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".

Characteristics
As a subgenre, lipstick rap fuses old-school sounding hip hop of the 1990s and early 2000s with teen pop, R&B and sometimes other genres such as jazz, funk and rock. Instrumentals often feature disc scratching sounds, electronic guitars and saxophones, and the tempo is usually around 95 beats per minute. Lyrics are usually about social and teenage rebellion and commentary on social issues. Unlike other teen-orientated genres, lyrics are rarely about love and romance. Vocals are prominently rap, though also often feature melodic and rich singing choruses.

Lipstick rapper CP Virus explained in 2004 that it is a very broad genre, yet also has enough unique characteristics to be its own style of music. She mentioned that "you can't just call anything you hear lipstick rap".

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
A majority of the earliest lipstick rappers were part of musical groups from North Kuboia, with the likes of Too Plus Two, Sweet 16, Lucky Dip and A-List appearing amongst the most popular collectives in the movemnent in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Sweet 16 member Missy Robins used the term publicly for the first time in November 1998, saying "we were all trying to work out what the best term would be, and [lipstick rap] is what we all agreed on".

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.

Resurgence
Around 2018, lipstick rap saw a renewed public interest. EKN artist Missy Delinquent released "Sentimental Story" in February 2018, which received acclaim for its lyrics and composition.

Influence
Although lipstick rap is performed mostly by young girls, a few male lipstick rappers have also seen commercial success, including Zeke Kattenby and Little Bo.

Lipstick metal
Lipstick metal, which fuses lipstick rap with nu metal and rap rock, had minor popularity in the early 2000s, with some lipstick metal artists such as Jessie Dred and Lollipopz receiving airplay on American active rock radio.

Lipstick grime
Lipstick grime, a fusion genre that fuses lipstick rap with grime, saw minor popularity in the mid-2000s. The term is also occasionally used to refer to lipstick rap music that fuses elements of breakbeat, UK garage, dubstep and KB hopscotch due to their similarities to grime.

Film and television
Lipstick rap music has been featured in several television series, mostly ones targeted towards children. The 1999 animated series Cindi and Friends features several lipstick rap songs in its soundtrack.

Video games
In 2001, the Lipstick Rap Production Kit was released as a PC CD-ROM.

The 2004 action-adventure video game Lipstick Underground is centred heavily around lipstick rap and Kuboian youth culture. Lipstick rapper Sissy Missy directed the game to make sure it was culturally accurate, with a few other musicians who were prominent in the movement at the time contributing to its soundtrack.

Two rhythm video games, Sweat Party Mix and Sweat Party Mix 2, were released for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in 2003 and 2005 respectively. Both games feature lipstick rap songs in their soundtracks.

Fanbase
Lipstick rap has a longtime fanbase. A female-prominent fanbase, a lot of the fanbase are female, with a large portion having been born in the 1980s and 1990s and early 2000s. Despite being a Kuboian movement, there are also fans of the subgenre elsewhere, with smaller but passionate followings in Australia, Brazil, Europe and the United States.

Lipstick rap is often associated with karoul culture.

Criticism
Lipstick rap has faced criticism over the years, with some arguing that it promotes anti-social and racist behaviour amongst young girls. A NME article noted that lipstick rap musicians regularly rapped about fighting other girls and disobeying people of higher social status, and would frequently boast about their rebellious nature. Furthermore, a BBC reporter cited it as "arguably worse [than gangsta rap] since kids are more likely to listen to it".