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
Most recent headlines
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...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
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...
26/03/2026
Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...
26/03/2026
SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...
26/03/2026
LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100).
The C-Ban...
26/03/2026
The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...
26/03/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...
26/03/2026
Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...
26/03/2026
FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...
26/03/2026
CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...
26/03/2026
Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...
26/03/2026
Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...
26/03/2026
DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...
26/03/2026
Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...
26/03/2026
Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...
26/03/2026
Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...
26/03/2026
Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month
Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...
26/03/2026
Friday 27 March
Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...
26/03/2026
Includes four separate instruments
Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...
26/03/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...
26/03/2026
By Matt Klein
Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...
26/03/2026
Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
New graphical configuration tool and...
26/03/2026
Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...
26/03/2026
2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 25, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...
26/03/2026
Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...
26/03/2026
Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
HBO Max included for Sky and NOW customers from 26 March...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
Sky Sets Iconic Costumes Dancing Together Like Never Before' in Brand CampaignTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy o...
26/03/2026
Wuppertal March 26, 2026
CS live Builds Future-Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet and hi Control SystemRiedel Communications today announced that Czech-based ...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
The Truthers, Starring Jose Coronado and St phanie Magnin, Pre...
26/03/2026
Enhancements to Harmonic's Sports Streaming Solution Introduce Server-Side Multiview, Contextual Metadata-Driven Advertising, Dynamic In-Stream Ads and Robu...
26/03/2026
Open the report
Our 2025 report brings together results from 79 business magazine titles across 22 market sectors, published by 49 media owners. Over the year,...
26/03/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
26/03/2026
RT Commercial today announced Fiat as sponsor of The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1, Weekdays 3pm 4pm.
The Louise Duffy Show is the home of daytime music...
26/03/2026
That gaming backlog won't clear itself - GeForce NOW is here to help. Stream the latest titles straight from the cloud across a variety of devices.
This we...
26/03/2026
Wayne, N.J., March 26, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the latest product li...
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. 
