Government Challenges Women’s Freedom of Speech

When the term ‘femcee’ was first used it described a female rapper who was recognized for creating revolutionary music during the time when men controlled the hip-hop industry. These femcees preached to stop that slandering of the female image through their music that desired equality not only from hip-hop, but society as a whole.

Femcees were one of many feminists who used their First Amendment rights to speak out on the daily obstacles females struggled to overcome.

Femcees who sparked this movement such as Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, and MC Lyte paved the way for prospective female rappers to get the respect they deserve.

These women would use similar explicit lyrics to show their strength in comparison to their male counterparts’ style of music.

The difference between an emcee’s explicit lyrics compared to a femcee’s is their intentions. Male rappers used vulgarity to promote and reinforce their hardcore image. Female rappers used vulgarity to draw attention to the content of their message:  the fair treatment, respect, and acknowledgement of women.

In 2001, Sarah Jones, a feminist rapper, wrote a politically detailed anti-misogynist poem entitled “Your Revolution” which described how women’s images were sexually degraded in hip-hop and rock music.

Filled with extremely sexual innuendos and metaphors, Jones’ poem challenged rappers’ assumption of women being useful only for sex. Jones is speaking directly towards those who degrade women which she classifies their actions as their ‘revolution’ the continual objectification of women.

"Your revolution will not happen between these thighs”

Jones continued by stating the clothing, cars, and physical attributes take away from the ‘real revolution’ which represents women break the misogynist stereotype of what they believe a woman should be.

This poem, which publically aired over Portland, Oregon, KBOO radio station gained positive and negative feedback. The DJ who played the poem, Chisun Lee, was quoted in The Village Voice having said, "Jones's song is inspirational. It says it's cool, you can be in the hip-hop game, but you don't have to be no 'ho.”

Neither Jones nor Lee realized that the publically aired poem would immediately get censored by the Federal Communications Committee.

The federal government was given the power to censor radio airwaves because radio was considered to be public trust. A problem with the FCC’s censorship was there lack of rules to abide by and no way to measure the obscenity of an individual’s self-expression.

Over the years, the FCC made changes to their rules of deeming material obscene. The material must lack redeeming social value in order for the FCC to censor it.

The FCC failed to recognize the political and cultural context in Jones’ poem and censored it from being played over the airwaves. Jones sued the FCC but initially failed, until she appealed the court’s decision.

Jones dug up a seven year-old court case that forced the FCC to reevaluate how they measured obscenity. In the case, Action for Children's Television v. Federal Communications Commission, one judge had changed his opinion on the FCC’s power to censor broadcasting stating their reasoning was too vague which violated the First Amendment. It’s seemingly unconstitutional for the FCC to censor someone’s opinion unless the medium for distribution is broadcasting because it can easily be widespread and unintentionally heard by children.

After two years of the case being debated in the courts, Jones’ “Your Revolution,” was found not indecent even though it was filled with sexual references and suggestive images. According to the FCC, Jones’ poem wasn’t “patently offensive as measure by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium.”

Resources:

Action for Children's Television v. Federal Communications Commission, 59 F.3d 1249 (D.C. Cir. 1995).

Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica, 438 U.S. 726, 750 (1978).

Full text: Your Revolution. http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2001/da011212.doc

Sarah Jones v. Federal Communications Commission. news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/fcc/jonesfcc012902cmp.pdf

The Woman Behind ‘Rapper’s Delight’

The single “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang was the first rap song to be commercially recognized as a hit record. The woman who made it all possible was Sylvia Robinson, a former R&B singer before co-founding Sugar Hill Records with her husband, Joe.

In search of avoiding bankruptcy due to pending lawsuits, Robinson took a risk of bringing music that was only played in clubs to the radio. At the time, DJ’s who spoke over methodical beats drew the crowd’s attention normally getting a positive response.

Seeing this appreciation for club-goers, Robinson assorted a random conglomerate of rappers and thus formed the Sugarhill Gang. Although only hitting number 36 on the U.S. pop charts, “Rapper’s Delight” was the first rap ever recorded on vinyl.

Regardless of being the first rap song, Sugarhill Gang still boasted of their material wealth, high fashion, and superiority over others.

 “ya see i got more clothes than muhammad ali                                                                                                                         and i dress so viciously
i got bodyguards, i got two big cars
that definitely aint the wack”

Unlike the gangster rap, “Rapper’s Delight” didn’t use vulgar language, but started showing early signs of misogyny to come in hip-hop. One line insinuates that if a woman refuses a man’s advance on her; go for her friend.

“Everybody go, hotel motel holiday inn
Say if your girl starts actin up,                                                                                                                                                 Then you take her friend”

Prior to running a record label, Robinson saw herself at the top of the Billboard’s R&B singles chart claiming the number one spot with her song “Love Is Strange.” The song became a crowd favorite after being featured in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing.

After taking up song writing, Robinson almost sold a hit record to gospel singer, Al Green, who denied it to avoid hurting his image as a religious man. So, Robinson decided to record it herself.

The provocative single “Pillow Talk” represented woman’s desire to be loved and their ability to freely express themselves regardless of what others try to tell them.

“Ooh, I don’t wanna see you be no fool
What I’m teachin’ you tonight, boy, you’ll never learn it in school, oh, no
So friends who tell me wrong from right
I’ll ask to borrow their pants some cold and lonely night”

Robinson would later sign Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to the label and helped produce the 1982 single “The Message.” The song was detrimental in creating the foundation for the gangster rap during the late 1980’s selling more than 8 million copies.

During the opening lines of the song, Grandmaster Flash compares the lifestyle of a ghetto to a jungle.

“It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under”

 Grandmaster Flash goes on to list all the problems in the ghetto describing all the poverty, lack of education, filth, drugs, and prostitution that infested and deteriorated ghettos.  He also describes his attempt to get away from this lifestyle.

“Rats in the front room, roaches in the back
Junkies in the alley with the baseball bat
I tried to get away, but I couldn't get far…

She went to the city and got social security
She had to get a pimp, she couldn't make it on her own …

Got a bum education, double-digit inflation
I can't take the train to the job, there's a strike at the station “

Suffering from cancer, Sylvia Robinson died in 2000 and is still considered as the “mother of hip-hop.”

Resources:

Hobson, Janell "Can't Stop the Women of Hip-Hop." Ms. Magazine 24 Feb. 2011,

McKinley Jr., James C. "Sylvia Robinson, Pioneering Producer of Hip-Hop, Is Dead at 75." The New York Times 30 Sep. 2011.

Female Artists’ Response To Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a reoccurring issue not only in hip-hop culture, but in other cultures as well. The physical and verbal abuse of women has always been highlighted as a result of rappers bragging of assaulting in their songs.

Most femcees have gone unnoticed for their inspirational resistance against abusive men. Notable female artists that have mentioned their refusal to be further victimized by men in their lyrics are Eve, Lauryn Hill, Aaliyah, and Janet Jackson.

In Eve’s hit single “Love Is Blind,” depicts her approaching a friend’s sexually abusive boyfriend demanding to know his reasons for the assault.

Eve also points out that love is not based on the expensive gifts you receive from someone and is not an excuse for the abuse.

“I mean shit he bought you things and gave you diamond rings
But them things wasn't worth none of the pain that he brings”

As the song continues, the abuse mentioned in Eve’s lyrics becomes more violent. The boyfriend had killed his girlfriend from beating her and still showed his face at the funeral.

Eve ends the song with her aiming a gun at the kneeling boyfriend showing that woman can stand up for themselves.

“And before you had a chance to get up
You heard my gun cock
Prayin' to me now, I ain't God but I'll pretend…                                                                                                              And I did, clear shots and no regrets, never
Cops comin' lock me under the jail”

The impact of this song was so detrimental during its release; Eve has since created a foundation named after the song. The Love Is Blind Foundation continues to help raise awareness on domestic and sexual violence.

Lauryn Hill takes a similar approach to Eve in stressing the importance of ending domestic violence in her song “I Get Out.”

Hill touches on the inner conflict abused women face when confronted with either not telling anyone of the assault or doing something about it.

“I won’t support your lie no more                                                                                                                                                I won’t even try no more”

She describes societies and the legal systems handle on domestic violence as a “joke.” Hill notes that leaving an abusive loved one is hard but necessary.

“Repressin' me to death                                                                                                                                                I’ve seen a change in you
Cuz now I'm choosin' life, yo
I'll take the sacrifice, yo
If everything must go, then go”

Deceased female artist, Aaliyah described her encounters with abusive men in her song “Never No More.”  In the song, Aaliyah describes her disturbance by the fact that the man who she once knew to love is now harming her.

“Thought I lost you
When you twist back my arm
Cause the man I thought I knew
Wouldn't do me no harm”

She then explains how woman may forgive their boyfriends or husbands because they believe he’ll never do it again.

“I should’ve left you…                                                                                                                                                          Now here we are  again                                                                                                                            You at my throat                                                                                                                                                            Now I see the same old change”

Lastly, Janet Jackson touches on domestic violence issues in her song “What About.” The song refutes forgiveness in domestic violence as Janet denies the truth of her lover’s affection and reminisces of the times he lied, hit, and raped her.

“What about the times you hit my face
What about the times you kept on when I said "no more please"
What about those things”                                           

Jackson’s strong lyrics demand women to take action against their abusers by leaving them, no matter how much your heart tells you ‘no.’

“My heart was poundin
But the time had come
To stop lettin my whisperin heart control me
And tellin my screamin mind what to do”                                                                                   

Does The Penalty Match The Crime?

Rappers who have been able to escape poverty and urban lifestyle are looked at by adolescents as role models. The messages rap feeds to young listeners is not always positive, but the youth abide being oblivious to rap’s misogynist ideals.

At first, there was little to no options for women to voice their opinions on the verbal assault men found socially acceptable. Women in hip-hop have suffered verbal and physical abuse caused by the effect violent messages rap music contains as well as their resistance to it.

Hip-hop enthusiasts may deny the theory that violent lyrics leading to violent actions, but there’s a flaw in their belief. According to Cliffton Bryant’s “Sexual Deviancy and Social Proscription,” language, or lyrics, is considered a behavior. Rappers such as Dr. Dre, Tone Loc, Chris Brown and Big Lurch have all committed acts of violence towards woman solidifying their “gangster” image.

After a sit down with Fox TV host Denise Barnes, Dre was put on trial for allegedly assaulting her while the rest of the members of his group, N.W.A., watched and libeled her. Barnes also filed a restraining order against Dre who wasn’t a stranger to the inside of a court room.

Barnes’ $20-million lawsuit resulted with Dre pleading “no contest,” a $2,500 fine, 240 hours of community service, and a court-ordered anti-violence public service TV announcement.

A “no contest” plea clears the defendant’s current crime from being brought up in future cases.

A rapper who also pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge was Tone Loc.

Loc allegedly assaulted his wife resulting in a day in county jail, three years of probation, 52 weeks of anger management counseling, and 30 days of community service.

R&B singer Chris Brown was charged with assaulting female recording artist Rihanna for beating, choking, and biting her during an altercation. He pleaded guilty in his preliminary hearing to avoid further damages.

Brown was ordered five years of probation and six months of community service. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg issued a stay-away order, without Rihanna’s request, requiring Brown and Rihanna to keep 50 yards away from each other at all times.

A year later, Rihanna took to the microphone expressing her feelings on the assault on Eminem’s song “I Love The Way You Lie.”

Rihanna’s lyrics stressed the confusion and hurt Brown’s assault had caused her.

“Just going to stand there and watch me burn
That's all right because I like the way it hurts
Just going to stand there and hear me cry?
Well that's all right because I love the way you lie”

The last and worst case of violence against women involved excessive drug use resulting in murder.  Texas rapper Big Lurch entered a state of cannibalism after a five-day PCP binge which sparked him to viciously mutilate his 21 year-old roommate, Tynisha Ysais.

Ysais, a mother of two, had her chest cut open as Lurch then proceeded to chew on her flesh. Lurch was found walking the streets covered in blood mumbling and chewing his victim’s lung.

Lurch’s lawyer, Milton Grimes, convinced the jury of Lurch’s insanity and avoided him being sentenced with the death penalty.

Deputy District Attorney Drew Josfan discarded Grimes’ argument based on a law that prohibited the use of insanity in murder trials if the defendant suffered from drug addiction or drug use.

Big Lurch was charged with first-degree murder and is currently serving out his life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Music Videos And The Messages They Carry

Music videos are a pivotal aspect in rap music that transforms the song’s lyrics into a visual representation of its content. 

Even the most vulgar of lyrics will get its visual representation regardless of its misogynous and obscene content.

This uncensored, publically accessible material raised question to whether or not music videos subconsciously subjected its youthful viewers towards experiencing sexual activity, drug use, and violence.

A team of researchers from the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory Center for AIDS Research, School of Medicine at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia and the University of Alabama, Birmingham, set out to answer the question.

Research of rap music videos discovered the constant reoccurring roles of sexually-exaggerated personas of African American women.

Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Women’s Health and executive director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health, Susan Kornstein related African-American girls’ acceptance of the stereotypical role in rap music later leads to harmful health issues.

Much of rap music and videos specifically transmit, promote, and perpetuate negative images of black women. Rap music’s demeaning message affects all women, but mostly black or latino women in particular are seen in popular hip-hop culture as sex objects.

Majority of hip-hop videos that are regularly run today show women, surrounding at least one man, seductively gyrating wearing little to nothing, with the cameras focused on their body parts.

These images are shown to coincide with the explicit lyrics that typically insult women suggesting they’re worth nothing more than money.

The women are seen as sexual objects by rappers whose lifestyle mimics that of a pimp. In numerous rap songs, men refer to all women as they think a pimp would to a prostitute, and promote violence against women for breaking that image.

Joan Morgan, a hip-hop feminist, revealed the hard truth of women desiring equality from their male counterparts in her book When Chicken Heads Come Home To Roost: My Life as a Hip-hop Feminist.

“Yeah, sistas are hurt…But the real crime isn't the name-calling, it's their failure to love us---to be our brothers in the way that we commit ourselves to being their sistas."

Overlooked: Feminists Impact on Rap

Since rap music began to grow in popularity and became “the record industry’s highest-grossing genre of music,” feminist’s accomplishments are under minded according to Katherine Cheairs’ Radical Women: Women, Feminism & Hip Hop. 

The development of rap music has overshadowed women’s barrier-breaking accomplishments in hip-hop.

As rap music’s explicit content became notorious for its uncensored misogynist lyrics, obsession with 

materialism and fashion; the importance of hip-hop’s origin faded away.

Early femcees, such as Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, and Sojourner Truth, spoke out against the racist and sexist views in the rap industry. These revolutionary femcees used the genre of music that was dominated by masculine ideals and used it to empower themselves as well as the objectified African American women.

The lack of respect men show for the Black female body is rooted back to slavery. Black female slaves were judged and sold on their physical appearance which displayed the woman’s ability to produce more unpaid workers.

Dating back to 1851, Isabella Baumfree, also known as Sojourner Truth, gave her “Ain’t I a Woman” speech during the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio, highlighting the out-dated chivalrous description of how women should been treated.

Not only does she point out the death of chivalry towards women, but she’s aware the definition of a woman is already being challenged, altered, and perceived differently. Below is an excerpt from her speech.

“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?”

Cheairs compared the timeliness and impact of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech and Queen Latifah’s single “U.N.I.T.Y.” stating that both addressed social inequalities women strived to overcome.

Yet, rap music attempted to eclipse women’s resistance against the preconceived notions about their image.

Rap music did this by perceiving women as sexual objects in its lyrics and videos. Outraged Black women began revolting against the rappers who promoted the sexualized image of women.

For example, African American female students from Spelman College protested rapper Nelly’s scheduled school concert due to his blatant lack of respect for women shown in his music video to his song “Tip Drill.”

The music video showed Nelly swiping his credit card between the butt of a video vixen with no recognition of the reality of how demoralizing his action was.

The women’s protest not only worked and cancelled Nelly’s performance, but gained media recognition as well. A major part of the protest not highlighted in the media’s coverage was the presence and support female protestors received from male students.

Resistance shown in protests, like the one in Spelman, is the forward step feminist took in attempts to suppress the ugly side of rap. Although, there is little revolt against the corporate enterprises that funnel money into rappers whose lyrics are predominately about sex and violence.

The Differences Between Women and “Bitches”

Both female and male rappers have used the word “bitch” as a derogatory term while describing other rappers. The literal definition of “bitch” refers to a female dog. 

The word has impacted hip-hop’s perception of women and caused confusion in regards to the definition of the word.

At first “bitch” was constantly being used by male rappers to deflect their insecurities while establishing their dominance over women in hip-hop. “Bitch” was also used in describing women who failed to fit rappers’ stereotypical description.

Rappers, such as Jay-Z, recognize the multi-meanings behind using the word “bitch” and have explained that no matter how you say it; “bitch” belittles women.

In his 2003, Jay-Z sampled N.W.A.’s “A Bitch Iz A Bitch” and listed the differences between a woman and a “bitch” in his track “Bitches and Sisters” off his album The Blueprint 2.1.

During the beginning of the song, Jay-Z labels woman “bitches” that act like they’re high class and fake a hard demeanor. He also labels woman “bitches” that have sex with men solely on the fact they’re famous. 

Regardless if women had sex prior to their partner’s fame; Jay-Z states there’s a possibility she can still be a bitch.

Jay-Z further justifies his use of “bitch” saying that a woman’s sexual encounter with someone famous, besides rappers, is a failed attempt to higher her status as a woman.

“You ain’t no better cause you don’t be fucking rappers/you only fuck with actors, you still getting fucked backwards.”

Jay-Z questions and answers why he, among other rappers, disrespects women by labeling them as “bitches.”

“Say Jay-Z, why you gotta go and disrespect the women for, huh?

Sisters get respect, bitches get what they deserve/sisters work hard, bitches work your nerves/sisters hold you down, bitches hold you up/sisters help you progress, bitches’ll slow you up/sisters cook up a meal play they role with the kidz/bitches in the street with they nose in ya biz/sisters tell the truth, Bitches tell lies/sisters drive cars, bitches wanna ride/sisters give up the ass, bitches give up the ass/sisters do it slow, bitches do it fast/sisters do they dirt outside of where they live/ bitches have niggas all up in your crib/sisters tell you quick "you better check your homie"/bitches don't give a fuck, they wanna check for your homie/sisters love Jay cuz they know how 'Hov is/I love my sisters, I don't love no bitch.”

These lyrics paint an evil image perceiving women as manipulative, money hungry and sexually driven savages that will only bring men down.

Rappers point out extreme faults in women using it as a scapegoat to justifiably use “bitch.” To justify the rappers’ use of the word further, femcees countered these rappers using “bitch” to describe males.

Women who attempt to positively spin “bitch” by using it nonchalantly between themselves is counter-productive in taking away its negative definition.

Normally reverse-psychology has its benefits, but not in the case of femcees using “bitch”, a word that has continually oppressed their gender’s image in hip-hop. Femcees’ use of “bitch,” regardless of its contextual meaning, continued to reinforce the same misogynist ideals that kept women’s voice out of hip-hop. 

Ice Cube and Yo-Yo Debate Old vs. New Image of Women

As most male rappers demoralized women, few neither recognized nor respected the new age femcees in their fight for equality in the hip-hop culture.

Ice Cube, former member of N.W.A., rapped lyrics that denied women as equals to men.

In N.W.A.’s track “A Bitch Iz A Bitch,” Ice Cube admits the word ‘bitch’ doesn’t apply to all women. Yet, he puts women beneath men with such lyrics as: “But all women have a little bitch in ‘em… It makes a girl think she’s better than me.”

One femcee that changed Ice Cube’s perception of female rappers was Yo-Yo. Yo-Yo’s approach towards rapping was natural considering she’d been doing it since she was 12 years-old.

But, Yo-Yo admitted to having to be strong in order to survive in the world of hip-hop.

“Even if I wanted to be nice and smiling and soft I couldn't do that and be a rapper," Yo-Yo said in an article written in The Los Angeles Times.

Yo-Yo went further confirming insecurity existed between male and female rappers when she stated, "I'd seem weak, and you can't look weak and survive--not in rap. It's a jungle--full of males. If you come across as weak, you get cut to ribbons."

Ice Cube noticed Yo-Yo’s hard-edged masculine persona in her delivery and decided to have her on his track entitled “It’s A Man’s World.”

The title speaks for itself. The disputed lyrics exchanged between Ice Cube and Yo-Yo argues two ways in which women should be perceived.

Ice Cube argued for the objectified view of women stating, “Women they're good for nothing no maybe one thing/to serve needs to my ding-a-ling.”

In response to Ice Cube, Yo-Yo denied all stereotypes and suggested a new image stating, “No, Yo-Yo's not a hoe or a whore/and if that's what you're here for/exit through the door.”

At the end of the song, Ice Cube asks Yo-Yo’s intentions for becoming a rapper, in which she responds, “to prove a black woman like me can bring the funk through.”

Ice Cube and Yo-Yo’s lyrical exchange covered both the male and female perception of how women are viewed and treated in hip-hop.

The attitude in both Ice Cube and Yo-Yo’s delivery changes throughout the song. In the beginning, both rappers go shot for shot, bobbing and weaving insults and retaliating with punch lines.

What started as a rap battle of the sexes ended up becoming more humorous than literal when Ice Cube states, “This is a man’s world thank you very much,” in which Yo-Yo responds, “But it wouldn’t be a damn thing without a woman’s touch.”

With Time Comes Change: From Better to Worse

As some femcees sparked feminist movements with their music in the world of hip-hop, others exploited their body to receive acceptance from male rappers and monetary gain in record sales.

A femcee who shared similar views with Queen Latifah was Brooklyn native, MC Lyte. The two femcees, along with Roxanne Shante, created a female rap group named “2 Live Crew.”

MC Lyte spoke of how drugs lead down a path of destruction and should be avoided at all costs.

In her song entitled “Cappucino,” MC Lyte details the lethal consequences of being associated with drugs and alcohol.

“In the wrong place, at the wrong time/it was a drug sale, I could feel from behind/death, it was gettin’ closer… But was it really time for me to go?”

MC Lyte spread her message further by attending schools speaking to students and fans about drug awareness. Although MC Lyte’s efforts were commendable, she had doubt that the message wouldn't catch.

“Sometimes I get discouraged when I do songs like [Cappucino] and they don't get as popular as others,” said MC Lyte.

MC Lyte’s rebellious music against hip-hop’s objectified view of women would soon influence a femcee, Lil’ Kim, whose raunchy lyrics and sexually provocative attire further damaged the identity of women in hip-hop.

Lil’ Kim fit the stereotype of what rappers desired in a woman. Her music was based on sex, materialistic possessions, and embracing insults.

Not saying she enjoyed being insulted, but had little concern with the value of words, specifically “bitch.” 

Lil’ Kim turned its meaning into something a woman would pride herself on being called rather than being offended.

She named herself and the title of a song “Queen Bitch,” taking on a masculine persona to avoid any signs of weakness. Instead of preaching against objectifying woman; Lil’ Kim encouraged it.

Lil’ Kim uses the word ‘bitch’ both positively and negatively in “Queen Bitch.” When referring to herself as 

“Queen bitch/supreme bitch… I’m rich/Ima stay that bitch,” she not only labels herself a ‘bitch,’ but infers the word carries dignity.

Lil’ Kim’s songs were imbedded with mixed messages. In her song with Christina Aguilera entitled “Can’t Hold Us Down,” Lil’ Kim explains the inequality of only women being judged for their sexual activities when men get praised for it.

“If the guy have three girls then he's the man/he can either give us some head, sex her off/if the girl do the same, then she's a whore.”

Lil’ Kim then counters her previous statement saying “the table’s about to turn,” referencing the acceptance of hyper-sexual women.

Lil’ Kim’s emphasis on materialism, sex, and her image changed the way female rappers were perceived in hip-hop, as well as the consumer.

Queen Latifah Says “No” To Being A “Hoe”

Hip-hop is criticized for its vulgar music that highlights misogynist ideas that are instilled in the listener’s mind. 

Little is highlighted of the few women in the hip-hop community who refused to be objectified or referred to as a “hoe” or a “bitch.”

One female emcee (femcee) who refused to be victimized by hip-hop’s misrepresentation of women was 

Queen Latifah. Instead of selling herself for popularity, she, unlike most male and female rappers, used hip-hop as her voice tell women how to rise above the discrimination. 

In her 1993 track “U.N.I.T.Y.” off her album Black Reign, Queen Latifah explains how sexual harassment, male insecurity, and the misrepresentation of hip-hop’s message destroying the image of women.

The title “U.N.I.T.Y.” screams ‘women’s equality’ backed by Queen Latifah’s groundbreaking lyricism made listeners aware not only of the misogyny in hip-hop, but everywhere.

Queen Latifah tells a story of being sexually harassed while walking down her street. She begins by describing wearing cutoff shorts because of the weather being “crazy hot.”

Mentioning the alibi for her choice of clothing is important and highly overlooked. Queen Latifah made sure to do so to avoid the misogynists, playing devil’s advocate, who would blame the women’s skimpy clothing on the way men perceive women.

After being sexually harassed, Queen Latifah punched the harasser “dead in the eye” for verbally and physically violating her. She created an image of hope for women refusing to be degraded and objectified.

Queen Latifah also encouraged physically victimized women to not be afraid to tell the police, regardless of his reason for being abusive.

“Bad days at work, give you an attitude then you were rough/and take it out on me, but that's about enough/you put your hands on me again, I'll put your ass in handcuffs.”

Although Queen Latifah is angered when she hears men call women “bitches,” she admits there are exceptions to this rule implying some women are deserving of the title.

She also points out a reason why the defamation and physical abuse of women has been ongoing.

“I was scared to let you go, even though you treated me bad.”

This song was a direct message to the victimized women of hip-hop to stand up for themselves and for women to stop encouraging in it.

 Queen Latifah also criticizes listeners for attempting to change themselves in order to fit the image of what she calls a “gangster bitch.”

“I peeped you out the window jumping girls after school/But where did all of this come from?
A minute ago, you was a nerd and nobody ever heard of ya.”

A problem with the majority of music, but specifically in rap, is the listener’s intention to reenact what they hear. 

Queen Latifah warns that this attempt at adapting to a different lifestyle can be life threatening.

 “There's plenty of people out there with triggers ready to pull it/why you trying to jump in front of the bullet, young lady?”

Although Queen Latifah’s lyrics hold a powerful message, it was non-profitable or appealing in the hip-hop industry. Her call for gender equality in hip-hop was quickly smothered by upcoming female rappers whose content lacked substance.

Queen Latifah’s attempt at unity was overwhelmed and outsold by upcoming female rappers’ promiscuous appearances and sexually provocative music.

Hip-Hop Masculinity

Rap music is based off one man telling the everyday struggle(s), including love life, from the ghetto.

Whether you’re a fan or not, hip-hop has had an impact on the way society views things from fashion trends to popular music. 

Sadly, some rappers have used this popularity for the worse by objectifying women and demeaning them in their lyrics and music videos.

The cease-fire of misogynistic songs in the world of hip hop, or other genres, is highly unlikely to happen. This is a huge problem considering a form of music that degrades women is socially acceptable and has precedent to continue doing so.

This sexist industry has made it hard for women to appear playing a predominant role in hip-hop. Women were put in rapper’s music videos due to their physical appearance and ability to gyrate in front of the camera.

The women in these videos are known as “video vixens” and are perceived as nothing more than sex objects. With focus only on their physical attributes, their intelligence and personality are lost in translation.

No women were forced to gyrate in skimpy clothes for a music video. Yet, these women willingly stood in front of the camera and made it seem okay that these vulgar lyrics, directly aimed at them, caused no harm.

Women are forced with a catch-22. 

A woman in hip-hop can be respected if she fits and acts the rapper’s disrespectful description of a woman as a “hoe” or “bitch.”

Now, it has become custom for a male rapper to speak about women in a degrading manner to establish his masculinity. Not only is it custom for the rapper to establish his masculinity, but to establish an idea in all the millions of young boys and girls who listen.

All blame can’t solely be put on males. Female rappers subject themselves to be objectified through their promiscuous lyrics.

Newly appointed judge for “American Idol,” Nicki Minaj, whose fan base surpasses millions of youth, sells her image through sexual lyrics.

“Top, top/ give ‘em good top/ hit ‘em below the belt/ want to give him good top.”

*‘Top’ being slang for felatio.

These listeners will regurgitate what they hear on the radio, act it out, and juxtapose themselves with their favorite male or female rapper.

Not only does this keep the objectification of women alive, it fuels a bigger problem: teen violence.

In a 1991 Sex Roles: A Journal of Research article approximately 25% of high school females in Libby Bergman’s sample reported either sexual and/or physical abuse in their relationships.

Could this portrayal of women and the way they act be true or is this a hip-hop marketing plan used to demean, objectify, and sexualize women for profit?

What is the solution if women won’t defend themselves and put their clothes back on as male rappers continue to boost their masculinity by belittling them?

The solution is education. 

Educate the youth so they understand what they’re listening to instead of trying to cover it up like a political scandal.

Works Cited:

Adams, Mike S.; Ashburn. Leslie, Johnson, James D.; Reed, William."Differential gender effects of exposure to rap music on African American adolescents' acceptance of teen dating violence.." (1. Oct. 1995): http://business.highbeam.com/435388/article-1G1-17895695/differential-gender-effects-exposure-rap-music-african.

How It All Started

Hip-Hop’s origin is shadowed and often confused because of the current sexist, violent, and vulgar lyrics that currently pass for mainstream rap music.

Little is brought up on how hip-hop was a developed on self-expression from the ghetto youth emitting their everyday struggles into music, dance, and art.

Three overlooked interconnected events that each influenced the evolution of Hip-Hop were turntables, break dancing, and graffiti.

Hip-Hop’s early development is deeply rooted in Jamaican culture. Immigrants and slaves that were singers and poets, known as griots, brought their style of chanting over rhythmic beats that would eventually transform into modern day Hip-Hop. (Rhodes, The Evolution of Rap Music in the United States)

 African American musicians such as DJ Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa were innovators of manipulating turntables to emphasize the “break” in a song. This technique was developed into what we know today as creating “beats.” (Reynolds, Pop View) Performers who danced to these “breaks” coined themselves the name “break dancers” or “b-boys.” 

Bambaataa founded and organized one of the first break dance crews known as The Zulu Kings.

Kool Herc hosted parties in Morris Heights, Bronx, where break dancers would congregate in a circle trying to best the next man’s dance move.

This was the youth’s response to settling arguments between rival groups instead of resorting to violence.

This was also a time were women expressed themselves through music and break dancing as well.

MC Sha-Rock was the first female emcee and the first female break dancer to send hip-hop mainstream.  

Sha-Rock was one of four members of Funky Four Plus One and is the creator of the word “b-girl.”

Early hip-hop opened a creative gateway for ghetto youth to express themselves in non-violent alternatives, but that would soon change with the uprising of “gangster rap.”

Gangster rap promoted the use of drugs, alcohol, violence, domestic abuse, and the objectification of women through rappers’ lyrics. Their lyrics took aim at women labeling them “hoes” and “bitches” belittling them to animals.

This “ugly side” of hip-hop, as I like to think of it, is magnified to be viewed as what hip-hop represents.

The unspoken reality about these vulgar lyrics is that they were verbal manifestations of the hardships rappers and ghetto youth encounter daily.

The west coast rappers that brought this gangster lifestyle into the media spotlight were N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitudes), Snoop Dogg, and DJ Quik.

N.W.A. exploded into the hip hop scene with their hit “Fuck Tha Police” off their album Straight Outta Compton.

“Fuck Tha Police” was a song responding to the L.A.P.D.’s racist acts of brutality three years prior the Rodney King video surfacing.  Regardless of being warned by the FBI, N.W.A. didn’t hold back.

Although the majority of N.W.A.’s lyrics were cut-throat, violent, and vulgar, others spoke of inner-conflicts of being an African American.

"Why not call myself a nigger?/It's better than pulling the trigger and going up the river/And then I get called nigger anyway.... I guess I'll be a nigger for life."

N.W.A. justifies the hardcore material in their lyrics by stating they’ll be judged as reckless and dangerous regardless of their actions, so they pose the question: ‘Why not become reckless and dangerous?’

These lyrics depicting everyday scenarios in the ghetto were never intended to be a message sent to the youth. Rapper and producer of N.W.A., Dr. Dre was quoted saying, "We ain't doing this shit to send out no messages.”

“We in this shit to get paid. If you say some shit that's real and people are getting into it, then you're going to get some flak," Dre continued.

Critics and listeners may refuse to believe that there is a significant message in rap lyrics due to its graphic content, but it roots from the same principle hip-hop was based on; speaking your mind.

Resources:

Light, Allan. Beating Up The Charts.Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beating-up-the-charts-19910808