The 10 Hottest Female Rappers of 2025: Staff Picks

After a relatively quiet first half of 2025, Ice Spice is closing the year the same way she entered the game: as the people’s princess, both musically and culturally. The Bronx star kicked off her Q4 resurgence with “Baddie Baddie,” a swaggering solo return that flips M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls” and turns its music video into a high-fashion, high-energy celebration featuring supermodel Anok Yai and Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee. Weeks later, she doubled down with “Pretty Privilege,” signaling the start of a new era as she builds momentum outside of an album cycle.

Her feature run remained selective but impactful, with her summer remix of KATSEYE’s “Gnarly” marking her first musical release of the year, followed by a surprise ceasefire with Latto on “Gyatt.” The collaboration cracked he top 25 of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and soared to No. 3 on Rap Digital Song Sales.

Beyond the music, Ice further cemented her status as a generational It-girl across fashion, film, and global pop culture. She reunited with Kate Spade for the brand’s Fall 2025 “Spark Something Beautiful” campaign, made her acting debut in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest alongside A$AP Rocky and Denzel Washington, and prepared for her voice-acting role in The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants with the Verdy-designed soundtrack cut “Big Guy.” She also kept her international grip strong, headlining Verdy’s Harajuku Horror Night in Tokyo dressed as Sailor Moon, a viral moment that once again showcased her magnetic cultural reach.

Even without an album, Ice spent 2025 proving that her influence extends far beyond the charts: She remains one of hip-hop’s most recognizable faces, a marketing powerhouse, and a dual threat across music and fashion — one who knows exactly when, and how, to reenter the conversation. — CHRIS CLAXTON

Monaleo made her presence felt during the second half of 2025: She tied the knot in a hip-hop love story with Stunna 4 Vegas at their pink-splashed Texas wedding in September, which led to her Who Did the Body project the following month. The braggadocious “Putting Ya Dine” caught fire, and YoungBoy Never Broke Again matched Monaleo’s confidence while blessing the boisterous remix. The Houston native didn’t stop there, as she closed out the year holding her own alongside Sexyy Red and GloRilla on Summer Walker’s “Baller.” — MICHEAL SAPONARA

2024 was a monstrous year for women in hip-hop, and PLUTO took the baton in ‘25 to introduce herself as Atlanta’s next rap star. PLUTO joined forces with fellow ATLien YKNIECE to turn the summer up with their ratchet anthem “WHIM WHAMIEE,” which reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been a staple on Billboard’s new Atlanta strip club chart. The 21-year-old followed up her BOTH WAYS debut to spin the block for her PLUTO WORLD project in October, which enlisted a crew of star collaborators, like YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Quavo. — M.S.

Latto could have easily coasted her way through 2025 after dropping off Sugar Honey Iced Tea last August, but instead, the Atlanta rapper chose to keep things in motion. She returned at the top of the year with a remix of “Blick Sumn” with Playboi Carti, then fired off her Grammy-nominated single “Somebody” in May.

The latter — a breezy earworm interpolating Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?” — sounds best when paired with a Piña Colada, and became a Hot 100 summer hit. That September, Latto followed it up by squashing her rumored beef with Ice Spice with the bass-boosted collaboration “Gyatt.” After closing out the month with a revamp of Cardi B’s “ErrTime,” Latto reaffirmed this year she had plenty of gas left in the tank, even without a brand-new album behind her. — MACKENZIE CUMMINGS-GRADY

The race is never over for Megan Thee Stallion: Even after delivering some of the strongest work of her career with her self-titled album and a blockbuster headlining tour, Megan’s momentum hasn’t slowed for a second. The Houston polymath galloped into Indio for a show-stealing Coachella performance, then broke necks at the Met Gala — further cementing herself as the blueprint for the new generation of women MCs.

Even her personal life commanded just as many headlines: when the Houston Hottie went public with her NBA beau, Klay Thompson, the reveal instantly pushed them into power-couple territory. And when discourse swirled about hip-hop’s struggle to crack the top 40 on the Hot 100, Megan muted the chatter the very next week, courtesy of her lovestruck single “Lover Girl” debuting at No. 38 — proving that she can still move the charts and conversations at will. — CARL LAMARRE

Bunna B crashed the party in April when she lit the fuse with her Gucci Mane–inspired heater “Bunna Summa.” Drenched in nostalgia, the rising star salutes the 1017 legend with a modern-day spin on “Wasted,” while giving Atlanta yet another young hotshot to champion. She doubled down on that momentum with “Innit,” where Bunna and YKNIECE traded barbs round-for-round, daring any hapless gents to get nasty over their rumbling collaboration.

But Bunna’s versatility stretches beyond the Peach State. Her elasticity reached its peak when she linked up with New York’s Cash Cobain on “Hoes Be Mad.” Armed with fierce intentions, Bunna’s 2025 showed everyone why she’s one of rap’s most untamed new voices. — C.L

Atlanta birthed a whole new wave of party-ready female MCs this year, and YK Niece went on the most impressive run of them all. She kicked off 2025 alongside PLUTO with “Whim Whamiee,” which reached No. 51 on the Hot 100, and her “I’m talmbout innit” ad-lib quickly became one of the year’s defining phrases, giving way for her BunnaB collab “Innit.”

As the summer came to a close, YK set her sights on football season, spinning a breakout hit out of Metro Boomin’s “Take Me Thru Dere,” which soundtracked touchdown cellys across the nation. By November, she ended her breakout year with yet another viral hit, this time as a guest on Belly Gang Kushington’s “Friend Do” remix. From packed headlining shows to an NBA YoungBoy co-sign, YK Niece undoubtedly emerged as a leading female rap voice in 2025. — KYLE DENIS

GloRilla is ringing in the holidays accompanied by several career highs from 2025. The Memphis go-getter is now a six-time Grammy nominee, adding three 2026 nods for best rap album for GLORIOUS and not one, but two best rap song entries: “TGIF” and “Sticky,” her collab with Tyler, the Creator, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne.

Peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, GLORIOUS featured Glo’s signature Southern drawl on its additional hits “Hollon” and “Whatchu Kno About Me.” GloRilla also headlined her own Glorious Tour, while simultaneously being honored with the Powerhouse Award at Billboard’s 2025 Women in Music ceremony.

Even after her debut album’s sweltering success, Glo’s motor remained strong, as she churned out a fistful of features for Lil Baby, Jorjiana and GELO, before securing her sixth No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart for “Typa.” — GAIL MITCHELL

Doechii dominated this year still without her debut album in sight. After becoming the third woman to win best rap album with Alligator Bites Never Heal at the 2025 Grammys, she was crowned woman of the year at Billboard Women in Music and took home more gold at the GLAAD Media Awards, BET Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. 

The TikTok surge behind “Anxiety” – Doechii’s 2019 Gotye-sampling hit – propelled her to commercially release the single six years later, and it scored the Florida upstart her first Hot 100 top 10 and five 2026 Grammy nominations, including record and song of the year. Following her Lollapalooza set, Doechii announced her first headlining tour, the Live From the Swamp Tour, which traveled throughout North America. Next, the rapper who Kendrick Lamar called the “hardest out” goes Down Under in December, to open for Lamar on his Grand National Tour. — HERAN MAMO

After a seven-year wait between albums, Cardi continues to prove why she’s a force of nature, and will always be relevant. In September, she returned to the mountaintop of rap and landed her second No. 1 album, with Am I The Drama? silencing internet trolls with her fiery raps and hustler’s spirit. Along with hoisting another No. 1, she was nominated for her 11th Grammy, as “Outside” is up for best rap performance next year.

Whenever she tweets, goes lives, or rants on a Spaces, the blogs eat it all up and aggregate the Bronx rapper into oblivion. Whenever she pops up on a red carpet, dipped in some of the most creative and fly outfits in existence, the photographers have to fight each other to land the best pictures. From pushing CDs on subway trains to becoming a viral meme — courtesy of her colorful wigs during her civil trial case this year — Cardi was always the hot-button topic that got the streets and the internet talking this year.

The Bronx rapper wears her heart on her sleeve, and the fans and the media love her for it. All she needs to do now is to add some more acting credits to her resume, and she’ll be on her way to having her own daytime TV show. She’s also embarking on the Little Miss Drama Tour next February, and told fans that she plans on dropping another album next year, as well. We might have to get used to seeing Cardi at the top of this list. — ANGEL DIAZ