'When I changed as a woman, my music changed'
This story was adapted from reporting for Episode 4 of Louder Than A Riot, Season 2. For more about sexual agency in hip-hop, including the pioneering raunch of Miami icon Trina and her complex journey with creative partner Trick Daddy, stream the full episode or subscribe to the Louder Than A Riot podcast.
When you trace the lineage of women getting explicit on the mic, flaunting their pleasure and autonomy all at once, all roads lead South — to one Miami-Dade County icon.
It was 25 years ago that Trina was tapped by fellow Miami rapper Trick Daddy to guest on his song "Nann N****," stole the show, and soon went on proclaim herself hip-hop's baddest bitch. Today, the lane she carved has never been more populated, or popular. From City Girls to Sukihana, Cardi B to Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla to Sexyy Red, sexually explicit wordplay from a woman's point of view has become rap's dominant sound. Many of those artists credit Trina directly as their inspiration, hailing her commitment to position her pleasure at the center of the narrative. As the legend herself says in Episode 4 of Louder Than A Riot: "I was raw, unapologetic. I stood on what I meant. That's why I breed a whole universe of bad bitches."
Sexual agency — the freedom to determine your own sexual wants and needs — has long been a social luxury offered to men, and systematically gatekept from everyone else. For the fans who love it, this form of rap claps back at that imbalance; it uplifts, empowers and highlights loving yourself
