Because it takes a village!
"Where the Ladies at?" A Woman's View on the Current State of Women in Hip Hop
Growing up, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Lauryn Hill, Lil' Kim, Missy Elliot and Erykah Badu, to name a few, were iconic women in mainstream hip-hop. Each lady had her own style, her own flair, and her own message to share to the world. With dope beats & ill rhymes, they contributed their unique views of life told from the female eye. They shared stories of their role/s in hip hop, of mother & sisterhood, of hope & the intricacies of love, of the art of the hustle, of society's ills and inequalities, of politics & politriks, and of cautionary tales showcasing skills needed to survive. Collectively, they represented diversity in the female experience. They were activists, vixens, mothers, wives, and hustlers. They were freedom fighters who defied to define and shape reality through art.
It's been at least over a decade (for some even more) since these ladies first hit the scene, gained their fame, and moved on to other things in life creating a gap to be filled for new female voices in mainstream hip hop. While hip hop music, rooted in the idea of promoting self-expression for the disenfranchised, continued to spread all over the world being influenced by a wide range of musical styles, the genre, lyrically, has remained male dominated and what seemed to be a burgeoning industry for women to speak their truths has faded with time.
So, where the ladies at? Are there truly no females picking up the mic and spitting fire? Does the genre still provide a space for women to create and be great? These question got me curious about the current state of women in hip hop today so, I did some research. I looked on top online hip hop charts, spoke to industry professionals, and perused music pages, blogs and social networking sites to find out what's the latest (and greatest) in the female MC category.
In the mainstream scene, I experienced nothing short of disappointment. Not only was it difficult to find female MCs, but those who were successful to hit mass consumption like Nicki Minaj sounded like extensions of the male id who's messages primarily promoted money, materialism and misogyny. What was also abundant was the presence and objectification of the female body in the lyrical content and music videos of the industry's top male rappers. Labeled "walking bling", it's evident that the role of women in mainstream hip hop was being shaped for young ladies to be seen and not heard. There seems to be no sacred space for the sensitivities and sensibilities of women in the today's hyper-masculine hip hop.
As a woman, a fan of hip hop, and practitioner of self-expression, sitting quietly in the corner is not my style. The pervasiveness of the degradation of my sistren, coming from a form of art that has proven to be so empowering and healing to so many people cannot simply be overlooked and made acceptable. There was once a time when the voices of women in hip hop were celebrated and embraced. What happened to the hip hop that made me feel powerful and honored to be a woman? I'm not here to diss Nicki Minaj or any woman who decides to use her sexuality to make it in the music industry. But rather pose critical thought on what kinds of conditions creates and sustains a singular representation of women in mainstream hip hop, its effect on the psyche of those who consume this image and message, and what needs to change for there to be a demand for the stories depicting the multi-faceted nature and experiences of women.
On the flipside, I was inspired and impressed to find that the local and underground scenes did feature amazing female MC's, lyricists and rappers such as M.I.A., Jean Grae and Hopie Spitshard. These ladies rap about a myriad of topics with depth and breadth using stylistic precision, intelligent and witty rhymes, and their feminity without the use of sexploitation to get attention and further advancement. The failures of the mainstream to promote and spread a complex, yet positive consciousness of women in the game is a void that needs to be filled. I encourage all female artists, in all art forms and not just hip hop, to become the vanguards of a lost culture. Our spirits demands it; our future daughters depend on it.
Click here to watch an interview about how women are portrayed in hip hop videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2q5zlgkKas
It's been at least over a decade (for some even more) since these ladies first hit the scene, gained their fame, and moved on to other things in life creating a gap to be filled for new female voices in mainstream hip hop. While hip hop music, rooted in the idea of promoting self-expression for the disenfranchised, continued to spread all over the world being influenced by a wide range of musical styles, the genre, lyrically, has remained male dominated and what seemed to be a burgeoning industry for women to speak their truths has faded with time.
So, where the ladies at? Are there truly no females picking up the mic and spitting fire? Does the genre still provide a space for women to create and be great? These question got me curious about the current state of women in hip hop today so, I did some research. I looked on top online hip hop charts, spoke to industry professionals, and perused music pages, blogs and social networking sites to find out what's the latest (and greatest) in the female MC category.
In the mainstream scene, I experienced nothing short of disappointment. Not only was it difficult to find female MCs, but those who were successful to hit mass consumption like Nicki Minaj sounded like extensions of the male id who's messages primarily promoted money, materialism and misogyny. What was also abundant was the presence and objectification of the female body in the lyrical content and music videos of the industry's top male rappers. Labeled "walking bling", it's evident that the role of women in mainstream hip hop was being shaped for young ladies to be seen and not heard. There seems to be no sacred space for the sensitivities and sensibilities of women in the today's hyper-masculine hip hop.
As a woman, a fan of hip hop, and practitioner of self-expression, sitting quietly in the corner is not my style. The pervasiveness of the degradation of my sistren, coming from a form of art that has proven to be so empowering and healing to so many people cannot simply be overlooked and made acceptable. There was once a time when the voices of women in hip hop were celebrated and embraced. What happened to the hip hop that made me feel powerful and honored to be a woman? I'm not here to diss Nicki Minaj or any woman who decides to use her sexuality to make it in the music industry. But rather pose critical thought on what kinds of conditions creates and sustains a singular representation of women in mainstream hip hop, its effect on the psyche of those who consume this image and message, and what needs to change for there to be a demand for the stories depicting the multi-faceted nature and experiences of women.
On the flipside, I was inspired and impressed to find that the local and underground scenes did feature amazing female MC's, lyricists and rappers such as M.I.A., Jean Grae and Hopie Spitshard. These ladies rap about a myriad of topics with depth and breadth using stylistic precision, intelligent and witty rhymes, and their feminity without the use of sexploitation to get attention and further advancement. The failures of the mainstream to promote and spread a complex, yet positive consciousness of women in the game is a void that needs to be filled. I encourage all female artists, in all art forms and not just hip hop, to become the vanguards of a lost culture. Our spirits demands it; our future daughters depend on it.
Click here to watch an interview about how women are portrayed in hip hop videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2q5zlgkKas
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Comment
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Comment by Tomas Alvarez, MSW on April 28, 2010 at 6:04pm -
"Labeled "walking bling", it's evident that the role of women in mainstream hip hop was being shaped for young ladies to be seen and not heard."
...Wow, this was one of your many dope lines. I really appreciated your critique and this it's something all fans and participants of Hip Hop need to consider. I once had a freestyle cipher with some youth (I won't disclose the location or the year it happen to protect the identities of the youth involved). This cipher was filled with mostly young men, but this particular day we had a young female randomly join the circle.
At first she was reluctant to jump in and stated she felt like they had nothing to share or say. As with every cipher I have with youth, I always encourage youth to share something, even if it is only one single line. The topic of the cipher was "swag" (an urban expression defying one's personal style and confidence).
In the cipher different youth rapped about what they were most proud of. Many of the young men in this cipher talked repeated about their lyrical skill and abilities. Yet, when it came time for this young women to join in, the only line she was able to offer at that time described how she could pop her booty like no other. After saying her line she received a huge applause from the young men in the cipher. She smiled from the "positive" attention from her male peers. Immediately, I saw an opportunity for a teachable moment and proceed, with care and thoughtfulness, to work with my youth around this topic.
Reading your article reminded me of that incident, whereby I saw the powerful influence of Hip Hop's misogyny and objectification of women play out with our youth. First, I witnessed a young women say the only thing worth bragging about was her booty (a message repeated throughout Hip Hop and mainstream media). Second, I witnessed a group of young men reward her compliance with the status quo with cheers and positive attention (a typical response but very much apart of the same game).
Hip Hop does put women in a box but it also puts into motion a lot of men's values, ideas, identity and actions. And when we consider the influence Hip Hop music has on our young people, combined with other factors such as absent parents, lack of positive role models and growing up in a violent community, the picture gets even grimmer. If we use Hip Hop as a mirror, we can see the consequences of a society that fails to acknowledge and reconcile it's aggressions towards women, and that is unwilling to confront it's own insecurities. The good news is that the destructive cycles that keep our youth in a perpetual state of self-destruction can and have been broken. Critical thinking, non-judgmental dialogue, compassion and understanding work wonders with young people.
I think its key that people remember, if your psychological diet consist mostly of hyper-masculinity, violence, materialism and misogyny, that is likely what you will reproduce in your own life. If we are to break the cycle we must inject more positive images for young people to digest and build identities from. We need to create "safe" spaces for them to sort through, and make sense of the negative images that saturate so many communities and plague mainstream society.
Thanks Jo for writing your blog entry, you certainly inspired me and gave me much to think about.
One Love.
-Tomas
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