10 Hip Hop Songs That Make Women Proud

Celebrate Women's History Month with this playlist.

10 Hip Hop Songs That Make Women Proud - Silencing women's voices is a crime that's been committed around the globe for centuries, and hip hop (though often made an example of for its abundance of misogynistic lyrics) has in many ways helped to empower and uplift those stories that need to be heard. In honor of Women's History Month, which officially kicked off Saturday (March 1), we brought back this playlist of songs that would make even your hip hop-hating grandmother smile with pride.(Photos from left: Epic Records, Interscope Records, MoTown Records)
2Pac, "Dear Mama" - One of Pac’s signature musical triumphs, “Dear Mama,” an ode to his mother’s strength, love and determination during his youth, is one of the most touching rap songs ever written. (Photo: Interscope Records)
The Evolution of Queen Latifah - Propelled by the uplifting, Grammy-winning "U.N.I.T.Y.," Latifah's third album, Black Reign, was her most successful yet, earning the Queen her first gold plaque. (Photo: Motown Records)
2Pac, "Keep Ya Head Up" - Tupac Shackur was the definition of a dichotomy when it came to his treatment of women in his songs. On one hand, he had playalistic songs like "I Get Around;" on the other, he had "Keep Ya Head Up," a powerful plea to respect the opposite sex. "Since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman and our game from a woman/I wonder why we take from our women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women?" Pac spits in one of hip hop's most memorable lines.  (Photo: Interscope Records)Salt 'N Pepa, "None of Your Business" - As one of the most successful acts in a male-dominated genre, Salt 'N Pepa’s very existence makes women-lovers proud. But also, the songs they spit, like "None of Your Business," which declares that women have every right to be just as sexually empowered as men. "How many rules am I to break before you understand that your double standards don't mean s--t to me?" Pepa asks.(Photo: Next Plateau Records)

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2Pac, "Dear Mama" - One of Pac’s signature musical triumphs, “Dear Mama,” an ode to his mother’s strength, love and determination during his youth, is one of the most touching rap songs ever written. (Photo: Interscope Records)

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