“Here come the girls! I think 2012 will be a massive year for us. Personally speaking, 2011 was about finding my sound and developing what I do - I’ve worked with loads of great producers like Redlight, Benny Page, MoJam, Craze N Hoax, Mikey J and Future Cut. But more generally, we’ve all been grinding for a few years, establishing our fan bases and are coming into our own - we’re no longer ‘female MCs’: we stand next to the guys as great rappers. It’s taken a while, but we’ve all established ourselves with the DJs and bloggers for our talent.

So, who to look out for next year? Estelle: she’s coming back with a new album and it’s got some great guests like Rick Ross and Big Sean on it. She really has been a trailblazer for us all in terms of showing how far you can go with hard work. Ms. Dynamite: someone I looked up to growing up, and she’s still got it; ‘Neva Soft’ was one of my favourite tracks this year. Lioness: she’s sick, mad lyrical, really varied in what she does from grime to soulful house! Lady Leshurr: she’s from Birmingham and has a mad skippy flow - think Nicki Minaj or Busta Rhymes: super fast with great wordplay. Baby Blue: Blue’s been around a while and is really starting to come through now. Check her track with Jacob Plant. A Dot: she’s a proper spitter, brought up on hip-hop with mad lyrical content. Roxxan: another Brum MC who’s got great wordplay.

So, as you can see, the ‘scene’ is really healthy right now. All of us are here for our skills and we can hang with the boys lyrically. We’ve all worked on tracks together and it’s nice to see everyone supporting and helping each other.”

Read more predictions in Clash's Social Forecast for 2012.