Trakgirl was mentored by legendary Hip-Hop producer No I.D. and influenced by Pharrell, Missy Elliot, and Timbaland. She founded and operates PAY US TODAY, a lifestyle brand and educational platform for producers.
Producer Pri the Honeydark told Hip-Hop Historian JayQuan in 2020, “There are a number of women producers out there. I am a Hip-Hop producer, but I look at all genres. I don’t view music production as just making beats, its deeper than that. There are lots of women producers behind the boards, you just don’t see us due to industry practices and some are hidden behind the names of your favorite male producers but there are many. Off my head right now I can name Ester Dean, Wondagirl, Ebonie Smith, Crystal Caines, Barb Morrison, Trina Shoemaker, M.I.A. and TRAKGIRL."
Wondagurl is a Canadian-born producer who has worked with Kanye West, Big Sean, Drake, and JAY-Z. She won a Battle of The Beat Makers competition at 15 years old and she has also worked with Crystal Caines, a Guyanese American M.C. and producer from Harlem who has worked with A$AP Ferg and Dave East.
Buffalo New York's Che Noir is an Emcee and producer who cites her inspiration as mid 90's East Coast rap.Foxy Brown, Rapsody and Jay-Z are amongst those who she admires. Che has built an impressive catalog with collabs with Benny The Butcher, 38 Spesh, Apollo Brown and Black Thought of The Roots.
Pri says further, “Back in 2005 I formed The Female Producers Association and within a few months we had over 3000 beatmakers, music producers and engineers. Unfortunately, this was before the power of social media and I had to dissolve it because of the work required to maintain it and the lack of resources that I had available. The creativity amongst women is still strong.”
Perhaps the low percentage of women producers in Hip-Hop is a microcosm of the fact that there are so few in general. In the 60 years that the Grammy awards have existed, only seven women have grabbed the producer of the year nomination, and the first was in 1989 when Janet Jackson was nominated alongside Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for Rhythm Nation.
Perhaps as TRAKGIRL and Pri suggest there are many women producers who share the same fate as women in general who still fight to break through the glass ceiling which is still very much a reality.
Hopefully, we will see more women button pushers and knob twisters in the near future, in and outside of Hip-Hop.