Szalay_AB Midterm
Rose Szalay – Gender and Sexuality In Hip Hop Midterm
Banks, Alec. “#HSTBT| The Brutal Incident Betwen Dr. Dre and Dee Barnes.” Highsnobiety.com, 6 August 2015, https://www.highsnobiety.com/2015/08/06/dr-dre-dee-barnes/ . Accessed 9 March 2018.
Banks starts the article with a recap of Dr. Dre’s progressively successful music career, followed by the controversy within N.W.A. and between Dr. Dre and Denise “Dee” Barnes from Pump It Up! He found information, including The Source from 1992, stating Barnes’ side of the controversy, that Ice Cube had come to her personally regarding the drama within N.W.A. The rap group took this as a betrayal on Ice Cube’s part, but Dr. Dre took the effort to seek out Barnes at a pool party in January 1991, in order to confront her. Although no specific details were published, we know from a Los Angeles Times report that Barnes filed a $22 million suit against Dr. Dre for assault and emotional distress. Banks continues with the N.W.A.’s first response to these allegations with denial or, more vaguely, “she deserved it.” However, Banks noted that Easy-E along with Ren C and Eminem used the “alleged” assault as lyrics for some rap lines, thereby proving, once again, violence (especially violence against women) can and will be profited on with no real consequence.
Blay, Zeba. “What We Forget When We Talk About Hip-Hop’s Women Problem.” Huffingtonpost.com, 8 August 2015, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hip-hop-misogyny-double-standard_us_55cdf7b9e4b07addcb42a7b8 . Accessed 9 March 2018.
While Zeba focuses her article around the biopic “Straight Outta Compton” and the misogynistic tendencies of the N.W.A. group, she also calls out Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Drake, 2 Chainz, as well as other genres of music (indie, rock, country) that perpetuate and normalize misogyny. She concludes, however, that hip hop has always been the scapegoat for pointing out misogyny in music, and that we must consider such allegations with intersectionality in mind. By regarding the blatant sexism and colorism within hip hop, while simultaneously ignoring the blatant sexism found in other (usually white-dominated) music genres, does a disservice to all women, and to the conversation regarding misogyny.
Cadet, Danielle. “The ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Casting Call Is So Offensive It Will Make Your Jaw Drop.” Huffingtonpost.com, 17 July 2014, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/17/straight-out-of-compton-casting-call_n_5597010 . Accessed 9 March 2018.
Cadet pulls information from the Sande Alessi Company’s guidelines for the casting call of “Straight Outta Compton” extras, examining the specific identifications these women had to acquire or already have. While the article is short and goes right to the point, it is important to have this casting list on hand, as we analyze how mainstream hip hop idealizes specific (and often, fantastical) notions of beauty.
Yes, Huffington Post is not the most reliable and unbiased source out there; nonetheless, each of these articles argue the point that, yes, hip hop can be misogynistic, but there are certain (and more effective) ways we need to address those issues, specific to intersections of race, gender, ethnicity, among others. I will use these three articles, along with further research into scholarly articles, in order to provide proof that there are women calling these rappers out for their lyrics, and that the fight is far from over. I would like to research specifically N.W.A., as the group has a long, complicated history that adds to the notion that hip hop is misogynistic. I also want to find evidence that reiterates that hip hop was not the start of perpetuating sexism, that other music genres have participated in misogyny as well. Using this information, I will add to “misogyny in rap music” Wikipedia entry, as there are multiple issues regarding relevant sources.