The Hip Hop African

Fershgenet Melaku, better known as Queen Monroe or Lola Monroe, is a famous Ethiopian hip hop artist raised in Washington DC. Born in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Lola Monroe began her music career as a video model in many hip hop music videos before transitioning to creating her own music. She released “Boss Bitch’s World”, her first mixtape, in 2009 and garnered popularity quickly. By 2011, she was signed to Wiz Khalifa’s label, Taylor Gang. She was called the ”First Lady” of Taylor Gang and her music took off. During her time at his label, she released “Lipstick and Pistols” and “B.B. “(Boss Bitch) before leaving the label in 2013. Since then, she has continued to release mixtapes and gain recognition and fans. 

The music video for her song, “Walk”, exemplifies a hip hop artist using her platform to break stereotypes and embrace the “masculine” egotistical image as a female rapper. Her music video illustrates Lola Monroe simply walking down the street in a two-piece dress as she. raps. She ensures to solely utilize her lyrics and background to garner attention, rather than her body. This is rare in hip hop music videos and an issue female hop artists must always face. Along with her image, Lola Monroe understands the braggadocio behavior necessary for a female hip hop artist to attain any attention or success. She states in her lyrics, “All a bitch see a b*tch see a bunch of sensitive rappers. Internet gangsters, Facebook trappers. F*ck being modest, I’m the look for the culture.” These lyrics, and her persona and brand overall, further emphasize her understanding of being a woman in the hip hop world. 

Although Lola Monroe’s videos and lyricism are incredibly talented, many of her fans still believe she is extremely underrated.