7 Reasons It’s A Hot Girl Summer, And It Just Got Hotter

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This summer has become the undeniable era of the “hot girl”. The term, “hot girl,” coined by Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion on “,” represents a time of empowerment for women to live life to the fullest while becoming their best selves. Whether that means hitting the club and turning all the way up with a group of friends, finally following up on that conversation that went down in the DMs or taking care of your physical and mental health, whatever you decide to do, pursue that with truth and confidence and you got yourself a “hot girl” in the act. The movement doesn’t come short of controversy surrounding the sexually-driven, bag-securing, “f**k n-ggas, get money” lyrics and content that female rappers at the forefront of this movement deliver. These controversies have led to the “city boys challenge,” in which men attempt to “one-up” these empowered females and even led to producer Jermaine Dupri calling these women “strippers that rap”. However, if you take a closer look, hot girl summer goes beyond the surface representing the social, political and economic equality of the sexes, especially in hip-hop! For so long, hip-hop culture has been dominated by men who also speak on the same things; getting money and getting “b-tches” while flexing their rich and lavish lifestyles. Of course there were women that shined through within the last decade but the presence of women in hip-hop hasn’t really been felt since the early 2000s through the likes of Eve, Missy Elliot, Da Brat and Trina amongst a handful of others. Interestingly, for the first time since the early 2000s female rappers have dominated the Billboard Hot 100 with over 7 acts hitting  the chart. If you ask me, I think hot girl summer has been a success, and it just got hotter! Let’s check out the 7 female rappers currently on the Billboard Hot 100!

The City Girls hit the scene in 2016 with cuts off of the debut EP Period. I know this because “Where The Bag At” was my alarm that summer. Since then, the leading ladies of Quality Control haven’t missed a beat even with one half of the group being in jail since they made their debut. #FreeJT Young Miami and JT deliver contents that empower females and challenge sexism with sexual driven content while reminding ladies to “collect the bag” in opposition of the male counterpart. This summer the ladies hit the Billboard Hot 100 with “Twerk” featuring Cardi B and “Act Up,” which also reminds me, “act up, you can get snatched up!”

Talking about Cardi B, the regular-degulary girl from the Bronx quickly became a household name with her debut project Invasion of Privacy. The project broke records with all 13-tracks hitting the charts, 3 topping at #1. Since then Cardi B has continued to captivate us with music and personality that everyone, especially the women, could appreciate. This summer Cardi hasn’t missed the chart with hits like “Money,” “Please Me” and most recently “Press”.

There’s confusion surrounding Lizzo making this list but Billboard accounts the “Truth Hurt” singer as a eschewed genre classification of R&B pop and rap. If anything, Lizzo is indeed a hot girl herself! This summer, the Houston singer hit the Billboard with a slew of hits off her debut album Cuz I Love You. The project perfectly emulates Lizzo’s essence with a fun, care-free record that seeps messages of self-love from front to back and no, f-ck boys are definitely excluded from this party! Currently “Truth Hurts” sits pretty at #5 with “Tempo” featuring Missy Elliot and “Juice” slowly climbing in the same direction.

Saweetie became the seventh “femcee” to hit the Billboard in 2019. The Bay area rapper hits the chart with her break-through track “My Type”. The Petey Pablo-sampling hit challenges expectations with this diva talking as much ish, or even more than the sampled artist on “Freak-A-Leak”. “My Type” finds this ICY girl exploring her sexuality while flexing her rich and lavish lifestyle for the haters and motivators alike. With that type of energy, it’s no doubt that Saweetie made an impact this summer.

Iggy Azalea may be public enemy #1 but the Australian rapper continues to chart the tops despite the controversy. This summer the “Fancy” rapper release her second album In My Defense. The album, perfect for any hot girl pregame, explores themes that challenge sexism in hip-hop just as her debut single “P*ssy” did baclk in 2014. Although her impact isn’t felt as much as it did years ago, Iggy hits the Billboard with two hits including “Sally Walker” and “F*ck It Up” featuring Kash Doll this summer.

Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion complete this list together. A month ago, Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion hopped on Instagram live discussing hip-hop, collaborations and of course, keeping it a hot girl summer. The conversation marked a moment in hip-hop with Nicki Minaj, a hip-hop OG that’s been empowering females through rap for over a decade and Megan Thee Stallion, the Houston spitter that emulates the same energy like no one has since Nicki’s debut. While both rappers hit the charts with singles of their own (ie. “Megatron” and “Big Ol’ Freak,” the duo team up for the official anthem “Hot Girl Summer” featuring Ty Dolla $ign. Over a crazy, City Girl sampling, Juicy J production, Megan and Nicki Minaj keep that energy reminding us that the summer isn’t close to over!