Who Are The Queens of Urban Music?
They left their mark on the history of a genre, inspiring new generations and empowering women in the scene
The history of urban music has not been written on its own. Several big voices have given a meaning to this book, which has more and more pages written thanks to the new talents that emerge every year. Women artists in the scene have consolidated a powerful legacy across the years, taking groundbreaking styles to the game that will perdure in the genre.
Here we want to honor those female creators that opened up the doors of the urban industry to other women. Their uplifting lyrics and powerful rhythms made the perfect combination to narrate their experiences and make millions of women connect with their music.
Let’s talk about past, present and future voices of urban music.
Legendary Inspirations in the Scene
Ivy Queen is, without a doubt, one of the figures we have to thank the most for the presence of women in the urban panorama. She entered the reggaeton industry in the mid-1990s and, tired of the violent and sexist language used in the songs, decided to write about other topics. As difficult as it was for her to dedicate herself to a male-dominated art form, Ivy Queen continued to pursue her dreams, facing obstacles and breaking down all barriers.
«When I fell in love with music, I found myself constantly fighting to earn my place, to earn my own lane and to find my own identity among the boys», said the artist at the Billboard Women In Music 2023. «The movement was underground, then it became reggaeton. I traveled around the island of Puerto Rico measuring my skills against male rappers. The bars became my defense mechanism. Through the lyrics I encouraged other Latinas around me to not let themselves be trampled and to not stay silent when something hurts», she adds.
We can also highlight other female pioneer voices in the reggaeton scene, such as the Colombian artist Farina, with hits like ‘Pum Pum’, ‘La Sista’, author of the legendary verse “Soy la anacaona, en tó este Egipto, soy la faraona. Voy a ser leyenda, como la Llorona«, or the Puerto Rican Glory, who sings the ‘Gasolina’ chorus featuring Daddy Yankee.
Transforming the Genre
There isn’t any doubt that Shakira is one of the biggest artists of all time. Known as the ‘Latin Music Queen’, her versatility and unique style has made her to perdure at the top of the charts across her 30 year long career.
Shakira’s music has always stood out because of her ability to transmit powerful feelings: from desperately falling in love to the worst anger after a heartbreak. Hits like ‘La Tortura’, ‘Hips don’t Lie’ or ‘Loba’ have become a vital part of the Latin urban music legacy.
After divorcing Spanish football player Gerard Piqué, she came back showing once more who rules the scene. “Te Felicito” and “Monotonía” made a great impact worldwide, but definitely the #53 Session with Argentinian producer Bizarrap broke the Internet like nothing ever before. A song that reached 4 Guinness World Records and that remains the most streamed Latin song on YouTube (63 million) and Spotify (14,3 million).
Her collab with Karol G in ‘TQG’, owned the No.1 position in Top 50 Global Spotify most listened songs for several weeks in a row. In this sense, ‘La bichota‘ is also getting a spectacular success in all her releases. Her last album ‘Mañana Será Bonito’ made history debuting in the No. 1 position in Billboard Top 200 chart. Her songs are a stimulating boost of women power and self love that have conquered the whole panorama.
Many other female artists have set the scene with her chart-topping hits, such as Becky G, Natti Natasha or Anitta. Nathy Peluso has also brought a groundbreaking style to the game with her R&B and jazz inspired rhythms. And of course, Rosalía is also another example of how the genre is constantly changing and getting mixed with many others, as we see in, ‘Motomami’, her latest award-winning album.
The Youngest Urban Icons
Argentina’s new generation of female artists is clearly burning hot. Cazzu, Nicki Nicole, María Becerra, TINI and Emilia Mernes are some of the hitmakers currently marking the future of urban music. They are the new queens, accumulating tons of millions of streams with their lyrics going viral every week. As Karol G said, referring to them in the last Viña del Mar Festival; “We women have a lot to tell, a lot to do, a lot to represent”.
Artists like Young Miko, Bellakath or Villano Antillano represent emerging women artists making their own path in an industry where we are seeing more and more strong, fearless women. They are laying the groundwork for a music panorama where the transformative power of women is getting stronger every time.
@villanoantillano “Dale Biza explotame la pista” 🥵🇵🇷 @bizarrap ♬ original sound – LA VILLANA