“I remember the first time hearing this song, I was beyond gassed to hear a female MC spit with the aggression, diction, clarity and grittiness..."

The 10 Best Tracks by Female Grime Artists, according to Cassie Rytz

Within the world of grime, you could argue that it’s a case of too many man. It’s long been an industry dominated by men – with male voices like Stormzy and Skepta continuing to storm the charts, but that’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of outstanding female-identifying MCs out there, from scene stalwarts like Lady Leshurr and Nadia Rose to early pioneers like Shystie and Ms Dynamite – not to mention a crop of up-and-comers.

South West London’s Cassie Rytz is a female making waves in the grime scene. She’s just put out her ‘Starts Here‘ mixtape, a self-assured 10-track debut packed with fire, with Rytz melding grime, dancehall and more via gold standard production. As a vocal force within grime herself, below she’s listed her all-time favourite tracks by female grime MCs.

1. Lady Leshurr – ‘Queen’s Speech Ep.4′

“Lady Leshurr’s ability to combine banter with bars is hard and she always has cool visuals to match.”

2. Female Takeover – ‘Game Over’

“Growing up with my brother listening to grime, it was sick to see a track with all the top females on it.”

3. Lioness – ‘DBT Freestyle’

“Lioness is one of the hardest, and her using a tune to address her haters in the industry? Mad respect.”

4. RoxXxan – ‘Too F*cking Facety’

“Respect to RoxXxan with this tune because she stayed true to herself and her image when everyone was telling her to be different. I resonate with that a lot.”

5. Mikey J & The UK Female Allstars – ‘Rock The Mic’

“Again, a perfect example of dope females coming together to show why they should be respected in this grime game!”

6. Stush – ‘Ah Me Dat’

“I didn’t know much about Stush until I heard this song. Her mix of dancehall with grime is similar to what I do.”

7. Laughta – ‘Pree My Ting’

“Laughta is Laughta. She owns her tracks, there’s never any doubt that she’s jumped on a riddim and it didn’t bang.”

8. So Solid Crew & Ms Dynamite – ‘Envy’

“I know this is a So Solid track, however I think we can all agree that Ms Dynamite owned this track. Every time I hear this tune, I remember no matter where, what or who I’m with, I have to kill it!”

9. C Cane – ‘Levels’

“The irony of this song… C Cane is definitely levels above loads of other MCs. I love her flows and bars.”

10. Lady Fury – ‘Beginning Of The End’

“I remember the first time hearing this song, I was beyond gassed to hear a female MC spit with the aggression, diction, clarity and grittiness. It showed me that I don’t have to spit a certain way to be accepted as a female MC.”

Cassie Rytz’s ‘Starts Here’ mixtape is out now – stream/download it here.

The 10 Best Grime Tracks of All Time, according to Devlin