Lisa : The Beginning of Sexuality in Hip Hop
In 1996, Lil’ Kim’s Hardcore album changed the game for females in the Hip Hop genre. Until then, a lot of female rappers had a masculine edge… baggy, layered clothing, Timberlands, and gold doorknocker earrings were the rage. Female artists had to perform masculinity for visibility and recognition so as to be taken seriously within the rap game (Pabon-Colon, p. 70). Then along comes Kimberly Denise Jones a.k.a. Lil’ Kim, creating a whole new space for female rappers in search of mass appeal. In the 90s, Kim made her way into the public eye by delivering memorable, on-the-spot freestyle for the Notorious B.I.G and their crew, Junior Mafia.
In November of ‘96, she went solo and dropped the appropriately named album, Hardcore, which contained countless sexual references within the lyrics and snazzy, explicit wordplay. The album received a ton of heat from critics at the time, but none could deny that Lil’ Kim broke down hip-hop barriers by spicing things up by being unapologetically crass. By laying down lyrics like“Now watch mama, go up and down dick to jaw crazy. Uh! Say my name baby (okay) Before you nut, I’ma dribble down your butt cheeks.” from the album’s first single, No Time, Lil Kim single-handedly raised the bar for raunchy lyrics in Hip Hop.
By her choice of words, overtly sexy outfits and hairstyles, she established feminist-like values within Hip Hop by empowering women to keep it real, even if it meant getting a little nasty. She laid down the foundation for lasciviousness in Hip Hop, paving the way for well-known artists like Cardi B and Nicki Minaj to take the legacy and run with it.
Teresa: HipHop and Women of Color
HipHop Culture can be this huge catalyst for women of color to define their position or commitment towards becoming acknowledged and respected Consider the late 90’s the reign of Queen Latifah, Lauren Hill Eve, Rah Digga, and McLyte. In 1994 you could hear and feel the lyrics of Medusa, whose poetic, strong freestyle skills were a testament to her knowledge. Referred to as the Angela Davis of hiphop, queen and high priestess of the underground Medusa, would rap from a place of empowerment and strength addressing issues of racism, sexism, affirmative action, educating oneself, and deinstitutionalized social class structures. These were some prevailing issues of that time. And when females got on the mic you would automatically know if they were coming from a place of knowing or pretending to know. McLyte as a teen back in the late 80’s, was dropping lines like “hot-damn ho here we go again, suckas steal a beat, when they know they can’t win.” drew in fans by the thousand. It was an era of Blacks trying to escape poverty, police brutality, broken homes, the assault and annihilation of black men, and rhetorical social change. It seemed that everyone was taking a militant stand and female rappers embraced the ideology of making women aware of their power and voice. And since I loved music, and hiphop, these were my feminists role models. I would listen to rap all day then hit the clubs on the weekends, In my mind I would hear Queen Latifah Ladies First,
“The ladies will kick it the rhyme that is wicked
Those that don’t know how to be pros get evicted
A woman can bear you break you take you
Now it’s time to rhyme can you relate to
A sister dope enough to make you holler and scream”
and Lauren Hill and I would be saying to myself, “these niggas aint getting shit from me.”
But intentionality is the performers personal stake and what they are putting out when the performer raps. Hiphop is a performative venue for entertaining. Be aware that repetition of any behavior or words, whether it generates positive social responsibility or not, elicits reality. When we listen to Ludacris he raps,
“Shake, shake, shake your money maker
Like you were shakin’ it for some paper
Took your mama nine months to make ya
Might as well shake what ya mama gave ya
You… you lookin’ good in them jeans
I bet you look even better with me in between
I keep my mind on my money, money on my mind
But you’s a hell of a distraction when you shake your behind.”
Whatevers sells . But does this mean we can’t be critical of the presentation of how we relate to our bodies, when we twerk, or Rap about our sexuality? No according to Mark Anthony Neale, from the readings Hip Hop Feminists Pedagogy,
“Hip Hop has created a space-for bad or worse-where Black women can actually see that they are desired for what they look like in a society that has always tossed Black women aside for this ideal of white beauty. For many young Black girls, this is the space where r can be desired, where the gaze is on me, and r can feel pretty and beautiful. How many other spaces are there in society for Black women [and girls] to have that desire directed toward them?”
Hiphop is also responsible for how Women of Color are valued as performers.
Body objectification also plays a role in whether a Hip Hop artists can generate
revenue and sway listeners. In the interview, I want you to feel that empowerment: how Cardi B went from stripper to star, Cardi B says, “Would people feel some type of way
if I was a cashier-turned-rapper?” she asks today, weary of how the ex-stripper tag is disproportionately used to define her. “People want me to be so full of shame that I used to dance. I would never be ashamed of it. I made a lot of money, I had a good time and it showed me a lot – it made me open my eyes about how people are, how men are, about hunger and passion and ambition.” Macpherson writes, “Those who look down on her have been the butt of the joke all along, and Cardi B’s humour, which ranges from savage eviscerations to impish smirks, has seen the puckish Trinidadian-Dominican Bronx native run rings around her opponents while gathering legions of fans in her wake.”
However, what part is for sales and what is real, and does that really matter? I am watching Rhythm and Flow on Netflix, a show about upcoming new artists trying to get a contract under TI. Cardi B is on many episodes, she is well-posed authentic and brings a feminine side to the judge panel. Hiphop for women of color has seen many artists come and go, and yes at times artists have a message of pro-women, equality, no gender biases and love. Sometimes no blatant message is still a message of hope for the younger generation to elevate hiphop to its greatest form. In a 2016 interview printed in HipHop DX Medusa states, “It’s about changing the structure of Hip Hop to where everything is allowed to have light. Everything deserves light in Hip Hop. They’ve been leading us to one facet of who we are when we’re so much more. Music is so much more.” (West Coast Hip Hop’s Underground Queen Medusa Still Reigns)
Katherine: Performance of Self
When I heard about Cardi’s comment, I was like “alright sis you need to chill.” However, when I actually saw the video, I had a feeling she was not trying to claim that women were able to be rappers because of her. She did acknowledge the women who came before her. However, because this is mainstream media, things are exaggerated. Cardi is someone who is extremely unapologetic about who she is and that is portrayed in her music and the way she presents herself. This is similar to the message that SOLHOT endorses, “…community so that Black women and girls do not have to apologize and feel bad for being who they are” (Brown, 133-134). Due to her bold and ambitious nature, Cardi’s image and presence in the hip hop world has motivated more females to put themselves out there in the industry. As presented in our powerpoint, this is seen in the Rhythm + Flow show in which Cardi is a judge. Many contestants say that they admire her and have learned from her story. She has literally come from nothing and seeing how far she has made it motivates upcoming female rappers. Cardi has no shame in showing her body off in her videos which is another reason that people look up to her. She uses hip hop to comment on society’s views on the objectification of women’s bodies. As mentioned by Morgan, hip hop creates a space in which women address issues like racism and sexism. Despite the criticism she receives, she continues to be authentic to who she is. As said in The Crunk Feminist Collective, “hip Hop generation feminism does not justify bad behavior. It works from the proposition that Black women and girls get to be authors of their own lives, be they good, bad, or ugly. And hip hop feminism respects that authority, and the importance of being able to articulate, and live one’s life on one’s own terms” (Cooper, Morris, Boylorn, 171).
Cardi-B
Michelle: The Future of Hip Hop
What makes an artist unique enough to be a star? We have seen the importance in performing identity in the hip hop industry. For straight men, this individuality has been imperative in their survival in the music industry, considering that they take up the majority of who exists within the hip hop industry. Rebellion to the normative and individuality is essential to set them apart. Women, queer people, and any other groups that exist outside of this box have had harder times entering the hip hop industry – it was not built for the to exist within it. Due to this reason, any artist that manages to break through these barriers has had to follow a particular identity in order to exist in the industry, rather than build their own. For decades, the performance of masculinity has been essential to the survival of female rap artists (Pabon-Colon, 70). Artists like Queen Latifah, Missy Elliot, and Young M.A. all fit into this image. Although talented artists outside of their gender performance, masculine emulation has played a large role in their success and has earned them their respect in hip hop.
Recently, with the fame of artists like Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, we have seen a change in these standards. They embrace their femininity much more – opening new doors for female artists to come in and be unapologetically themselves. Cardi B, who is now a judge on the new Netflix series, Rhythm + Flow, which puts their top 30 competitors against each other to compete for a $250,000 prize, emphasizes over and over again about the importance of performance. She is raw, and she is real. Of the 30 competitors, 12 of the competitors were women, and 1 was an openly gay man who goes by the name of Cakes Da Killa. First, before anything, when has hip hop EVER seen an openly gay man? We’ve seen artists come out as bisexual, often LONG after they have already reached fame. Even then, we often also see a backlash after the coming out. To see an openly gay man who has yet to reach fame be given an opportunity like competing in Rhythm + Flow is unheard of – but it shows hope for the future of hip hop. He stated at his audition that he wanted to break “the weird misconception that a lesbian can be a rapper, but a gay guy can’t.”
Cakes Da Killa
Of the 12 female artists, we saw many different types of gender performances. Some were more masculine than others. Ultimately, it all came down to individuality and performance. For the first time, it seemed like female rap artists were being treated the same way men are. They weren’t looking for a particular image anymore. It was up to the individual performer to stand out amongst the others, however that may be. A show like Rhythm + Flow shows hope for the future of hip hop, as it provides opportunity for exposure to artists that otherwise would be left undiscovered.
Emily: Sexuality Conveyed in Hip Hop Beyond America
When looking at hip hop in Asia, hip hop is absorbed and recognized mostly as popular youth culture and loses it’s historical, social, and cultural significance from its origins. However, it does gain new found social and cultural relevancy and is still a valid platform for self expression. With different social and cultural influences, we are able to see the varying perspectives and opinions on sexuality conveyed through hip hop.
Within the past decade, there’s been a noticeable rise in feminist movements in Korea and an almost equally supported resistance to these movements. Predominant male figures in the hip hop scene, such as San-E (well known, controversial rapper and judge on women’s competition series Unpretty Rap Star) makes it well known in his lyrics and interviews that he believes women currently do not experience oppression or discrimination, and that women’s expression of sexuality is should be supported so long as it is appealing to the male audience. This is not only reinforced by figures like San-E, but by most of the music industry within Korea. K-pop idol culture has a strong influence on the beauty standards and expectations of women in Korea through extreme dieting to reach and maintain specific measurements and through intense skin care and makeup regimens. This is also inescapable for female rappers, as those who conform more to a feminine and sexy appeal with a softer approach in their work are rewarded with remaining in the top hits longer and sell more albums.
San-E
In Japan, female rappers are often undervalued in the hip hop scene if they do not perform with the same masculine energy as male performers in the hip hop scene. This is very discouraging to female performers like Elle Teresa, who expresses in an interview that they want to be able to integrate their more feminine qualities into their work and still be taken seriously in their rap career. It is not fair for male rappers to not have to face the same restrictions in performance that female rappers do. A large influence to these unspoken restrictions in the hip hop scene is how common Japanese women are fetishized. However, some female rappers like Awich resists the norms in her performances, using hip hop as a platform to rap about her experiences with being a single mother and raps about politics. While she does fear the risk that her work will also be fetishized, her insistence in wanting to share her vulnerability and sharing her experiences that other women can relate to is encouraging a space for women to hopefully have a space of unfiltered honesty, self expression, and unrestricted bodily autonomy.
