Since the 1980’s hip-hop has been one of the most popular music genres. In chapter 4 of Feminism and Pop Culture: Seal Study (written by Andi Zeisler) talks about women in the late 1980s and early 90’s broke through in the hip-hop community, but were not commercialized to sell to the young, male, and white audience. This genre is male dominated that brag about the amount of money and women they have. In the hip-hop community women were viewed as objects and some still are today, but female hip-hop artist caused changes. The movement of female hip-hop artist has been through tough times since the late 1980s till now. Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Missy Elliot, and Lauryn Hill were a few of the female hip-hop artist that …show more content…
On the biggest music award ceremony “The Grammy’s” Lauryn Hill made a powerful impact for hip-hop. Her debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill won five Grammy awards. The most important award was Album of the Year because it represented that someone made beautiful art with meaning behind it. This album empowered women not only in hip-hop, but also around the world. The year 1999 constituted a watershed moment in that Joan Morgan has called “hip-hop feminism.” Invigorated by the 1997 Million Women March in Philadelphia that rapper Lauryn Hill referenced a year later in her critically acclaimed and commercially successful studio album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the emergence of a generation of young women calling themselves hip-hop feminists appear to signal something new and exciting in contemporary black feminism (Durham, Cooper, and Morris, 721). This album has inspired many female hip-hop artists today to use their talent and voice to inspire …show more content…
These artists have been inspired by the female hip-hop legends that include Missy Elliot, Queen Latifah, and Lauryn Hill. In an interview at The Breakfast Club at the Power 105 station in New York, artist Tink said, “If there's anybody I would want to be compared to, it would be Lauryn Hill," she said. "I think it comes up a lot of times because I sing and I rap and I have a message within my music and I'm not here to be a gimmick.” These messages consist of empowering and inspiring not only black women, but women in general. All of these new artists want to inform about equality for
2. Rose argues that women “are not major players in the use of sampling technology nor have they made a significant impact in rap production.” List some reasons why Rose makes this claim. Does Rose provide evidence that counters or complicates her argument? In other words, how have women been, despite being clearly marginalized, essential to the development and production of hip-hop.
Queen Latifah is an African American female MC turned TV and movie actress. Her raps and or songs served different social purposes and her focus has remained unbreakable. Latifah’s values could and can be heard in her music. Latifah was skilled at her craft and was able to reach out and connect with her intended audience. It is a known fact that Queen Latifah’s music is deeply connected to the women’s empowerment movement.
In her article “The Venus Hip Hop and the Pink Ghetto: Negotiating Spaces for Women,” Imani Perry argues that the objectification of women in the music industry is normalized in our society. Her purpose is to persuade us that most feminists who fight against the objectification and exploitation of women are ultimately colonized by the sexual fantasies of men. As a law professor at Rutgers Law School, Perry structures her text in a very effective manner. Using a general-to-specific organization scheme, she begins by outlining the recurring image of sexualized women in music videos, then presenting various cases of prominent feminist figures in the music industry.
Lyricist, actress, music executive, DJ, voice over talent, host, public speaker, and female activist, MC Lyte is still making people groove around the world. MC Lyte first came in the Hip Hop game in 1988 with her first album Lyte As A Rock. Since becoming the first female solo rapper act to drop a full studio album, MC Lyte showed the world that she can compete with the guys. Rapper MC Lyte paved the way for herself and future female MCs to come into their own in the male-dominated world of MCs and hip hop. MC Lyte is one of the first rap pioneers to ever perform at Carnegie Hall. She was also the first female rapper to ever earn a gold single. Her inspiring 1993 anthem, the classic “Ruffneck” was nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Rap Single”
Ever wondered where and how cross cultural music happened? A charismatic woman that goes by the name Debbie Harry changes the music world completely. In the 1980s she released a song with her band Blondie, ‘Rapture’ that incorporated rap in her punk rock song. As a blonde white woman she grabbed global attention and influenced many others with her talent and confidence. Theres no other way to put this but Debbie Harry indeed changed the way black and whites lived throughout the music culture and how women will not be the victims of men who think they are nothing better than “housewives”.
In this article, the speaker must be an expert in politics, ethnicity and the music industry. There is a linkage between the above fields hence the speaker must have had a superlative background on these issues. The audience targeted by this literature were seemingly music enthusiasts to be educated on understanding what Hip-Hop entails and hoped to achieve this as it was established. The subject was Hip-Hop as a music genre that was largely developed by African American men to express their plight on injustice and oppression. The principal issue was how Hip-Hop has been used as a form of resistance and need for deliverance of the African Americans.
This denotation to the silent cries supports for an emotional appeal to an example of the silent cries in African American women. As stated in the title, Powell is aware that black women are merely being betrayed in the hip-hop industry and simply states that the choice of words that hip-hop artist chose to rap about is simply “the ghetto blues, urban folk art, a cry out for help.” (298) and it is rubbing off on almost every man in our American society and giving them a different perspective of women all because women refuse to speak out and speak up. “As a result, female rappers are often just as male-identified, violent, materialistic, and ignorant as their male peers.” (298). Over 100 years ago, women were not even allowed to vote, the closest they got to voting was sitting there and watching. They were not allowed to work, they were forced to be stay at home wives while their
The misogynistic treatment of women in commercialized rap has become a widespread phenomenon which as a result has become commonly accepted by majority of the individuals in society. Rappers, in general, nowadays use women in their videos in a way which is both derogatory and exploiting. Black men in today’s society, especially in the entertainment industry, do not see women as their equals; rather they objectify them as being nothing more than sex objects. People in the Hip Hop industry do not believe that sexism and misogyny is as big of a deal as racism, thus they push this issue to the side by simply ignoring it and learning to accept it. This misogynistic portrayal of women is ruining the image if Hip Hop as both an industry and a form of expressive art. However, instead of taking action against this atrocity, many women simply believe that the images of women and their portrayal in rap videos does not represent nor refer to them as an individual and the type of woman they truly are. By being silent these women are allowing themselves to be victimized by the men of not only the Hip Hop industry but also general society. By not having a say in this matter of the false classification and portrayal of women, they are voluntarily allowing men to do whatever they please to do so, in any given time and with any approach they feel is necessary. They do not
In the essay, “Hip-Hop’s Betrayal Of Black Women”(221), by Jennifer McLune, she vents her feelings regarding hip-hop songs that are rhythmically diminishing the value of black women. She provides example on how the lyrics are being voiced and how hip-hop artists do not seem to care. Kevin Powell in “Notes of a Hip Hop Head” writes, “Indeed, like rock and roll, hip-hop sometimes makes you think we men don’t like women much at all, except to objectify them as trophy pieces or, as contemporary vernacular mandates, as baby mommas, chicken heads, or bitches” (221). There have been apologizes for what the rappers have said but nothing to resolve the dehumanization of black women. McLune informs the readers that hip-hop singers belittle black women and make them invisible. Jay-Z, a popular hip-hop artist is brought to center stage by McLune. The essay shows the example of a part of Jay-Z song that says, “I pimp hard on a trick, look Fuck if your leg broke bitch hop on your good foot” (222). This lyric is a perfect example of how hip-hop artist have no remorse in the words they sing. The hurt feelings and loss of self-esteem black women suffer, is of no concern to the rappers. McLune expresses that those who are underground hip-hop artist follow the footsteps on being sexist and using crude words in their lyrics just because they yearn and dream of being in the spotlight. Upcoming rappers want to be loved like Jay-Z and other famous notorious rappers.
The misunderstood subculture of music that many have come to know as “hip-hop” is given a critical examination by James McBride in his essay Hip-Hop Planet. McBride provides the reader with direct insight into the influence that hip-hop music has played in his life, as well as the lives of the American society. From the capitalist freedom that hip-hop music embodies to the disjointed families that plague this country, McBride explains that hip-hop music has a place for everyone. The implications that he presents in this essay about hip-hop music suggest that this movement symbolizes and encapsulates the struggle of various individual on
Misogyny is a tried and true American tradition from which hip hop derives its understanding of how men and women should behave. Critics argue that hip hop’s misogyny and promotion of traditional gender roles reflect mainstream American values. Feminists suggest that misogyny in hip hop culture is not a “black male thing”, but has its roots in a larger pattern of hostility toward women in American culture.
1. My redefinition of Hip hop feminism differs from the “normal” definition of feminism, to me hip hop feminism is a way of living and thinking. Hip hop feminism is connected to the Liberation Movement although this movement focused on advancing women rights than civil rights I still believe it played a part with the Hip Hop feminism movement which focused on the rights for young black women in the hip hop industry. I believe this because both movements give women a new definition of what it is like to be a women and both fight for the women cause although they may not hit the exact issues they promote change. Hip hop feminism should fight for the rights of women in hip hop who don’t receive respect due to their sexuality and gender. Women’s perspective in hip hop should be changed and embraced as a powerful persona rather than sexual perspectives. In order to make my definition of hip hop feminism happen in the industry major change must be presented. First, we must create respect towards hip hop women and shut down the suppression of female power. The way in which this would happen is to stop the secularization of women in this industry and not support the hypermasculan culture hip hop is. Although I understand that not all sexualization will be abolished completely from hip hop due to it being part of the culture . However I feel if women were to maybe not givein to the
In Joan Morgan’s article “Fly-Girls, Bitches and Hoes: Notes of a Hip Hop Feminist”, she shows the way rap music has changed through it popularity. The widespread appreciation of rap had negative impacts upon the black community. Morgan talks about this through her Feminist point of view. She focuses the topic on what rap music says about the African American culture in Hip Hop. Rap music and Hip Hop were invented through the pain of African Americans. Hip Hop and the Rap industry use sexism and machoism to express the long years of oppressive pain they went through by the hands of the white people. Especially for the black brothers who continue that oppression by using provocative words that degrade the black sisters. Morgan states that blame isn’t only on the brothers
Hip Hop culture has come from a inner city expression of life to a multi-billion dollar business. At the beginning of the new millennium it was the top selling genre in the pop charts. It had influences not only on music, but on fashion, film, television, and print. In 2004 Hip Hop celebrated its 30th year anniversary. It wasn’t big for the fact that it was still kicking. It was big because the once Black/Brown inner city culture had grown into a multi-billion dollar global phenomenon (Reeves). Hip Hop culture has provided a platform for all walks of life to speak their mind. Over the past 36 years it has provided us with both entertainment and controversy alike and had a huge impact on our nation’s history. `
Even though, hip-hop is viewed as primarily of promoting negative message, however, it has reveled the pain behind the lyrics. “Hip hop music, had for over three and half decades, delivered a resounding message of freedom of expression, unity, peace, and protest against social injustices”. (Anderson & Jackson) As hip-hop continues to grow it has continued to remain a strong influential social impact. Hip-hop created a way for many individuals to express themselves on controversial issues seen throughout society.