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Speech Is My Hammer...

Viewing Posts Tagged "Hip Hop" View All

Five Things Women Can Do To Help Change Hip-Hop

July 02, 2007 | Tags: imus, women, Hip-Hop, Stereotypes, Sexism, Misogyny

I suppose the timing of this article isn't the best, considering the height of the Don Imus/Oprah situation was a while ago, but after reading an article from fellow scribe/MySpace fam'ron Adisa Banjoko, I decided to go ahead and post this now. Nearly all context of women in hip-hop is with them as sexual objects, moneymakers or just inferior people in general, and that's a problem. While the owners of major labels don't get nearly as much criticism as they deserve, and I feel like the conditions that cause these viewpoints are more important than the music itself [1], I do believe that male MCs should be held accountable for what they say.

But throughout all of the debates, I believe that the power women can wield goes widely unnoticed. It's really annoyed me that through all of this, women are constantly depicted - both by media outlets, and by themselves - as helpless victims to the overwhelming, misogynistic beast that is hip-hop. Ironically, that's being just as sexist toward women as these much-criticized rappers are. In light of this, I've put together a list of things I feel that women can do to help hip-hop change for the better. Some of these have been touched on before, and some can be applied to both sexes, but take them into consideration.

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1.) Don't objectify yourselves - Even though rappers subjegate women with their lyrics, women are still the ones in the videos shaking their asses. Hypothetically speaking, if women collectively decided to stop wearing and doing certain things in music videos, rappers would virtually be obligated to change their subject matter to fit a new visual. Of course, it's not that easy: people are going to do what they need to for money, and many women use music videos as a launchpad for careers in modeling or acting, but this is still something to think about.

2.) Support artists who don't objectify you - This issue has been touched on in every debate, but I don't think it can be stated enough. For every artist on TV that's objectifying women, there's another artist that's not. Record labels and artists are in the business of making money: if artists who didn't objectify women were supported more than artists who did, labels would put more funding and marketing behind those artists to profit from them. Then, when non-misogynistic artists begin to become more successful, they'll be more plentiful, because there will be more of these artists looking to capitalize off of the trend. Support includes buying their records, going to their concerts, supporting projects they're involved in, etc.

3.) Don't support artists who do objectify you - Oddly enough, this may be more difficult than the last idea. The same artists who are constantly scrutinized for being misogynistic are widely, if not mostly, supported by their female fanbase. Women flock to the shelves when these artists drop new albums, and women are the primary ones who fill the venues when these artists perform in their cities. I'm not saying that all women are going to have similar tastes and opinions, because they don't, but this contradiction isn't a coincidence. I think women need to be honest with themselves regarding the difference between what really offends them and what pressure from other media outlets makes them believe they should be offended by, and support/don't support accordingly.

4.) Major label femcees, lead by example - This is actually happening more now than it has in recent years, but female MCs on major labels can have a large effect on how women are portrayed in hip-hop as well. Female artists with prosperous histories and/or established fanbases can present positive, unorthodox spins on women, and again, other labels will try to follow by signing similar artists. While there are some women who still bank off of their sexuality (Shawnna with "Gettin Some," despite her verses' subject matter straying from the topic of the hook), Eve and Remy Ma are finding different points of focus. Jean Grae is signed to Talib, so that should be a good look for her next LP, too.

5.) Don't define yourselves by denial - This is possibly the most important of these ideas. Throughout all of these issues, women have been so worried about proving what they're not - bitches, hoes, jumpoffs - while more attention could be focused on establishing what they are. One undeniable quality of male rappers is that they don't have any trouble with stabilizing an identity: not only are they defined by what they aren't (soft, self-degrading, broke), but they're also defined by what they are (strong, confident, hustlers). I think that if women - whether they're involved in hip-hop or not - denied negative stereotypes and countered them with a depiction of how they actually see themselves, in addition with the previously-mentioned things, that rappers' naieve perspectives can be changed. Not only will these MCs see that they're wrong; they'll have an idea of what's right.
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These are just my suggestions. But all of these are contingent on action: they're relatively simple in theory, but unless people take the initiative to do these both collectively and on their own, change isn't going to happen. As stated earlier, I'll be the first to admit that rappers need to shape up; but if we want things better, everyone has to do their part.

P.S.: As some of you pointed out in your comments, the point of the last blog was to show that the game is becoming more balanced. As I said in the front-page summary of the article, the "Is the South Dead" title was to bring more of y'all in. Later, I may actually size up each region.
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[1] Yeah, I know the two perpetuate each other, but that's a discussion for another time.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Hip-Hop's The New Pop? Sike!

April 27, 2007 | Tags: imus, oprah, Cam'ron, Jay-Z, 60 minutes, Snitching, Russell Simmons, Hip-Hop

*Also available on http://ketchums.blogspot.com*

Remember a few years ago (or was it that long?), when the latest media frenzy was, "Hip-hop is the new pop?" People were raving about how companies were targeting the "urban" audience with "hip-hop-friendly" campaigns, and about how rappers were getting enlisted to market mainstream products. How rap is a multimillion dollar industry, and about how so many MCs are showing entrepreneurial spirit with their successful business ventures. How hip-hop is expanding to an international market, and about how hip-hop is universal now.

Scratch that.

All of what has been going on lately tells me that this "Hip-hop is the new pop" bullshit was just another ploy to make us think that they[1] really cared about what we had to say. Bigotry and money run America, and the only time that hip-hop runs things is when the powers that be can conveniently tie it into one of the two.

Not to beat a dead horse, but glaring examples of this are the controversies surrounding Michael "Kramer" Richards and Don Imus. Each of them said offensive comments in a public forum, and were rightfully chastised/penalized. Still, in both situations, the real issue - the fact that these people can say such blatantly racist, sexist comments in public, and actually expect to get away with it - is diluted by a random association with hip-hop. When Michael Richards drops the N-bomb, reporters begin to ask rappers what they think about the use of the word. When Imus fronts like he learned "nappy-headed hoes" from rappers, media outlets actually take his word for it; the next thing that we know, there's a nationwide assault on hip-hop, from both the oppressive system and from minorities, questioning the offensive material in lyrics and videos. And Russell Simmons is calling for a ban of rappers' use of the words "nigger," "bitch" and "ho" on the public airwaves, like record labels weren't already issuing radio stations edited CDs that strike "nigger," "bitch" and "ho" from the songs for public radio.

Another example is this media's spotlight on the "Stop Snitching" creedo. CBS' "60 Minutes" was the one to set this whole thing off recently, when questioning Cam'ron, Harlem Children's Zone President/CEO Geoffrey Canada, and police officers about the issue. Let's set aside the fact that the entire 60 Minutes segment was bullshit, with the focus so much on people who were against the "Stop Snitching" code that they didn't even mention why the code is held so closely in the first place until the last four minutes of the segment.[2] Nevermind the fact that Cooper didn't mention any specific victims like Sean Bell, Armadou Diallo, or other recent name-specific instances where police have given black people reason to look at them skeptically. Hell, I'll even disregard the fact that they pinpointed Cam'ron, an artist known for blatantly silly, ignorant comments and lyrics, to represent the hip-hop community as a whole.[3]

Where were these assaults on the character and direction of hip-hop when media outlets were nut-snuggling (word to Phonte) Jay-Z during his comeback campaign? It was only a few months ago, and it could be argued that Jay represents the same aforementioned negative aspects in hip-hop, be it through his own music or through his cosign of artists as Def Jam president. Oh, my bad, Jay sells records - and advertising dollars. Where were these accusations when hip-hop was becoming the new pop? Have rap lyrics and videos really changed that much since those reports were coming out?

It hasn't been a secret that rap sales have plummeted drastically within the past couple of years. So, now that it's not making them as much money anymore, major corporations are tapping into another way: if people are so tired of the direction that rap is going - the same rap that we were milking off of years ago - let's further capitalize off of it by criticizing it ourselves. It's actually an ingenious strategy, and the hustle they've enacted is incredible. But just know that these media outlets aren't leaders, but followers.[4]

Am I saying that hip-hop is perfect? Hell no! Hip-hop's got issues, just like the African American race does. But don't let these mainstream outlets dictate how you view hip-hop. We all wanted hip-hop to get the respect and validation that it deserves, but maybe it's time we took this back for ourselves.
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[1] Who's they? Why The Man, of course!
[2] Sorry, Anderson Cooper. A follow-up interview with Geoffrey Canada where you actually ask him other questions doesn't count; you're a veteran, knock things out the first time.
[3] I mean, I know Busta's not gonna come talk about the shooting of Israel Ramirez, but still.
[4] I'm a journalist - a member of the media - myself, so this is also self-critique, to a degree.
[5]* I really wanted to title this, "Hip-Hop's The New Pop...Not!" after the movie "Borat," but I wasn't sure who'd get it.