Hip-hop's new golden age is here, and it's being led by women. There's arguably more female rap stars now than ever before in hip-hop history, and these women-including City Girls, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion-have influenced the taglines and catch phrases that are now part of the cultural vernacular. Yet, the majority of Spotify hip-hop playlists still have a predominantly male listenership.
In 2019, Spotify launched a new playlist, Feelin' Myself to start to equalize the barriers to entry for female rappers. The playlist has since become the second-fastest-growing hip-hop playlist on Spotify with over 1.7 million followers. And starting today, we are launching a full-scale campaign to transform the playlist from innovative to truly impactful.
Carl Cherry, Spotify's Creative Director, Head of Urban, developed the idea for the playlist a few years ago, and formed a passionate team to help make it a reality. One member is Sydney Lopes, Spotify's Head of Hip-Hop and R&B, Artists and Label Partnerships. We brought the pair together to discuss the campaign, the importance of spotlighting female rappers, and where the playlist goes from here.
Sydney Lopes: Can you explain the essence of Feelin' Myself? How did the playlist come to be?
Carl Chery: The essence of Feelin' Myself is confidence, edge, and high self-esteem. If you look at the songs that have been playlisted on Feelin' Myself over the course of the last year and a half, there are a few songs that really embody the playlist. I'm thinking about Erica Banks, Buss It or Best Friend from Saweetie or even WAP by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. They exude confidence, self-esteem, and sexiness.
The playlist came about because there's an industry-wide gender bias when it comes to women. It came about as an attempt to level the playing field. What can we do to create a space where women can thrive? The first step was really reaching out to my female colleagues to see how they felt about creating a space for women only. The answer was to create a space where women can thrive-and then go on to other playlists.
Sydney: This isn't the first time we've seen women in hip hop, but it's the first time there seems to be a dedicated platform and playlist for them. What makes this the right time for it, and what would the mood of the playlist be if this playlist was created 20 years ago, for the rappers who were in the game?
Carl: Wow. Well, 20 years ago, I think it would have been a little bit more split in terms of the aesthetic of the playlist. It wouldn't have been all women who are from the lineage of Lil' Kim. There would have been Lauryn Hill, Da Brat-there would have been like a little bit more diversity 20 years ago. But right now, trap is the dominant sound. It's not only specific to women-there's always a dominant aesthetic in hip-hop-same around RapCaviar. They want to hear Saweetie, they want to hear Doja Cat, they want to hear Cardi.
But also, from the time we had the idea for the playlist, to the time it launched, to now, the field is completely different. When we first had the idea, we actually would have struggled to find artists to populate the playlist. We probably would have added a few male artists with big female fan bases, to just round it out and make sure there was enough music. I don't think Doja Cat was having a moment just yet. I don't think Meg was what she was just yet. But by the time it launched there was enough, and now a year and a half later there's just a lot more activity like that. The timing couldn't have been more perfect.
Sydney: On our team, we constantly talk about all the different sub-genres of hip-hop, but we're always thinking about men, right? We talk about lyricists, we talk about West Coast versus East Coast, Down South, trap; we never really think about how that applies to women. As more female rappers enter the landscape, I'm curious about how we will start to think about the sub-genres and how they apply to women.
Did you have a specific vision of how you wanted this campaign to roll out? What was your thinking around the energy you wanted to bring to the campaign?
Carl: Feelin' Myself is the second biggest, second-fastest-growing hip-hop playlist on Spotify. I knew it was something that needed to be marketed. So, part of the idea or the goal was to have the playlist become such a destination for women in hip-hop that some of these women would then migrate to other playlists, and hopefully change the audience and in turn, help improve the performance of songs by women on a lot of those playlists. We're starting the campaign by featuring women on all of our hip-hop covers, and they're going to remain there the rest of the month of June.
A lot of it was more collaborative-I had shells of ideas-but I have to give credit to the team, it was important to have a full female team behind this. The director, Jillian Iscaro; visual identity artist Laci Jordan; the production company, Spang TV; and some of the merch, designed by Divine Individual, all of that was created by women.
Sydney: We're even seeing female vocalists and lyricists on the playlist. You've got SZA, Yung Baby Tate, talented singers, too. There's a wide breadth of what could be on this playlist and a part of this brand.
And so, as our first big push on the marketing side for this playlist, not only are we gonna make sure that editorial is supporting in a significant way on platform, but we'll have a couple of social ads featuring Coi Leray and Iamdoechii, who are rising artists right now that have made an enormous impact in what feels like a really short amount of time. Carl, can you speak to the reason for choosing these two artists and bringing their energies into this campaign?
Carl
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
10/01/2026
This year, podcasts are making their Golden Globes debut with a new category honoring the medium's leading shows and creators. To mark the occasion, Spotify...
09/01/2026
RT Player has 157 million streams, up 10% year-on-year
An increase on 2024, RT...
09/01/2026
RT 2FM has today announced the highly anticipated list of 2FM Rising Artists for 2026, kicking off 2FM Rising week for the eighth year on The Tracy Clifford Sh...
09/01/2026
RT to Host the 2026 RTS Ireland Awards
Thursday, 16 April 2026 | Dublin Royal Convention Centre
The RTS Ireland Television Awards 2026 | Gradaim RTS 2026 | R...
08/01/2026
An evidence-based analysis on disinformation and information manipulation in Sudan's ongoing conflict is published today. (January 8th 2026).
Thomson Found...
08/01/2026
In 2025 we launched the Spotify Partner Program to give creators more ways to tu...
08/01/2026
On Wednesday in Los Angeles, Spotify welcomed creators and press to a brunch cel...
08/01/2026
TSA awards Rohde & Schwarz contract for advanced airport screening ahead of Socc...
08/01/2026
The review looks back at DPA's miniature microphone development over the years. It compares the evolving technologies from the original mics through CORE an...
08/01/2026
Comscore Launches Audio Targeting and Measurement Capabilities with The Trade De...
08/01/2026
Tonight, on RT Prime Time at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player
Tonight, Prime T...
08/01/2026
The Late Late Show celebrates the very best of traditional Irish music with its first-ever full special dedicated entirely to the tradition
Lisa Canny | Kevin...
08/01/2026
It will be murder on the dancefloor when Dancing with the Stars returns this S...
07/01/2026
Spotify is launching a week-long celebration spotlighting creators at the center...
07/01/2026
We know people use Spotify not just to listen, but to share the songs, podcasts, and audiobooks they love with their friends and family. When we launched Messag...
07/01/2026
This week, all eyes are on the podcast industry as the Golden Globes recognizes ...
07/01/2026
Podcasts are stepping onto a new stage this week as the Golden Globes recognize the medium for the first time. To mark this milestone moment, we're hosting ...
06/01/2026
Spotify is launching a week-long celebration spotlighting creators at the center...
06/01/2026
Lorde. A$AP Rocky. JENNIE. Baby Keem. KATSEYE. That's just a taste of who...
06/01/2026
Channel 4 and UKTV are giving viewers even more reasons to stream, with UKTV's U service set to feature thousands of hours of free, unmissable and bingeable...
06/01/2026
Tuesday 6 January 2026
An update on our Sky Mobile prices
Devesh Raj, Chief Operating Officer, Sky
Today, we've announced some changes to the prices of ...
06/01/2026
Comscore Launches Daily Program-Level Reporting with Deduplicated Insights on Sh...
06/01/2026
Comscore Completes Recapitalization Transaction with Preferred Stockholders Foll...
05/01/2026
Bad Bunny's DeB TiRAR M S FOToS defined the sound of 2025 for listeners eve...
05/01/2026
As the clock struck midnight and 2026 was born, so was an exciting range of new ...
05/01/2026
These Sacred Vows starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'...
05/01/2026
DANDANCING WITH THE STARS RETURNS TO SHAKE UP SUNDAY NIGHTS
Reigning Rose of Tr...
02/01/2026
Any Given Day: Cork University Hospital premieres Wednesday 7 January on RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
RT will debut a powerful new six-part documentary se...
02/01/2026
Friday 2 January 2026
All episodes of Heated Rivalry will be landing on Sky and...
02/01/2026
Sequins, chat shows, live sporting action, ground-breaking docuseries and brand-new Irish drama to kick off 2026
New Year, New Content Coming Soon across RT
...
01/01/2026
The Quantum 852 is situated in the 6,500-seat Seoul-based place of worship, a church which is home to a 1,000-person choir and a 50-piece orchestra. There are f...
01/01/2026
Formed in 2002, OneRepublic have enjoyed huge international success, with over 18 billion streams on Spotify alone. Their current tour, Escape to Europe, contin...
01/01/2026
We had been using the club's previous console for the last ten years, so we researched manufacturer information very carefully, says venue audio manager Mr...
30/12/2025
Your live countdown to 2026 with Inhaler, David Gray, Lyra, Garron Noone, Sharon...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
24/12/2025
RT has unveiled an exclusive first look at the new Dancing with the Stars promo...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
John Shortt named Young Sportsperson of the Year Kerry are the Team of the Year
...
19/12/2025
With Playout Release 2025.4, ToolsOnAir continues to push professional playout w...
Hip-hop's new golden age is here, and it's being led by women. There's arguably more female rap stars now than ever before in hip-hop history, and these women-including City Girls, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion-have influenced the taglines and catch phrases that are now part of the cultural vernacular. Yet, the majority of Spotify hip-hop playlists still have a predominantly male listenership. 
