These Five Women of Hip-Hop Deserve Biopics Of Their Own

Nearly two weeks after the release of Straight Outta Compton, producers still trying to understand what its success means for hip-hop. There are now 111 million reasons why they should be paying attention to the pivotal hip-hop biopic and its accompanying press. Undoubtedly, it makes a claim for the return of engaging, big-budget Black films that do not star a man in a dress. Its careful storytelling and well-rounded edge means that hip-hop history is capable of gripping a vast audience. 

More importantly, hip-hop biopics are filmed through an empathetic lens: by practice, it often regards the artist (or those closest to them) as subject matter experts. For many Black artists, a biopic places the national narrative into their hands for the first time.

Dr. Dre and Ice Cube’s presence during the film’s production no doubt influenced the finished product. Inevitably, their revisionism led to the absence of certain stories. Despite the group’s notorious misogyny, their career is the stuff of lore: the birth of gangsta rap, the rise of Compton, Los Angeles as a cultural hotpot of the West Side, and the careers of two of the most successful rappers in the game can all be tied to the group’s tumultuous nine-year run. Straight Outta Compton works logistically partially because "Niggaz wit Attitude" is still a controversial phrase nearly 30 years later, and the group’s influential braggadocio can still be felt.

The Great Content Machine wants to know what The Next Big Hip-Hop Biopic will be. Only time will tell if Straight Outta Compton has already birthed a new generation of Black film—though many are taking their bets. The film presents race, poverty, relationships amongst Black men, and the struggle for hip-hop’s legitimacy as challenges not easily overcome. 

Our Next Big Biopic should feature similar complex challenges. If Hollywood is looking for its next big story, it should look no farther than the Black women who have carried hip-hop on their backs.

Black female rappers in the '80s and '90s not only faced similar agitators, but also battled an industry hostile to them as women. Yet they have always led the charge on creating some of hip-hop’s most seminal works, and their projects were born of and commented on their own personal lives. 

Frankly, their stories are important and can chart the genesis of hip-hop.

As Straight Outta Compton surges forward, here are five pioneering female rappers to consider.

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1. Lil' Kim

Lil Kim’s disappointing feature in the 2009’s Notorious B.I.G. biopicNotorious is a great example of why her biopic should have existed ages ago. Unsurprisingly, Kim was upset by being seen as a mere love interest, and later spoke out against the film’s "false portrayal and lies." She told NME two days before the movie’s release, "The film studio and producers involved were more concerned about painting me as a 'character' to create a more interesting story line instead of a person with talent." Kim’s own story could easily double as its own feature, as she’s far more than a footnote in B.I.G.’s career—her story spans homelessness, abuse, and her eventual rise to the top of the rap game.

2. Missy Elliott

With her career alone, Missy Elliott could tell multiple stories. Her successes as a songwriter and record producer precede her legendary contributions to hip-hop music, and her friendly writer-producer duo with Timbaland generated numerous rap and R&B hits in the 1990s. 

The release of her career-changing verse on Gina Thompson’s "The Things That You Do" could make a pretty pivotal scene of its own. Like Kim, Missy’s personal was also political. She experienced the industry’s dismissal of dark-skinned, thick Black women when she failed to appear in the video for Raven Symoné’s 1993 hit "What Little Girls Are Made Of". The directors used a light-skinned, thin model instead, with Elliott’s voice and lyrics. Later on, Elliott continued to stand firmly in the center of her work as its sole love and sex interest. Outside of her career, Elliott has been open about her experiences with childhood and sexual abuse, being diagnosed with Graves’ disease, and depression. Her transparency could benefit the production of her own biopic.

3. Lauryn Hill 

Though Ms. Hill’s participation seems unlikely, there’s so much to gain from a Lauryn Hill biopic. Her career has seen her emerge as a singer, songwriter, rapper, and producer. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is still widely regarded as a seminal hip-hop release, and its contributions to the gradual embrace of the genre as a legitimate form of art are undeniable. In 1999, she secured five of her ten nominations at the 41st Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Album of the Year. She was the first hip-hop artist to ever receive the award.

Hill’s self-imposed exile has been explained before, but never in film. Her struggle to retain her identity and resist "the fear of being black, young, and gifted in [western culture]"—as she told  Essence in 2009—made social and emotional obligations unbearable. She fired her management team in 2000 to undergo "spiritual training" and focus on her growing family with Rohan Marley. In the past 15 years, fans have responded kindly to her occasional public appearances, and many continue to anticipate a sophomore effort.

4. Sylvia Robinson 

Once dubbed "The Mother of Hip-Hop," Sylvia Robinson is best known as the architect of two of hip-hop’s benchmark singles, the Sugarhill Gang’s "Rappers Delight" and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s "The Message". After founding Sugar Hill Records in 1979, Sylvia assembled Michael Wright, Henry Jackson, and Guy O’Brien into the Sugarhill Gang, naming them after a Harlem area she liked. At that point, she was entering her 25th year as a songwriter and producer who had already gained a name from releasing one of the first known disco singles and penning songs for Ike and Tina.

At only 14 years old, Robinson began her career recording hits for Columbia Records in the 1950s, then later wrote them as part of the popular duo Mickey & Sylvia. When the two split in 1964, Robinson focused only on songwriting and her business endeavors with her then husband, Joe Robinson. In 1972, Al Green rejected a demo she’d penned called "Pillow Talk", so she released it under her name, and the song shot to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her life rights have been optioned though much talk about a movie of her life seems to be just that, still.

5. Queen Latifah 
Earlier this year, Queen Latifah turned the camera onto herself to bring director Dee Ree’s Bessie biopic to life. The film is yet another reminder of Latifah’s loyalty to the stories of Black women, and to portraying Black women as engaging, interesting characters. Latifah held tightly onto the project for over 20 years—partially because, as she told NPR, "I would have had half the life experience that I could have brought to this project. […]I'm glad that it didn't quite happen as early as it could have, because I had a lot more to relate to: how to stick up for yourself, how to be respected, how to be independent."

Imagine if someone placed as much care into a film of Latifah’s own life. Since the release of her debut album All Hail to the Queen in 1989, Latifah has proven her powerhouse status as a rapper, actress, record and television producer, and comedienne. Her point-blank discussion of issues faced by Black women earned her the status as one of hip-hop’s leading feminist role models. She would later channel life as a Black female entrepreneur as Khadijah in the popular sitcom "Living Single" in the early '90s before going on to star in productions of her own in the resulting years.

Latifah has been very vocal about her experiences within the hip-hop industry, and a biopic of hers could surely shed light to the complexities faced by Black female rappers.

The Pitch/Michelle Ofiwe

Contributor