A single pre-made playlist on any streaming service will most likely give you one female artist for every five male artists. With all the musical artists of 2018, it’s difficult to remember just how influential female voices — specifically female singers — are to everyday women.
Here is a list of the top songs you should have on your feminist playlist. Listen to these females while at work, in the car or researching the hundreds of female candidates vying for political spots this fall.
“Q.U.E.E.N.” — Janelle Monae, featuring Erykah Badu
This track is one of Janelle Monae’s first, a song indicative of a strong style she would find five years later in 2018.
“Q.U.E.E.N.” has a funky beat with deep synth sounds. It’s the kind of rhythm that makes you want to swing your hips and clap in time with the tune. Monae’s sound has never been dull and her lyrics rarely fall flat. This song showcases her full range of talent.
“Flawless” — Beyonce, featuring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Most Beyonce songs sound like anthems — girl power anthems. There’s just something about “Queen B” strutting, singing and rapping into the mic that screams her music is made for powerful women. “Flawless” does just that.
Like most of her music, this song makes you want to bob up and down. It’s the best kind of car music, morning routine music and middle of the day pick-me-up music.
With a poetic interjection from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s female power speech, all six minutes of “Flawless” is pretty perfect.
“Bodak Yellow” — Cardi B
Quintessential Cardi B like “Bodal Yellow” should be on every feminist’s playlist for the rest of time.
Becoming a new icon in her own right, this is one of Cardi B’s first releases. This track brought the now powerful female into the spotlight and we have every lyric in this one to thank.
This beat against Cardi B’s established vocals makes for a perfect track. Plus, who doesn’t like listening to Cardi B flawlessly rap for a solid four minutes.
“Respect” — Aretha Franklin
This playlist wouldn’t be complete without a throwback song or two. Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” hits the spot. This is the song that taught little girls what respect means and exactly how to spell such an important word.
There are plenty of great versions of “Respect” out there, but Aretha Franklin is really the only one that matters.
This track came out in 1967 on the heels of the civil rights movement and a decades-long feminist power movement. Any woman looking for a personal anthem should look no further than this timeless dime of a song.
“Send My Love” — Adele
It’s been awhile since we heard something new from Adele, but we can only hope she’s sitting somewhere writing her next big hit.
Until then, “Send My Love” is the track we can groove with. Adele has a knack for creating beautiful, uplifting melodies and this track is no exception.
Adele’s last album showcased an array of great songs, but “Send My Love” is perhaps one of the strongest tracks of her career.
Hailey Stewart can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @Hailey_ann97