Latto, who just scored her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, shares why she thinks women are dom

Publish date: 2024-07-05
2023-07-25T10:44:40Z

Latto told Insider that she believes women are dominating the rap game right now because of their "unapologetic energy."

On Monday, Latto scored her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Seven" — her collaboration with BTS singer Jungkook on his debut solo single. The song has already been streamed over 100 million times on Spotify since its release on July 14.

"There are so many females that are flourishing right now and it's very raw, uncut, authentic, like a take-me-for-who-I-am type of energy," the rapper, who recently partnered with Wingstop for a new, limited edition meal, the Latto Meal — which contains 21 wings, fries, and two dips — said in an interview last week.

Ice Spice, Coi Leray, Nicki Minaj, and now Latto herself have all scored top 10 hits on the Hot 100 since the turn of the year.

Coi Leray, Minaj, and Latto also enjoyed top 10 hits in 2022, as did Doja Cat, Lizzo, GloRilla, and Cardi B.

Latto added that she thinks people "just respect the authenticity" of the current crop of female rappers.

"Southern female rap, especially, has a strong presence right now," she said. "There are so many women from the South taking over and just being unapologetically themselves."

Asked why she thinks female rappers are now able to be so "unapologetic," the 24-year-old star, who last month won the award for best female hip-hop artist at the 2023 BET Awards, credited the like of Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott.

"I think the women who came before us kind of just set the tone and opened the doors and now we just kicking them down," she said.

Latto first rose to prominence in 2016 after she won the inaugural season of Jermaine Dupri's now-defunct talent show, "The Rap Game."

After turning down a record deal with Dupri's So So Def label, the rapper signed with RCA Records in 2020 and has since released two studio albums, the latest of which, "777," peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and included the smash hit "Big Energy."

Latto's new collaboration with Jungkook is her biggest hit to date and sees her join an exclusive group of female rappers, including Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, and Missy Elliott, to have scored No. 1 hits on the Hot 100.

Speaking to Insider about how her collaboration with Jungkook came about, Latto said the K-pop star "single-handedly chose" her for the record.

"As soon as I heard it, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is outta here. What can I add?' I was literally like, 'What can I add? It's already a hit.' But, yeah, I did my little thing," she said.

"He was so nice and very genuine and humble," she added of Jungkook, 25. "The whole experience has been very fun. His fan base, oh my gosh, they really are an army."

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