Doechii became the third woman to win Best Rap Album of the Year at the 67th Grammys. Out of 153 nominated albums in this category, 12 were made by women. Given her historic win, let’s look back on the women within this category.
1996 – The creation of the category
The mid-90s were a transitional time for rap music as it began to move away from the Golden Age of hip-pop and to a more-commercialized mainstream audience. Female rappers in this time were unapologetically themselves despite the misogyny prevalent in the industry.
1997- Fugees, “The Score,” wins
Only one year after the category was established, the second album from this trio, led by Lauryn Hill, took home this award.
“The Score” helped shape the face of the rap industry, refreshing audiences from the deadly East-West coast beef that was popular at the time. This win made Hill the first woman to win in this category.
“The Score,” responsible for hits such as the reimagining of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song”, currently has sold over 22 million copies and made both Fugees and Hill real competitors in the rap and hip-hop game.
Hill was also the first rap artist to win Album of the Year during the 41st Grammys in 1999 with her album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” She is one of two rap artists to ever win in that category.
That same year, she also won Best New Artist, Best R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best Rhythm & Blues Song. The 23-year-old artist made history by being the first woman to win more than five awards in a single night.
1998 – Missy Elliot, “Supa Dupa Fly,” nominated
Missy ‘Misdemeanor’’ Elliot became the first solo woman to be nominated for Best Rap Album with her debut studio album “Supa Dupa Fly.” Four hits were spawned off the album including “Sock it to Me,” “Beep Me 9-1-1,” “Hit Em Wit Da Hee” and “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly).”
“Supa Dupa Fly” went platinum – which means it sold over a million copies – and reached No. 3 on Billboard’s 200 chart.
2000 – Missy Elliot, “Da Real World,” nominated
Elliot’s platinum sophomore album, “Da Real World” – originally titled after the hit single “She’s A Bitch” – once proved her spot among rap legends.
2002 – Eve, “Scorpion,” nominated
“Scorpion” sold over a million records and was on Billboard’s 200 chart for 33 weeks.
Eve did take home an award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for her hit song “Let Me Blow Your Mind ft. Gwen Stefani” that year.
2004 – Missy Elliot, “Under Construction,” nominated
Debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, it stayed on it for 36 weeks and went platinum in 2003. “Work It’ peaked at No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100.
Along with Best Album, Elliot was also nominated for Album of the Year, Best Rap Song for “Work It” and Best Rap Performance By Duo or Group for “Gossip Folks”. She did win for Best Female Rap Solo Performance for “Work It.”
2006 – Missy Elliot, “The Cookbook,” nominated
Elliot’s sixth studio album made waves with peaking at No. 2 in Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop Album and staying on the chart for 22 weeks. Her song, “Lose Control” reached No. 3 on the charts, was nominated for Best Rap Song and won for Best Short Form Music Video. Along with those nominations, she was also up for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “1,2 Step” and Best R&B song for collaboration on “Free Yourself”.
With four nominations within 10 years, she has the most of any female artist in the Best Rap Album category.
2012 – Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday,” nominated
Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday” sold 375,000 copies and shot up to the second spot on the Billboard 200 within her debut week. These sales placed her second behind Lauryn Hill for highest debut sales for a female rapper. It later peaked at No. 1.
As well as being nominated for Best Rap Album, Minaj was also nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance at the 54th Grammys.
2015 – Iggy Azalea, “The New Classic,” nominated
Azalea’s ‘Fancy’ debut solo album reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed there for around nine months.This also made her the first and only non-black female artist to ever be nominated in this category.
2016- Nicki Minaj, “The Pinkprint,” nominated
The third album Minaj launched hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200. That same year, she was nominated for Best Rap Performance for “Truffle Butter” and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Only ft. Drake, Lil Wayne and Chris Brown.”
Her hit song “Anaconda” was nominated in 2015 for Best Rap Song along with Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Bang Bang ft. Ariana Grande and Jessie J.”
2018 – Rapsody, “Laila’s Wisdom,” nominated
Although the album, featuring collaborations with Kendrick Lamar and Busta Rhymes, didn’t reach high in the charts, “Laila’s Wisdom” was also nominated for Best Rap Song for “Sassy.”
This year at the 67th Grammys, she won her first Grammy for “3 A.M.” in Best Melodic Rap Performance.
2019 – Cardi B, “Invasion of Privacy,” Wins
With every song on the album reaching platinum, breaking Recording Industry Association of America records, “Invasion of Privacy” made Cardi B the first solo woman to win Best Rap Album, 22 years after Fugees.
Her debut studio album also earned her a spot among Hill, Eve and Minaj as the fifth female rap artist to top the Billboard 200, according to The Grammys.
In 2021, the triple-platinum album again made history by staying on the Billboard 200 for three consecutive years, making her the first female rapper to accomplish this feat.
2025- Doechii, Alligator Bites Never Heal, Wins
The most recent addition and second solo female rapper to win in this category, Doechii took home her first win for her third mixtape. She was nominated for Best Rap Performance for “Nissan Altima” and for Best New Artist.
“Denial is a River” gave the 26-year-old artist her first debut on Billboard’s Hot 100 and the album sold 11,000 copies its first week.
Doechii accepted the award from Cardi B and gave both Cardi and Hill their dues.
“I know that there is some Black girl out there, so many Black women out there that are watching me right now and I want to tell you: you can do it,” Doechii said during her acceptance speech. “Anything is possible.”
Nadia Hill can be reached at [email protected]
