Ooh…Ladies First…Ladies First…

#WomensHistoryMonth - An Anthem For Women That Still Echoes

“Pleased with all the beats and rhymes my sisters have employed / Slick and smooth throwing down the sound totally a yes / Let me state the position: Ladies first, yes? (Yes)”

“Some think that we can't flow / Stereotypes, they got to go”

Queen Latifah’s opening lines weren’t just lyrics; they were a necessary response to the industry’s hesitation to give women their flowers. Hip Hop, despite its roots in resistance and expression, often placed women in the background. But Latifah and Monie Love weren’t having that. They shattered the mold, delivering bars with authority, clarity, and a purpose bigger than themselves.

I remember watching the video for the first time—Latifah, crowned like the queen she is, and Monie Love, an unstoppable force with her rapid-fire flow. Their presence was regal yet unrelenting. Seeing them command the mic, surrounded by powerful images of Black women leaders, felt like a cultural reset. They weren’t just rapping; they were leading a movement.

“A woman can bear you, break you, take you / Now it's time to rhyme, can you relate to”

These words hit different. They weren’t just rhyming for the sake of it; they were educating. We need more of this RIGHT NOW. In a world where women’s contributions are often overshadowed, Ladies First was a reclamation of power. It wasn’t just about proving that women could rap—it was about asserting that they had always been vital. Hip Hop wasn’t a boys’ club; it was a platform where anyone with skill and something to say deserved a mic.

“Of which is now systematically given / Desperately stressing I'm the daughter of a sister / Who's the mother of a brother who's the brother of another / Plus one more, all four / Have a job to do, we doing it / Respect due, to the mother who's the root of it / And next up is me, the M-O-N-I-E L-O-V-E / And I'm first cause I'm a L-A-D-I-E”

I wish I would have a chance to meet the Queen…but I did run into Monie Love. I definitely told her how dope she was to me growing up and verbally gave her flowers!

The Legacy Lives On

Decades later, the impact of Ladies First still resonates. It empowered women not just in Hip Hop, but in any space where they were told they didn’t belong.

Today, as I work with independent Hip Hop artists striving to carve out their own lanes, I think about Ladies First. It wasn’t just about gender—it was about demanding respect, owning your space, and rewriting the narrative. In an industry still wrestling with biases, its message remains relevant: talent has no gender, power has no limitations, and the culture is stronger when all voices are heard.

“We are the ones that give birth / To the new generation of prophets because it's Ladies First”

So, whenever someone questions the place of women in Hip Hop, I press play on Ladies First—and let Latifah and Monie Love remind us exactly what time it is.