What happened to "Girl Power?"
Female artists now days seem to act on the premise that it's "every woman for herself." There is no unity.
Sure you have your dynamic duo collaborations like Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea's "Problem" or Lady Gaga and Beyonce's "Telephone" but once the radio spins slow up and chart rankings come down, the Mean Girls mindset kicks back in.
Nicki Minaj offered up a "shady" reminder of just how mean girls can be during her acceptance speech at this year's BET Awards. Nonetheless, she did bring attention to one thing music is missing: sisterhood.
Back in 1996, British girl group Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe."
The single did great internationally hitting number one in more than 30 countries.
In the song, the girls sing, "If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends/Make it last forever friendship never ends."
"Wannabe" was a worldwide message for girls to stick together.
The group spearheaded the "girl power" phenomenon and established themselves as a voice for women through music.
A year later, Lil' Kim released her "Not Tonight (Remix)" featuring Da Brat, Missy Elliot, Angie Martinez and Left Eye.
The track was an instant hit covering all hip-hop and R&B bases while promoting having a good time with your girls.
The video accompanying the track was everything fans expected it to be with guest appearances by Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, SWV, Xscape, Blaque and Maia Campbell.
"It's the rap Mae West, the QB/And I got all my sisters with me," Lil' Kim rapped over a sample of Kool & The Gang's "Ladies' Night."
In 2001, Kim and Missy joined a different group of women but the message and concept of the song was the same.
Christina Aguilera, Pink and Mya joined the two femcees for the Grammy-winning remake of "Lady Marmalade" and shortly there after, all-female collaborations became a rarity while girl groups like the recently broken up Danity Kane, Destiny's Child and The Pussycat Dolls became lukewarm.
The apparent lack of sisterhood is leaving a crippling effect on women attempting to break into the industry. Budding artists need to be embraced rather than sized up by those who came before them.
Even veteran rhymer Lil' Kim seems to have lost sight of that with the recent jams she's taken at Nicki Minaj. And Beyonce's order to "Bow down, b***hes" didn't help much either.
Remy Ma, who was recently released from prison, said women in music are often pitted against each other, a tactic that "works" but look at how much more bad ass women who stick together are.
Let's get it together ladies!
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