From Missy Elliott to Lil Kim, these are the female rappers in the 2000s who placed their stamp on hip-hop fashion using pure authenticity.
Hip-hop might be male-dominated, but it’s women who set the trends. Since the genre’s iteration in the late 1970s, groundbreaking female rap pioneers like Salt-N-Pepa, J.J. Fad, MC Lyte, and Queen Latifah all contributed to hip-hop’s fashion origins, flaunting Africa medallions, leather bombers, and aviator sunglasses. Nearly two decades later, the streetwear origins of hip-hop would crossover into 2000s hip-hop fashion, as female rappers got chummy with high-end designers — some even created their own retail lines.
Going from “dope” to “decked out,” the Y2K era introduced fads that would define female rappers of the generation. Bucket hats. Baby tees. Micro mini skirts. Exposed thongs. Even the options for urban clothing lines were abundant; FUBU, Baby Phat, Rocawear, Apple Bottom Jeans, and Sean Jean all had something for the ladies.
But female rappers didn’t just look to popular brands of the time – they placed their stamp on hip-hop fashion using pure authenticity. Now, rising artists like Saweetie, Ice Spice, Bree Runway, GloRilla, Monaleo, and Lakeyah…
