By Leah Clark<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Megan Thee Stallion wowed festival-goers Thursday night at Lollapalooza 2024 in Grant Park. Fans stood in the rain and cheered when she took the T-Mobile stage on the first of a four-day weekend filled with over 170 musical acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her one-hour set featured viral songs from social media, dance competitions, calls to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and a surprise guest appearance by WNBA Chicago Sky player Angel Reese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But before Megan Thee Stallion and before the social media that made her famous, Chicago was home to a thriving community of female rappers. And that community helped set the stage for female rap superstars like Thursday\u2019s headliner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to local rapper Keisha \u201cLil Keisha\u201d Coleman, social media is a tool for not only finding new fans but also to unite female rappers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But social media wasn\u2019t always there for this community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coleman started her journey in music in the early 2000s as part of a girl group with her sister. After years of battle rapping through high school, she started performing at open mic nights. Coleman described the start of her career as \u201chands-on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had CDs and flyers and posters and all that stuff before the Internet even,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cNow it’s like, \u2018Okay, you got to make it on the Internet.\u2019 So it’s like I had to take a step back to learn how to adjust to the new age of things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She set out to do just that, and before long, Coleman was posting her freestyles and music videos, gaining traction on social media. However, as her career grew, she witnessed how the music industry fueled divisiveness between other female rappers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI did notice, even in every group or every label, it was always dominated with men, and they may have one or two women or something like that,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you were one of the women, you had to be one of the best because they were putting you up against all the other women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While competition is a key draw to the rap genre, Coleman said she viewed other female rappers in Chicago as peers instead of competitors. She started reaching out to them through social media, and a community grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2016, she used her knack for visual media to create CypHER, a rap cypher showcasing Chicago female rappers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt’s plenty of women out here that got those bars, that’s putting in their work and got that talent,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cI’m trying to make sure that we bring that unity together and show other women that we can build with each other and not against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CypHER took off within the Chicago music scene. Many of those rappers gained new fans from the video and encouraged Coleman to continue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe started to realize we can link together and be bigger than what the men can do because the men compete all the time,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Coleman, unity between female rappers is an opportunity to connect with other artists in the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rise of Megan Thee Stallion has paid dividends back to the local female rap scene that she benefited from. Now fans like Melody Ogoke find the star and start looking for the local artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI personally saw her before, when she came to Lollapalooza. By watching her live, I fell in love,\u201d Ogoke, a Chicago native, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Confidence is what drew Ogoke to Megan Thee Stallion. And now, Megan Thee Stallion has pushed her to find other female rappers through social media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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