I was thinking today about this.
I think part of the reason female rap disappeared is because of competition.
If you think abou my it, how many big male rappers cosign and introduce upcoming male rappers? Lil Wayne introduced Drake, Jay Z introduced Kanye, Dr. Dre introduced Eminem, 50, and Snoop, etc.
Most of these cosignings happen with the elder artist is still in their prime, or still possesses major clout in music so that they can give legitimacy to another artist.
Rarely did female rappers do that for others, except maybe Missy. When Foxy, Kim, and all those others were out, they didn't try to pass the torch. They didn't want to be looked at as older, and have a younger female competing with them. It's different for women. A male artist wouldn't have to worry about being phased out as much as a female would.
Anyway, that's what I think contributed to a dearth of female rappers all at once. It went from a ton in the nineties, to a little less in the early 2000s, to none but Nicki by the end of the decade. Once Kim went to jail, Foxy went deaf, Eve went to acting and white men, and Remy went to shooting, there were no new girls with legitimacy out there to take over the reins.
Kim tries to consign folks now, and so does Missy, but I think they would have had more impact doing that when they were in their respective primes.
