The Grammy Award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance was an honor presented to female recording artists at the

45th Grammy Awards The 45th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2003, at Madison Square Garden in New York City honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2001, through September 30, 2002. Musicians' accomplishment ...

in 2003 and the

46th Grammy Awards The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002, through September 30, 2003. It recognized acc ...

in 2004 for quality rap solo performances. The

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, are presented by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position". In 1991, the Academy began to honor individual rap performances with the Best Rap Solo Performance category. In 2003, the category was split into two to recognize Female and Male Rap Solo Performances. The categories remained separated by gender until 2005 when they were combined into the genderless category originally called Best Rap Solo Performance. American artist

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

won the award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance both years it was presented.

Background

In 1991, the Academy began to honor individual rap performances with the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance category. The category name remained unchanged until 2004 when it was split into separate categories for Female and Male Rap Solo Performance. The categories remained separated by gender for one additional year. In 2005, they were merged into the genderless category originally known as Best Rap Solo Performance. Female rapper

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a ...

has campaigned for the reinstatement of the female-specific category and believes that: "it destroys ip-hopculture to not have the perspective of a woman". Bill Freimuth, Recording Academy Vice President of Awards, claimed that the category was eliminated because "

here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

wasn't enough competition essentially, due to the lack of the number of releases in that category".

Black Entertainment Television Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

(BET) executive Stephen Hill cited a similar reason for the elimination of the female categories by the

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and was first ...

and

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

Hip Hop Honors The Hip Hop Honors is an annual event that airs on VH1. The television special honors old school and golden age hip hop rappers and contributors for their long-term influence and importance in the history of hip hop culture. It features live p ...

, reflecting a lack of female representation in the

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

scene for several years. As of 2011, the category name has not changed since 2005.

Recipients

For the

(2003), Best Female Rap Solo Performance nominees included:

Charli Baltimore Tiffany Lane (born August 16, 1974), better known by her stage name Charli Baltimore, is an American rapper, and television personality. Her stage name is taken from Geena Davis's character in the film '' The Long Kiss Goodnight''. Career Ch ...

for " Diary...",

for "Scream a.k.a. Itchin'",

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

for " Satisfaction", Foxy Brown for "Na Na Be Like", and

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American musician. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the popular music, m ...

for " Mystery of Iniquity". Baltimore was shocked when she learned of her album's nomination because she thought that it did not meet eligibility requirements. Elliott was also nominated for Best Short Form Music Video, along with Knoc-turn'al and

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

, for "Knoc". The award was presented to Elliott at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in New York City, though not broadcast on television. Nominees for the

included:

Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (née Harris; born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, she began her career in 1992 and signed with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings two years l ...

for "Got It Poppin'", Elliott for " Work It",

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

for "Came Back for You",

for "Ride Wit Me", and

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...

for " Go Head". In addition, Elliott was nominated for: Album of the Year and

Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...

for '' Under Construction'', Best Song Rap for "Work It", and

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontinue ...

for "

Gossip Folks "Gossip Folks" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott featuring fellow American rapper Ludacris, released as the second single from her fourth studio album, '' Under Construction'' (2002), on December 9, 2002. Written alongside producer Timba ...

" (featuring

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

), for a total five nominations. Lil' Kim was also nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for " Can't Hold Us Down" (with

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

) and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "

Magic Stick "Magic Stick" is a song by American rapper Lil' Kim featuring fellow American rapper 50 Cent, released on April 8, 2003 as the second single from her third studio album '' La Bella Mafia'' (2003). The song was produced by Carlos "Fantom of the Be ...

" (featuring

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

). The award was presented to Elliott for "Work It", whose

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was awarded Video of the Year and Best Hip-Hop Video at the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

s. Elliott won the award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance both years it was presented. Prior to the female and male categories, she received the award for Best Rap Solo Performance in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

for "

Get Ur Freak On "Get Ur Freak On" is a song by American rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott. It was written and produced by Elliott and Timbaland for her third studio album '' Miss E... So Addictive'' (2001). Based on heavy bhangra elements, a popular music an ...

". This marked the second time a female had received the award for Best Rap Solo Performance (Queen Latifah was presented the honor for " U.N.I.T.Y." at the 37th Grammy Awards in 1995). In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, following the return to the genderless category, Elliot was nominated for the song " We Run This".

References

;General * Note: User must select the "Rap" category as the genre under the search feature. * ;Specific

External links

Official site of the Grammy Awards
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grammy Award For Best Female Rap Solo Performance 2003 establishments in the United States 2004 disestablishments in the United States Awards disestablished in 2004 Awards established in 2003 Female Rap Solo Performance Rapping Music awards honoring women

Background

Recipients

See also

References

External links