Abandoned by her mother, Remy Ma should have been just another Black girl lost. But the tenacious MC has gone on to become one of hip-hop's rising stars. Tackling her demons head on, Remy speaks candidly about her childhood, abortion and why she's not responsible for raising your kids. Cross Examination: Raqiyah Mays

Nearly every member of The Ave 's staff didn't want to see Remy Ma, by herself, on the cover of this women¹s issue. A few worried how we'd justify the choice with the progressive crowd. Others said she wasn't big enough to draw an audience. “Remy by herself would be a wack cover in my opinion,” one staffer wrote during a heated e-mail debate. “What's so interesting about her?”

Ironically, these passionate anti-Remy sentiments, which spanned over two days, helped persuade the edit team into putting the Bronx bombshell on the cover. Because there is something about this girl that evokes emotion, whether it be outright frustration, fleeting love, or brazen disgust. Out of all the new lady MCs preparing to release an album, or who just dropped a project, Remy's got the biggest buzz and strongest name recognition. She was the only female rapper nominated for a Grammy this year. (Sorry, Latifah, but the Broadway singing on The Dana Owens Album doesn't count). And she's one of the only microphone queens, outside of Heather B, considered hard enough to spit on a track with MOP.

“Nobody has high expectations. They just want to get their section eight and their child support. F**k the image of women in hip-hop, let's talk about the image of women in the 'hood.”