Gucci Mane is ready to flood the game with female rappers.
Sexism finds its way into every facet of American culture, and hip hop is no exception. Female rappers have always had to work harder and longer to earn half the fame, money, and recognition as their male counterparts. Gucci Mane, a well-respected artist in his own right and the owner of the newly rebranded record label The New 1017, seems to be aware of the problem, and has decided to do his part to help correct it. Speaking with XXL in a recent interview, Gucci discussed the latest artists he has added to his roster, including two women who he describes as the So Icy Girlz.
“We need more female rappers in the game,” Gucci admitted. “I’m gonna give female artists a chance, you get what I’m saying? I’m embracing the female artist, like, she hard? I’m f*ckin’ with it. It ain’t gonna be like, I’m starting my label and this gonna be my token female artist. No.”
The label’s compilation album, So Icy Summer, features every new artist Gucci is representing, including K Shiday and Enchanting. Gucci goes on to clarify that the women are not a duo, saying, “So my whole thing was I’ma sign two dope females and just off the drip I’m naturally gonna call them the So Icy Girlz, but they’re solo artists, they’re not a group.”
Adding more women to the rap game is a move that has been long overdue considering the pop side of hip hop seems to only be accepting of two successful female rappers at a time. When we have seen two women coming out on top, they are almost always immediately pitted against each other, forced to turn their focus onto petty rivalries instead of the pursuit of quality music. Hopefully more men in the music industry will begin to follow Gucci’s lead and create a more even playing field for women in hip hop going forward.
