strengths, especially on “Thru Your Phone,” (“My heart is beating like it's bleeding out / You sleepin', you sleepin', you sleepin'.”) Presenting a fusion of sounds ranging from trap, reggaeton and R&B, Cardi B’s hunger from her mixtape days was felt throughout her debut. Opening the album with a flow reminiscent of Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares”, the Atlantic signee proves that she’s still that “regular, degular, shmegular” girl living her dreams on “Get Up 10”. (“And I got enough bras, y'all ain’t gotta support me / I went from rag to riches, went from WIC to lit..”) Notable standouts on the album include twerk-friendly “Bickenhead,”, “She Bad” featuring YG and “I Do” featuring SZA. Since her smash hit “Bodak Yellow,”, Cardi B has inched her way to the top without letting pregnancy or controversy stop her grind. Gearing up for the deluxe version of Invasion of Privacy, if her new single “Money” is any indication, more hits and success will follow the modern-day Binderella —Wanna Thompson Apple Music 3 / 26 Tierra Whack, 'Whack World' The born and bred Philly rapper, originally known as Dizzle Dizz is without a doubt one of the most talented voices to emerge in the last few years, whose creativity is on par with her distinctive wordplay. Dazzling the internet with her critically-acclaimed debut album, Whack World, Tierra Whack invites us on a visually stunning trip into a universe that is uniquely hers. Presenting 15 tracks exactly one minute long, the album differentiates itself from the traditional format and successfully satiates your musical palate despite the length. To reduce Whack World to just an album forfeits the brilliance of Tierra's creative prowess which many believe mirror the legendary Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes’ visual concepts. Earning over 2 million views on YouTube, the vignettes showcase a wide variety of shapes and dimensions, whilst sticking to a pastel color palette a la Tim Burton's classic film Edward Scissorhands. Serving as a recurring theme throughout the audiovisual album, Tierra masterfully conveys the art of surrealism and fantasy. While there are various standouts on the EP, "Bugs Life," "Flea Market," "Pet Cemetery" and "Fruit Salad" are personal favorites. Mesmerizing both in sound and sight, Whack poetically sings and raps about love, loss and familial ties that take listeners on emotional highs and lows. On "Pretty Ugly" Tierra laments about her "ugly" flow is the reason why people are intrigued by her, despite the peculiarity. ("Bet you ain’t heard no flow like this / Make you say yo excuse me miss / Go against me I'll beat like Swizz / I like my paper nice and crisp.") In a recent interview with Pitchfork, Tierra spoke about her sound and why she likes to deviate from the norm. "In the industry, you’re told that you have to stick to one sound, but that’s boring to me. So I’m like, ‘Yo, I have to give people a taste of everything.’ I’m thinking about myself performing live, and I don’t wanna do the same type of song 10 or 20 times. I wanna mix it up." While Whack World is rightfully being heralded as one of the best albums of the year that deserves every inch of praise and glory, namely for the production and rhythmical flows, I anticipate the whimsical world Tierra Whack plans to reveal to us next. —W.T. ADVERTISEMENT Apple Music 4 / 26 Rico Nasty, 'Nasty' Why should the boys who dominate rambunctious SoundCloud Rap get to have all the fun? With this summer’s Nasty mixtape and the eponymous tour, Rico Nasty welcomed more women into sonic and physical spaces to rage. The refreshingly compact Nasty holds 12 raucous anthems for spitting hard and thrashing to. Her live shows gained notoriety for attendees doing just that. At the end of the Nasty tour, Rico revealed that 24 of its 28 dates at venues like Chicago’s Lincoln Hall, Atlanta’s Center Stage, and the DMV’s Fillmore Silver Spring had sold out. Three of the shows were a part of festivals. “Don’t wear heels,” Nasty warned fans. “And don’t wear like anything that you really care about, like designer or anything, because you are in a mosh pit with guys.” Even with songs titles like “Ice Cream” and “Oreo,” Nasty mostly abandons the perversely honeyed tracks of her two previous projects to build a darker world.