the mainstream countesses of hip hop soul, by year
Digital Magazine
Mary J. Blige may be the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, but who followed her lead the best each year to get their own place in the court of R&B?
BY HARPSICHORD
OCTOBER 8, 2023
A.I. illustration of SZA, Lauryn Hill, and Keyshia Cole.
so why the nobility ranking of “Countess” for this list?
Following the queen, the duchesses, and the empress would be the marquise, a woman who defends against potentially hostile neighbors. Although hip hop and R&B received its fair share of criticisms, it still remained fruitful. As a result of hip hop soul, R&B dominated the 90s into the 2000s, and subsequently inspired a new league of artists receiving mainstream success. Therefore, no one had to defend its honor quite as hard as a noble figure would during times of war. That leads to a countess, someone who had administrative responsibilities that made sure order existed. Since people followed Blige’s order, they then had to become responsible for growing hip hop soul. Therefore, countess will be used to acknowledge their honorary title.
This list consists of a year by year selection starting in 1993, a year after 1992’s hip hop soul explosion. Some names will appear on this list multiple times, as there were multiple peaks in those ladies careers. As expected, there will be names that readers will agree with, and some names that others will question based on principle. It also needs to be mentioned that although a countess may have released music in a respective year, their impact may not have been felt or fully experienced until the following year.
The qualifications for this list is based on commercial success, impact, and influence each countess brought to music by incorporating hip hop soul in their catalog. Simply put: Who were the countesses that followed Mary’s hip hop soul lead the best?
The 2010’s
To put it lightly, the 2010s were a weird year of eclectic personalities at the forefront of Hip Hop Soul. This decade saw the strongest number of culture wars taking place within hip hop and R&B at large. Some felt that both genres had gone too pop, and the main focus was on chasing the hits. Others believed the rapping skills, lyricism, and singing of the younger budding stars were lacking soul, flavor, and creativity. Oddly enough– through all the fray– the pack that led the waves of Hip Hop Soul offered an uniqueness that dominated the charts and social media alike. It might be controversial to have Nicki Minaj kicking off this decade, but her work brought a contemporary pop appeal to what Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott perfected with blending MCing and singing. The decade saw the reign of “RNB” – Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Beyoncé. Sprinkled in those household names were newcomers such as K. Michelle who was cut from the cloth of Mary J. Blige and Keyshia Cole’s ghetto-fab greatness (“V.S.O.P.”). Towards the end of the decade, an upcoming generation of ladies would make their marks through continual releases of mixtapes and EPs that eventually flourished into full length studio albums that reshaped R&B as a whole.
2010: Nicki Minaj
This may be a controversial and Petty choice, but hear us out… If Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott can make this list as female rappers, then why can’t Nicki Minaj? After years of releasing mix-tapes and freestyles, Nicki Minaj was finally primed to be a breakout solo star. She proved her fans correct with “Your Love,” a mid-tempo ballad where she rapped memorable lines and sang an addictive hook. The end of 2010 saw the release of her debut LP, Pink Friday, which blended pop rap with hip hop. “Moment 4 Life” and “Right Thru Me” stood out for showing her vulnerability and versatility. On Pink Friday itself, it’s actually the deep cuts “Here I Am” and “Catch Me” that would be Nicki’s most soulful singing and rapping records to date– almost as if they’re taking a page from Lauryn Hill in assessing her worth over electro beats. It also marked how women had no choice but to occupy all three lanes of pop, rap, and R&B, in order to survive a decade that was starting to become super wonky when it came to music.
2011: Rihanna
Rihanna would really set the tone for pop and R&B with her 2009 release Rated R. In the midst of her four album run from that period on, she’d deliver 2010’s Loud and 2011’s Talk That Talk. “Man Down” made a dent in urban radio for featuring a ragga rapping style over dancehall production. She’d give that same energy on the pop hit “Cheers (Drink To That),” yelling “it’s getting Coyote Ugly up in here, no Tyra!” Rappers continued to be in her good musical graces, as Kanye West placed her on his stadium anthem, “All of the Lights,” and Nicki Minaj on “Fly.” Her balance of catering to EDM pop fans as well as urban audiences (“You Da One”) made her supreme, so much so that…
2012: Rihanna
She’d dominate in 2012 as well. At this point she really brought forth the trap sound in an exhilarating way R&B never experienced before. There’s “Talk That Talk” with Jay-Z and a controversial remix of “Birthday Cake” with her ex Chris Brown. The end of 2012 saw her collaborating with Drake once again (after 2010’s “What’s My Name”) on “Take Care” and A$AP Rocky on a remix of her banger “Cockiness (Love It).” She and Future gave the trap&B slow jam , “Loveeeeeee Song,” on her seventh studio album, Unapologetic, to the delight of both their fans. She’d also rap on “Phresh Out The Runway.” At this point Rihanna became a full fledged sex icon, changing the guard of how hip hop soul could sell in the future. By year’s end, she reigned with “Diamonds.” Hits upon hits. The versatility truly jumped out in this two-peat.
2013: K. Michelle
Thanks to Rihanna and K. Michelle, red hair became a fashion moment in urban spaces. While this year could have also gone to Rihanna, let’s take a break and acknowledge a soul singer that worked hard for her spot. K. Michelle bubbled for quite some before the release of her debut studio album, Rebellious Soul. The signature singles, “V.S.O.P.” and “Can’t Raise A Man” gave a new voice to women who prided themselves in being from the hood. An aspect that kind of seemed lost in the sauce because of all the pop takeovers. Just a start, the Memphis native proved herself even further in 2014 with Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?, where she discussed a broken relationship with actor Idris Elba.
2014: Beyoncé
December 13, 2013. The day the world stopped because of a digital drop. Yes, that digital drop. At this stage in Beyoncé’s career, she had been plagued by rumors and been cast away as if she had fallen off. So she took matters into her own hands, and released her surprise self-titled fifth studio album. It was a side of her that we had never seen before. She was more sexual in her imagery. Her lyrics were raw and explicit. She expound about being “Drunk In Love” with Jay-Z. She discussed oral sex in the back of a limo on “Partition.” She cooed about being “No Angel.” She rapped about her alter ego “Yoncé.” She woke up “***Flawless” and told her peers, and those coming after her to, “Bow Down bitches!.” The world ate up her new fierce side, and by year’s end she celebrated with “7/11.” It seemed to be cool being a wife and a new mother killing the game.
2015: the mix-tape crew
(Tinashe, Kehlani, Jhené Aiko, Sevyn Streeter, Tink)
While the mainstream placed more of an emphasis on pop music, R&B started to not get the funding that it deserved. In the middle of the 2010’s it started to seem like R&B was dying out of popularity. What happened as a result was R&B acts released mix-tapes to regain a following. In the days of 2010’s mix-tapes, there were five individuals who received a cult following. Kehlani earned a Grammy nomination for You Should Be Here, which really distinguished their style of West Coast R&B prior to the release of 2017’s SweetSexySavage. Tinashe had not received the acclaim she yearned for with her solo debut, Aquarius, and therefore she went back to her mix-tape roots with Amethyst. Jhené Aiko made a splash in the early 2010’s with her mix-tapes, which lead to her 2014 debut album, which carried onto “Spotless Mind,” becoming a single in 2015. Sevyn Streeter received notoriety for her songwriting, but she kept chipping away with mix-tapes and EPs leading up to her 2017 debut album. Tink was in the midst of her Winter’s Diary run. All five established a sound that many female pop artists are exploring today, so they all deserve this spot.
2016: Solange Knowles
This spot could have easily gone to Beyoncé or Rihanna, because their albums Lemonade and Anti, respectively, were on the top of everyone’s minds. However, the dark horse in this entire equation happens to be Solange. Solange managed to break out of their shadows, because she delivered one of the most important, critically acclaimed albums of 2016: A Seat At The Table. At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, Solange bestowed a record that not only centered around self, but truly translated to the entire Black experience. She incorporated the life lessons of Master P. She made a song called “F.U.B.U.” declaring “This shit is for us!” She sang joyfully with Kelly Rowland on “Junie.” She told people “Don’t Touch My Hair,” and swiped at media critics on “Don’t You Wait.” And “Cranes In The Sky” remains a classic for how it documents coping with pain– with the incorporation of vices we often see in hip hop culture such as “drink[ing] away,” “smok[ing] away,” and “sex[ing] away.” A Seat At The Table brought forth the traditions of free jazz and neo soul with a balance of afrofuturistic high art. Her celebrity didn’t evade a meaningful project, and therefore Harpsichord is ready to receive lashings from both the Hive and the Navy. Sorry not sorry…
2017: SZA
Somehow the movement of R&B started to come back thanks to the three records provided by Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Solange. Audiences were gradually embracing the new crop of artists as the decade started to approach its end. SZA received buzz with her placement on Rihanna’s Anti, and 2017 turned out to be the perfect moment for her to make a statement. She’d deliver one of the greatest debut albums in history: CTRL. Songs like “Drew Barrymore” and “Normal Girl” painted the picture of an artist adjusting to self-image and worth while in the throes of love. “Love Galore” found SZA gaining traction in the world of pop, as her and Travis Scott presented rebuttals over trap&B. “The Weekend” and “Broken Clock” offered candid commentary on being in situationships and love triangles– bringing forth a new meaning to diary entry songwriting that resonated globally.
2018: Ella Mai
Until the release of “Boo’d Up,” it was a rarity for R&B songs from female artists to go top five on the Billboard Hot 100. Rihanna had accomplished that feat in 2017 with “Love on the Brain.” Ella Mai accomplished that feat with the hit single from her debut self-titled album. The song had already been released on her 2017 EP, Ready, but once radio started playing it in 2018, it enraptured audiences who craved romantic, slow jam R&B. From there she delivered another hit, “Trip,” which also discussed unapologetic love and “feelings.” Ella Mai’s appearance on “24/7,” a Meek Mill song that sampled Bey’s “Me, Myself, & I,” also capped off a breakout year for the British native.
2019: Summer Walker
At the end of the decade there was one more R&B star who had to make her presence known. Helped out by a remix from Drake, Summer Walker spoke into the hearts of “Girls [who] Need Love.” By October she would deliver Over It, her debut studio album that discussed the ups and downs of a toxic relationship with her then boyfriend, London On Da Track. Mixing trap into her sound, audiences would cherish deep cuts such as “Body” and “Potential.” Her collaborations with 6lack on “Like It” and A Boogie Wit Da Hood on “Stretch You Out,” would cement her place in collabing with hip hop acts. But it’s a sample of “Say My Name” on the Bryson Tiller-assisted “Playing Games” that had people in a chokehold.