Queen Key

Chicago rapper Queen Key channels a playful yet brazen persona and unfiltered lyrics that salute earlier figures like Lil' Kim, Trina, and Foxy Brown while shaping hardcore, sex-positive anthems driven by beats recalling early-2010s drill. Active as a performer from childhood, she broke through in 2016 via a run of singles that encompassed “Panic,” “Baked as a Pie,” and “Calling All Eaters.” Her first official EP, Eat My Pussy, appeared in 2018 and spotlighted the resolute track “My Way.” Further candid releases arrived in the 2020s, among them Empressiv, whose standout cut was the boisterous “Exposed,” and Rich Off Head.

Born Ke'Asha McClure in Illinois in 1996, she began singing and rapping at age six. At seven she cut her debut mixtape under the name Baby Niko. Adopting the Queen Key moniker in 2015, she issued the single “Panic” and followed with the 2016 mixtape Your Highness. She cultivated an underground following through uncompromising, women-centered material and a string of singles that included “Take Money” and “My Way.” After Your Highness 2 surfaced in 2017, the seven-track Eat My Pussy EP arrived the next year and contained guest appearances by Tink on “Spenda Nite,” Dreezy on “Ha,” Cuban Doll on “Miss 100k,” and King Louie on “Toes Out.” In 2019 she dropped the singles “Ratchett” and “Cocky,” with the former later featured on Eat My Pussy Again. Activity remained steady into the new decade, yielding Your Highness 3 in 2021, Empressiv in 2022, and Rich Off Head in 2024.