First Ladies of Hip-Hop

The women behind the beats - hip-hop’s great women pioneers always struggled for recognition, both in Britain and the US. Now they share their stories of how they shaped the genre.

The story of how some of hip-hop's greatest women, from Roxanne Shante and Salt-N-Pepa to Monie Love and Eve, fought for their voices to be heard in hip-hop's male-dominated era.

From the 1990s onwards, hip-hop women reached the very top, from Lauryn Hill and Eve to Nicki Minaj and beyond.