The Best Female Rappers Of 2022

Jared Baly
Updated April 8, 2022 31.6K votes 4.2K voters 32.1K views

Female rappers are once again taking the hip hop industry by storm with their rhythmic verses and empowering lyrics. From Grammy Award-winning queens Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B to 'best friend' superstars Saweetie and Doja Cat, 2022's hottest female hip hop artists are constantly dropping new bangers. The one-and-only Nicki Minaj continues to blow up the charts with her fresh collaborations with Lil Baby, and 2021 XXL Freshman Coi Leray finally dropped her debut studio album, Trendsetter. 

Which trending female hip hop artists are you most excited to see live, and whose records are you currently listening to? Vote below for the best female rappers of 2022, and be sure to also check out this year's top new rap songs here.

Ranked by
  • Nicki Minaj
    1

    Nicki Minaj

    3,935 votes
    Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidad and Tobago-born rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Born in Saint James, Port of Spain, and raised in Queens, New York City, she gained public recognition after releasing the mixtapes Playtime Is Over (2007), Sucka Free (2008), and Beam Me Up Scotty (2009). After signing with Young Money Entertainment in 2009, Minaj released her first studio album, Pink Friday (2010), which peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 and was ultimately certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, was released in 2012 and debuted at number one in several countries. Minaj made her film debut in the 2012 animated film Ice Age: Continental Drift. In 2013, she was a judge on the twelfth season of American Idol. Minaj's third studio album, The Pinkprint, was released in 2014. She subsequently played supporting roles in the films The Other Woman (2014) and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016). Her fourth studio album, Queen, was released in 2018. Early in her career, Minaj was known for her colorful costumes and wigs. Her rapping is distinctive for its fast flow and the use of alter egos and accents, primarily British cockney. Minaj was the first female artist included on MTV's annual Hottest MC List. In 2016, Minaj was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. As a lead artist, she has earned four top-five entries on the Billboard Hot 100: "Super Bass" in 2011, "Starships" in 2012, and "Bang Bang" and "Anaconda", both in 2014. She has accumulated the most Billboard Hot 100 entries among women of all genres. Minaj has broken other records including the most top 10 hits among women on the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Airplay chart.Minaj has been called one of the most influential female rap artists of all time. Throughout her career, she has received numerous accolades, including six American Music Awards, 11 BET Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Women in Music Rising Star Award, and 10 Grammy Award nominations. Minaj has sold 20 million singles as a lead artist, 60 million singles as a featured artist, and over five million albums worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists.
  • Doja Cat
    2

    Doja Cat

    2,597 votes
    Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat, is an American singer, rapper and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Doja Cat signed a joint record deal with RCA Records and Kemosabe Records at the age of 17 and subsequently released her debut extended play, Purrr!, in 2014. Doja Cat is known for creating music videos and songs that achieve popularity on social media apps like TikTok and YouTube. This online success is credited with helping promote her from "one-time curiosity" (with "Mooo!"), to "bona fide star". Since the start of 2020, she has received nominations for four American Music Awards, one Billboard Music Award, and four MTV Video Music Awards, winning one of the latter for Push Best New Artist.
  • Iggy Azalea
    3

    Iggy Azalea

    2,338 votes
    Amethyst Amelia Kelly, known professionally as Iggy Azalea (born 7 June 1990), is an Australian rapper. Born in Sydney and raised in Mullumbimby, she moved to the United States at the age of sixteen to pursue a career in hip-hop music, residing in the southern part of the country. Her stage name, from the masculine Egnatius, comes from the name of her dog and the street she lived on. She earned public recognition after releasing music videos for her songs "Pu$$y" and "Two Times" on YouTube. She signed a recording contract with Grand Hustle Records in 2012; which is owned by American rapper T.I., after gaining attention from her first full-length project, a mixtape titled Ignorant Art.
  • BIA
    4

    BIA

    1,947 votes
    Bianca Landrau (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Bia (stylized as BIA), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and model who debuted on the Oxygen reality television show Sisterhood of Hip Hop. She signed to Pharrell's I Am Other record label, in partnership with RCA Records in 2014. Her first EP, Nice Girls Finish Last: Cuidado, was released in 2018 and was supported by the single "Hollywood". She is best recognized for featuring on the 2016 single "Safari" by J Balvin and "Best on Earth" by Russ in 2019. In early 2020, Bia signed a new record deal with Epic Records, releasing her second EP, For Certain, on December 11, 2021.
  • Megan Thee Stallion
    5
    Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention in 2013 when videos of her freestyling in cyphers became popular on social media platforms such as Instagram. In 2016, Megan Thee Stallion began writing, performing and releasing raps exclusively onto SoundCloud. She has commercially released three EPs since 2017—Make It Hot, Tina Snow, and Suga—with the latter two charting on the US Billboard 200. She signed to 300 Entertainment in 2018, where she released her first full-length mixtape, Fever, in 2019 to critical acclaim.
  • Missy Elliott
    6

    Missy Elliott

    1,322 votes
    Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and philanthropist. She embarked on her music career with all-female R&B group Sista in the early-mid 1990s and later became a member of the Swing Mob collective along with childhood friend and longtime collaborator Timbaland, with whom she worked on projects for Aaliyah, 702, Total, and SWV. Following several collaborations and guest appearances, she launched her solo career on July 15, 1997 with her debut album Supa Dupa Fly, which spawned the top 20 single "Sock It 2 Me". The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, the highest charting debut for a female rapper at the time.Elliott's second album, Da Real World, was released on June 22, 1999 and produced the singles "She's a Bitch", "All n My Grill", and top five hit "Hot Boyz." The remix of the latter song broke the record for most weeks at number-one on the US R&B chart on the issue dated January 15, 2000; as well as spending 18 weeks at number one on the Hot Rap Singles chart, from December 4, 1999 to March 25, 2000. With the release of Miss E... So Addictive (2001), Under Construction (2002), and This Is Not a Test (2003), Elliott established an international career that yielded hits including "Get Ur Freak On," "One Minute Man," "4 My People," "Gossip Folks," and "Work It." The latter won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance. Elliott went on to win five Grammy Awards and sell over 30 million records in the United States. She is the best-selling female rapper in Nielsen Music history, according to Billboard in 2017. In 2019, she became the first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and to receive the MTV VMAs Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for her impact on the music video landscape.