by Precious Fondren
A few weeks ago, following the release of Flo Milli’s Ho, why is you here?, I tweeted, “Women rappers are carrying the year of music on their backs AGAIN.” The Alabama bred-rapper’s release comes a little over a month after the City Girls’ second album City on Lock. And as women like Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Mulatto, Flo Milli and so many more continue to use their music to advocate for sex that centers their pleasures and equity amongst the genders, most of the conversations about the women who influenced them often only center Lil’ Kim, Trina, and Nicki Minaj.
While the impacts of these women along with Queen Latifah, Foxy Brown, and Mia X are evident, one vital woman from the South played her part in influencing the new rappers with little to no credit: Gangsta Boo.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Gangsta Boo-real name Lola Mitchell-was the only woman part of legendary rap group Three 6 Mafia. She made herself known with her hit single “Where Dem Dollas At?” from her debut album Enquiring Minds, and left the group after her second album Both Worlds *69.
So how does her impact manifest in the women of rap today? With her debut album Enquiring Minds, there’s a gloomy trap sound, lyrical content that centers money, sex, and work ethic, and overall braggadocious nature that is seen in many of today’s women rappers, whether consciously or unconsciously.
Released in 1998, Minds was the soundtrack for many southern Black women looking to find their voice in a rap community that was hell bent on using them as just props in music videos. Although Minds is clustered with plenty of features from her male counterparts, it still manages to pull off the task of sounding uniquely feminine.
Boo repped for the girls that did everything the boys did. That headstrong ability to be the only woman in rap crews or on songs has endured since Boo’s time with Three 6 Mafia, and there’s no doubt many looked to her for inspiration.
Before “W.A.P” got politicians’ and men’s panties in a bunch, Gangsta Boo did her part in advocating for pleasurable sex. On “Suck a little D*ck” featuring Dj Paul and Juicy J, Boo proudly proclaims “Eat a little cat or something” before launching into a lyrical breakdown of her sexual desires.
And as Three 6 Mafia were pioneers in perfecting the trap rhythms and beats that we hear today, it’s important to mention that Boo’s early sound is also prevalent.
It’s evident that Megan Thee Stallion’s Fever was influenced by the sound of Three 6 Mafia, with Megan even nabbing a couple Juicy J produced songs on the project, but a closer listen to the project nods to Boo's content and sound.
On “Where Dem Dollas At” Boo asserts her position on money and romance as one that can’t be achieved without the other. Don’t look her way if you don’t have the pockets to match as she is not the type to “to be looking sad and broke.”
Enquiring Minds isn’t a rap album hell bent on preaching women to respect hypermasculinity, the fragile male ego or respectability politics as a whole. Through song and lyric, Boo was on a mission to insert herself in the bigger conversation of best women rappers.
Gangsta Boo is a pioneer whether given her flowers or not. Her style, cadence, and lyricism have left an enduring and familiar mark on much of today’s women in rap. With Enquiring Minds, the Queen of Memphis challenged all of us to never lose sight of the hustle in our everyday lives.