
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
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
09/07/2025
WASHINGTON The NAB Leadership Foundation (NABLF) has announced the graduation of the 2025 Broadcast Leadership Training (BLT) class. The classs successful compl...
09/07/2025
Faced with rising costs, the proliferation digital services and the difficulty of managing many different subscriptions, two-thirds (66%) of consumers say they ...
09/07/2025
Daniel S. McCoy, a Production Sound Mixer and Sound Consultant for cinema, commercial and live events, has utilized DPA Microphones for over 25 years. In the ea...
09/07/2025
- A Celebration of Optical Excellence Uniting the Lens World's Leading Optical Minds -
CVP, one of Europe's leading resellers and providers of profe...
08/07/2025
In an era where digital threats to journalists are becoming increasingly aggressive and widespread, MediaSafe Africa launches as a vital online resource to help...
08/07/2025
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a fro...
08/07/2025
This summer, as the energy builds for one of the biggest moments in women's ...
08/07/2025
SBS strengthens commitment to inclusion with new commissioning guidelines
8 July, 2025
Media releases
SBS has launched new Commissioning Inclusion Guidelin...
08/07/2025
Secrets, Spies and Sabotage: 40 years on, SBS podcast investigates historic bomb...
08/07/2025
ATLANTA and CINCINNATI Gray Media and The E.W. Scripps Co. have agreed to swap television stations across five midsized and small markets, resulting in the crea...
08/07/2025
ALAMEDA, Calif. Clear-Com has announced new software updates to its Arcadia Central Station that enable connectivity across Clear-Com products as well as third-...
08/07/2025
PRINCETON, N.J. Triveni Digital has launched its NextGen TV Innovation Partnership Program, an initiative to support public broadcasters in their transition to ...
08/07/2025
WASHINGTON In response to a request by LPTV broadcaster HC2 that the Federal Communications Commission allow its stations to become datacasters using 5G broadca...
08/07/2025
As TV broadcasters shift from wary tire-kicking to increasingly enthusiastic adoption of AI technology, new ways of doing things are taking hold at lightning sp...
08/07/2025
Content personalization has been a hot topic ever since the emergence of niche cable networks and the VCR in the 1980s allowed consumers to access content geare...
08/07/2025
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, announces that major French media group RMC BFM has selected Broadpeak's server-side ad insertio...
08/07/2025
MBS, a leading service integrator and managed gateway operator, has announced an agreement with SES to acquire a part of its media services in Germany and the U...
08/07/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is applauding the passage of President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill and provision...
08/07/2025
SYDNEY RTS has announced that Channel 7 Sydney has deployed a new comms system from the intercom vendor as part of a larger ST-2110 upgrade....
08/07/2025
ATLANTA & CINCINNATI Gray Media, Inc. and The E.W. Scripps Company have entered into agreements to swap television stations across five mid-sized and small mark...
08/07/2025
UKTV today announces that Richard Watsham, Chief Creative Officer at UKTV and Global Director of Acquisitions for BBC Studios/UKTV, has decided to step down fro...
08/07/2025
Groundbreaking Gamecocks: Inside University of South Carolina's Four-Control...
08/07/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment's Samantha Brady on the Power of the RSN...
08/07/2025
Live From 2025 FIFA Club World Cup: FIFA, HBS Focus on Tournament Wrap, With an ...
08/07/2025
SVG Rewind: NESN Goes Behind the Scenes of 1975 Red Sox Retro Broadcast NESN is following up the retrocast with a week-long celebration of the Green Monster By...
08/07/2025
Back to All News
The Monster of Florence: The Four-Episode TV Series Directed b...
08/07/2025
Back to All News
Shooting of 53 Sundays, Cesc Gays New Project, Is Finished
Entertainment
08 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the f...
08/07/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - July 8, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a reco...
08/07/2025
Arvato Systems Optimizes Customer Communication with AOK Niedersachsen
New project in the statutory health insurance sector
Arvato Systems and AOK Niedersach...
08/07/2025
On August 7, Apple Arcade is adding four exclusive games to its diverse catalogue of more than 200 fun games for players to enjoy, all free from ads and in-app ...
08/07/2025
Modern AI applications increasingly rely on models that combine huge parameter c...
07/07/2025
SBS Farewells Chair George Savvides AM
7 July, 2025
Media releases
Born of Greek Cypriot parents, Mr Savvides joined the SBS Board as Deputy Chair in Febru...
07/07/2025
Advanced vision solutions deliver more than reliable night vision for tactical-edge warfighters. Today's technological advances can provide the capability f...
07/07/2025
BALTIMORE Sinclair has named Narinder Sahai its executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately....
07/07/2025
Riedel Communications today announced the launch of RefSuite, a powerful new Managed Technology solution tailored to professional sports workflows. RefSuite com...
07/07/2025
Regional base will foster client engagement, partner collaboration, and executive touchpoints
Skandha Media Services, a leading provider of cloud-native media ...
07/07/2025
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced its Against All Odds - ASG Builds Cutti...
07/07/2025
Agreement secured on the strength of Skandha's proven track record in delivering reliable managed services across the full content life cycle for existing h...
07/07/2025
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Ignites AX 2025 with Star-Studded Panels, Exclus...
07/07/2025
Back to All News
The Long-Awaited Trailer is Here: Alice in Borderland' Se...
07/07/2025
Back to All News
Anime for Every Fan: Fueling a New Era of Global Storytelling
Entertainment
07 July 2025
GlobalUnited StatesJapan
Link copied to clipboard...
07/07/2025
1-2 Punch: The Cloud, Generative AI, and the Future of Sports-Content Distributi...
07/07/2025
Tests and decisions: Formula E host broadcaster Aurora on launching new AR graph...
07/07/2025
Building tension: Using new AR graphics for storytelling at the Formula E penult...
07/07/2025
Altitude Sports' Matt Krol on the Success of the RSN's In-Arena Postgame...
07/07/2025
SVG Rewind: Four NFL Clubs Bring Us on Set of Respective Media Day Shoots An in-depth conversation with 49ers Laura Johnson, Ravens Jay O'Brien, Las Vegas R...
07/07/2025
Cosm To Build Fifth Shared Reality Venue in Cleveland as Part of Bedrock's ...