This is a response to the frankly whack Guardian listicle about the greatest female rappers that James (hi!) sent to me and Kirk. 4/10 - that's not only my 'see me after class' score, it's also the paltry amount I agree with. Ladies first, well last in this case. It reads like some bored intern trawled wikipedia and didn't bother to venture past 1988 nor 90's gangsta rap (I mean where is Sha-Rock? Monie Love? Kate Tempest? Queen Latifah? MC Lyte? Any of the Roxannes? Where is grime or any UK rappers bar Neneh?). You'd expect that from Buzzfeed but not a major newspaper. In fact looking around there are a lot of 'best female rapper' articles out there with some pretty terrible choices that don't know their history, or are stuck in some mid 90's wannabe-G bubble. So prepare to be schooled! This is my top err, 29 female rappers or rap crews, I often prefer female rappers to their male counterparts. Especially when formulaic gangsta rap dumbed down hip-hop, it was one of the few places you could hear real lyrical flow, dexterity, wit and intelligence. This was when middle class boys were boringly and lazily bragging about imaginary scenarios popping glocks and dealing 'caine (yeah most of them are about as gangsta as I was, growing up in leafy Surrey!). The women were usually talking about real-world issues I could relate to.