Does being referred to as a female artist, as opposed to just an artist, ever feel limiting?

No. I’d rather them acknowledge it than not at all. Men think this is easy. It’s just not that. It’s hard. We have periods. Try performing with your period. Like really, and then call me back. I know Beyonce has. I know Nicki has. I know all of the legendary women have had to do that. A man can’t do that. I don’t feel like a victim. I’m proud of who I am. I’m proud of what I do. And I’m proud of what I’m a part of.

There are so many women in rap right now. What does that mean for you?

The pressure is off. It’s like, the whole, “There can only be one; there can only be one token person”... that pressure is off. It was just only one, only two, maybe three [women in rap] for a long time. It just makes you feel more optimistic, like “Damn, we’re really changing something.”

Do you feel like it’s important to have relationships with other women in rap and to collaborate with other women in rap?

I think that it is important to mingle with your peers and get to know the people that you coming up with because everything that we’re doing is history. All this female rap shit is history. When we look back on this in 10 years, this is going to be an era that no one will forget. So why not get acquainted with each other? We’re probably going to be sitting next to each other at award shows. You gotta be cool with people. You don’t gotta be best friends with everybody, but you gotta be cool with people. You have to support. You gotta show love.

A central tension around women in hip-hop has always been deciding what the most feminist approach for them may be. Is it having them ride for each other, or be in competition with each other? What do you think?

I feel like people shouldn’t put so much [pressure] on women and their relationships, because I feel like that’s what makes the shit combust. It’s like, can we like get to know each other? [Fans] see a picture of us, and it’s just like...

People misinterpret and make stuff up.

Yeah! It’s hard to get away from that shit. But like I said, when you’re with cool people, it’s cool. It doesn’t make you uncomfortable to share the spotlight. Years ago, [women] would probably be super intimidated by all the women rapping, but now it’s just an open space. And I find that very freeing and liberating, that there’s so many of us. I’m excited for the girls that come after us. I just want this to never stop. I know I said earlier that this is an era, but I don’t want it to be “an era.” I want this to last forever, bruh.