"We Can't Slack": Chika Speaks About Sexist Double Standards in Rap
Chika took to Twitter to vent about sexism in hip-hop.
On Sunday morning, Alabama MC Chika sparked an ongoing discussion on Twitter regarding gender and hip-hop.
The conversation began as a response to a viral tweet from February 5. In response to a tweet that reads "Female rap is so much better than male rap," one Twitter user wrote "we can still support women [without] lying."
"[I don't know] why y'all even say things like this anyway," Chika wrote. "Rap is rap. And with that fact statistically broken down by "gender" the women in hip-hop are LIGHT YEARS ahead of the men when it comes to technical skill. Not that we're better, there's MORE of us. Densely packed spitters."
One user remarked that women in rap aren't allowed to be mediocre. "Not in rap," she wrote. "[You] have to be a frickin monster just to even get a chance." Chika agreed, citing the rapper Blueface, who's been heavily criticized for his less-than-stellar on-wax cadence.
"We can't slack because we're already at a disadvantage since hip-hop is male-dominated," she continued. "Meanwhile, Blueface literally farts on the mic each and every time, and can exist in the genre with no problem. Show me the female him with [an] equal amount of success."
The conversation has picked up momentum in recent years, with the success of dozens of female rappers emerging. In now-deleted tweets from 2019, Lizzo took aim at detractors, comparing her music to notable rappers like Future and Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd .
"Sometimes I get pissed that there are people who call Future & Swae Lee rappers and still question whether or not I belong in the rap conversation," she wrote. "But then I remember I have the #4 song in the country, laugh, go back to my dream job and log off."
"It's all good," Swae Lee reportedly replied. "No hard feelings. I think she can spit...just give credit where it's due."
Chika's latest EP, Industry Games, is currently available on all major digital streaming platforms.