Women in hip-hop have to fight twice as hard as men in order to get the spotlight and Remy Ma is on a mission to ensure that they get the respect they require. Besides freestyles, battle rap is a way many upcoming emcees not only show off their skills but show that they are worthy amongst their peers. Just like the entire genre, battle rap is male-dominated, so in order to take women from behind the shadows of their male counterparts, she is launching her own all-female battle rap league called Chrome 23, named after the pair of chromosomes that determine your sex. On Feb. 27, some of the finest female battle rappers from across the country will come together for a war of words at the Queens Get The Money event, which will be streamed live on Hot 97 and Triller.
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From hip hop to the corporate world, there is a pay gap between men and women, especially for Black women. This is an issue the Queens star is addressing from behind the scenes.
“My my main thing was to bring in more money for the women,” she told MADAMENOIRE. “The pay gap is ridiculous. It’s actually insulting…I’m used to seeing it now at this point in my life but in this particular instance [the difference in pay is] disrespectful…Some of the highest paid females barely crack $10,000 per battle whereas some of the highest men could possibly get $100,000 per battle.”
The Bronx spitter added that now is the time for an all-girls club in battle rap because women across hip-hop are thriving more than we’ve seen in the last two decades.
“This is the first time that I’ve seen women so prevalent, so lucrative and just at the forefront and in demand,” she continued. “And I feel like why not cross that same energy into battle rap?”
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Battle rappers you can expect to see go bar for bar include O’fficial, Casey Jay, 40 Barrs, Ms. Hustle, OB Black Diamond, Pristavia, Couture and Yoshi G. You can get a preview of what to expect here.
See what more Remy has to say about Chrome 23, how battle rap helped her launch her career, her role on Queens and more.
