Lady Leshurr believes female rappers are ''pitted against each other'' nowadays.

The 28-year-old rapper, who is currently heading up a new documentary as part of Channel 4's new Sound and Vision series 'Women of UK Rap', has claimed female rappers are not treated as equally as male artists, and it is only a female's sex appeal that determines their success.

Speaking to NME magazine, the 'Where are You Now?' hitmaker said: ''Whenever female rappers start to make a name for themselves people try to pit them against each other. It's never, 'She's really sick and that other girl's really sick', it's always, 'Do you think she's better than her?' People also like to boil it down to what they look like and sex appeal.''

Lady Leshurr started rapping when she was just six years old, and the star believes her interest in music came at the time when very few females were interested in rapping.

She said: ''I was the only female that used to go to my youth club and rap. I started rapping when I was six years old. Sister Nancy's 'Bam Bam' changed my life. She was singing but rapping-singing. I never knew that existed! Then I heard Ms Dynamite.''

But she can see a positive future for female rappers.

She added: ''Three female rappers won awards last year at the MOBOs, so things are definitely progressing. More female rappers are doing big numbers on YouTube.''