Lipstick rap

Lipstick rap is a subgenre and cultural movement that originated in the northern region of Kuboia during the late 1990s. The genre fuses hip hop and rapping with elements of youth-orientated genres like teen pop and bubblegum pop, tempos usually range from 95 to 105 bpm and lyrics are typically about rebellion and self-consciousness. It is usually performed and marketed towards pre-teen and teenage girls.

Lipstick rap reached its peak around the year 2000. Controversial during its height of popularity, the subgenre was criticised for supposedly encouraging wreckless and anti-social behaviour, whilst others considered the term sexist and/or misleading. Lipstick rap also received some defence, with some arguing it opens up hip hop to more audiences and is more welcoming and appropriate than other forms of hip hop.

Lipstick rap as a genre began to decline during the late 2000s, although it still maintains a significant fanbase. In 2018, Uroika Mabus stated "it's not dead, it's just gone underground again".

Origins
Actresses Charlie Karma and Sharlie Deem wrote and performed some hip hop-orientated songs for the Jetanie-Kuboian animated series The New Adventures of The Sweet Treets. A news article by the BBC published in 1997 reported that Kuboian girls typically enjoyed performing freestyles during their lunch breaks and days off school.

Development
Among those credited with bringing the genre to mainstream are Missy Robins, CP Virus and Little Bee. Robins released her debut extended play, Follow the New Leader, in February 1999, and became the first musical artist to have a number one album on the Karuboia charts. Robins was only sixteen years old when the album was released - the album was recorded at a cheap studio, and she took up two part-time jobs in order to pay for recording sessions and get signed to Outlawed Records.

Lipstick rap saw another wave of new popularity around the 2000-01 period with the likes of Uroika Mabus and Lizzie Dennison, who were signed to Bertelsmann Music Group after appearing on the television series Charlie Karma and Friends. Another surge came around 2003 with the likes of Aourine Esthers, Iroune Ruby, Louise Keys and Violet Stars, who spawned music careers after appearing in television advertisements and promotions. Kuboian television personality and singer Ericka Streets explored lipstick rap in some of her music.

Criticism
Lipstick rap has faced criticism over the years, with some arguing that it promotes poor behaviour amongst young girls. A NME article argued that lipstick rap musicians "do not need to act overly egotistical and in-your-face in order to get their point across". [TBA] felt that the lipstick rap name is misleading, saying that the name implies that it is associated with lipstick lesbianism and/or lipstick feminism.

Lipstick rap fanbase
The lipstick rap fanbase have been regularly cited as being unfriendly and unwelcoming towards new and/or younger members. Reports from the mid and late 2010s claim that fans of lipstick rap dislike newer music trends and frequently degrade fans of said trends.

Praise and defence
Jetania co-founder Sterling Alfredson revealed in 2001 that he was indeed a listener of lipstick rap, citing "These girls certainly have talent, and they haven proven that you can make rap music without swearing and being extremely sexist. If anything, they have surprassed their forefathers." Missy Robins sent Alfredson a letter thanking him for his comments.