In the earliest days of recorded rap, the producer was a musician and/or arranger who worked on a recording. Sometimes, they made musical recommendations, or they brought in additional vocalists and musicians. Many times, the producer would coach an artist in an attempt to pull the best performance out of them.

In many ways, the Hip-Hop producer was much like a producer in any genre of music in the early 1980s. In the cases of the earliest rap records released on independent labels, the label CEO received a production credit whether they actually participated in the recording or not. As the rap record evolved —from live bands providing the music to drum machines and later samplers — the producer became much more directly involved with the music than the artists.

The sampling era that began around 1986 gave birth to the bedroom producer. Affordable sampling technology — coupled with the widespread availability of breakbeat albums — shifted the producer role from an older more musically trained generation to a younger one with more Hip-Hop sensibilities. Overwhelmingly the one thing that these younger producers had in common was their background as a DJ.

In Hip-Hop's long history, there have been seemingly very few female Hip Hop producers. Perhaps the fact that the Hip Hop producer morphed out of the DJ is the reason for such a low number of women producers in the genre.

DJ Baby D of The Mercedes Ladies, Wanda Dee, Jazzy Joyce, Cocoa Chanel, Pam The Funkstress (R.I.P.), Kuttin Kandi, and both Spinderella are all female Hip-Hop DJ.s, but compared to the hordes of male Hip-Hop DJs, the number is small.

The first female producer in Hip-Hop was Sylvia Robinson, founder of Sugar Hill Records. An accomplished musician, writer, and producer in R&B, Robinson was an excellent arranger who coached the MCs signed to her label to get the best vocal performances out of them. It was, in fact, her idea to use an interpolation of Chic’s “Good Times” for “Rappers Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang — the record that brought rap music into American households in 1979.

It was also her persistence that led Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 to record Sugar Hill house band percussionist Ed Fletcher aka Duke Bootee’s “The Message” in 1982. She predicted correctly that it would be a smash hit, as she did with “Rappers Delight” three years earlier.

Robinson used her Rolodex and her power in the music industry to secure the legendary Tito Puente to perform a percussion solo on “The Sugar Hill Groove” by The Sugar Hill Gang, and she was also responsible for Philippe Wynn of The Detroit Spinners collaboration with The Treacherous 3 on “Yes We Can.”

The most popular modern-day female Hip-Hop producer is Missy Elliot, who has produced her own music going back to when she was a member of Sista. Missy has also done production for Da Brat, Jodeci, and Raven Symone. Female producer Shakari Linder aka Trakgirl told television network BET, “There is a misconception that there aren’t a lot of women producers and engineers. There are, but we aren’t granted the opportunity to present ourselves.”

Georgia Anne Muldrow has been extremely consistent releasing independent projects since the mid 2000's. In 2008 the singer, musician and producer started her label SomOthaShip Connect with her husband Dudley Perkins. She is the daughter of session musician Ronald Muldrow and spiritual jazz singer,composer and songwriter Rickie Byars-Beckwith. Muldrow has released almost twenty full length albums since 2006 and has collaborated with Madlib, Erykah Badu and many others.

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.