We Love Beyoncé Too, but Let’s Talk About These 5 Underrated Female Artists From the Early 2000s

The emergence of Beyoncé in the late 90s and early 2000s quietly created a major gap between her and other female artists in R&B. Whether as a part of Destiny’s Child or eventually branching out solo, Queen Bey had all the makings of a star.

However, as much as we love her, her dominance shouldn’t overshadow the other amazing women working at the time. Great female artists are abundant in R&B history, and they deserve as much love as Beyoncé. Consequently, we’ve selected five artists you should check out if you want to branch out occasionally from the Bey Hive.

5 Underrated Female Artists That Deserve Just as Much Love as Beyoncé

Amerie

Amerie was arguably on the same level as Beyoncé early in their careers. Her 2002 debut album All I Have is loaded with addictive hits, most notably “Why Don’t We Fall in Love”. It’s shocking that she couldn’t share equal space with Beyoncé considering they have two different styles of voice. Where Bey has more strength and power in her voice, Amerie was sugary and affectionate, every love song feeling like it’s delivered personally to you.

Kelis

The uninitiated might only think of Kelis as the voice behind “Milkshake“. However, she was arguably the Neptunes’ greatest muse, someone who could effortlessly maneuver through their strangest and weirdest ideas like on “Young, Fresh N’ New“. “Caught Out There” captures their musical relationship best though, with sweet, soulful singing in the verses and deranged screaming on the hook over alien green synths.

702

The problem with Destiny’s Child is that it meant every label was desperately trying to find their next Beyoncé. Back in the 90s, female R&B groups thrived as a collective rather than individual acts. SWV, Xscape, and TLC were better together than they were apart. But Destiny’s Child made stars out of Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and LeToya Luckett.

This was awkward for 702, a fantastic female collective that thrived in the late 90s and still made great music even when group members left. But it’s fair to argue that their lack of an obvious solo star made for a hard sell. But even with their last album, they dazzled on classic Neptunes beats like on “Star” and “I Still Love You”.

Tweet

When you think of Devante Swing’s Swing Mob, most people immediately think of Timbaland or Missy Elliott, maybe even Ginuwine. Even R&B nerds will give their love to Static Major as the genius at the core of it all. However, Tweet largely goes under the radar, who was initially part of the group Sugah. After connecting with Missy, she established a strong relationship with Timbaland and ended up making “Oops (Oh My)” as a result.

But her debut album Southern Hummingbird is more than just a set of great Timbaland beats. Instead, she beautifully melds classic blues and soul sounds, making for one of the most underrated R&B albums of all time.

Teedra Moses

Many fans came to love Teedra Moses when Kaytranada reintroduced her to the world with his remix. But her album Complex Simplicity remains a cult classic among 2000s R&B obsessives. In another fairer, better world, we would’ve celebrated this album the first time.

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