Three Female Artists To Watch

By Savannah Olson
Music Journalist

Rejoice! March 8 was International Women’s Day and with that comes the desire to celebrate women and the achievements they’ve made throughout history. What better way to celebrate women than to introduce you all to some kickass up-and-coming female artists in the music industry today? Whether they’re creating electronic-pop or rapping, these women are the future of the music industry.

• Empress Of

Using Empress Of as her alias, Lorely Rodriguez creates vulnerable and introspective electronic-pop songs that resemble artists like Purity Ring and Lykke Li. One song that exemplifies Rodriguez’s ability to create dance-heavy beats with jarring lyrics is “Woman Is a Word”. In a video for “Mitu”, Rodriguez says that “Woman Is a Word” is about “someone putting [her] in a box” due to her being born into a life she did not choose (“I’m only an image of what you see/You don’t know me/You don’t know me”). It’s a song that people across the world can relate to, especially women who are only seen as their sex and not the intelligence or creativity that truly make them who they are.

Recommended Songs: “Woman Is a Word”, “Kitty Kat”, “How Do You Do It”

• Princess Nokia

Hailing from Harlem, Princess Nokia writes rap verses that delve between growing up in New York City, the struggles she’s conquered, and her unapologetic manner of being herself. Like a whip, Princess Nokia’s voice commands you to listen to her and the message she’s saying within her songs. While tracks like “Tomboy” and “Kitana” are electrifying in their intensity, Princess Nokia also takes influence from past ’90s rappers of her borough with sluggish beats in “Bart Simpson” and “Green Line”. Like all great rappers, Princess Nokia’s power goes beyond the mic and flourishes in her fans and her message.

Recommended Songs: “Kitana”, “Brujas”, “Green Line”

• Noname

If you look up Noname after this list and think, “Why does she sound familiar?” that may be due to her being featured on a few Chance the Rapper songs. Close friends and constant collaborators, Noname and Chance the Rapper have grown up in the Chicago music scene together, even sharing similarities in their sound. Flitting between airy notes and conversational raps, Noname uses her music as a journal of what she’s felt: melancholy, joy, fear, regret, loneliness and love. Like the name of her debut album, “Telefone”, we’re listening to Noname speak to us like a close friend through the phone as each track reveals bits of vulnerable and heartwarming moments in her life.

Recommended Songs: “Diddy Bop”, “Casket Pretty”, and “Reality Check”

Featured image by Savannah Olson.