This.
Even crazier is that Lauryn Hill was outselling all of them. Missy actually had a longer shelf life. It was like female rappers maxed out at 3 albums. The third album was usually the last album or the albums beyond that were flops. Missy defied it because her third and fourth albums were her most successful. The fifth and sixth were also successful.
Truth.
Late 80's and early 90's, the female MC's brought in both dudes and females. Everyone rocked with them. After that era, it changed unless you were
special special. That's what Missy was. Da Brat had a lot of fans from both sides too. And Lauryn was the same. Everyone loved her. But they don’t really last for too many albums, like you said. I think because people kinda see female rappers as gimmicks. R&B is different, where people will f*ck with you forever as long as you're dropping dope music.
People don’t really stick around for the females in Hip Hop. It's not easy for them. And today, the ones who are naked all day seem to only be making music for the females. You don’t see the well-rounded female MC's at the top anymore.