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The influence of Hip Hop culture on society
How hip hop affects culture
The influence of Hip Hop culture on society
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Most R&B/Hip-Hop songs by male artist in the early1980’s use affectionate terms to address women as well as lyrics that diverged from the normalized ‘masculine’ characteristics of a man. Among the 10 songs that were analyzed, some of the most common terms that were used to refer to women were “lover”, “baby”, “girl”, and “honey”. Each individual song either used one or two of the affectionate terms when referring women. With the exception of two songs, each song described a relationship a man has with a woman, who happens to be his lover. One of the song exceptions was “Jojo” by Boz Scaggs, where the male character, Jojo, is described as a pimp who has a gentle and soft exterior but would quickly take someone’s life without hesitation. The …show more content…
For example, in “Can’t We Try” by Teddy Pendergrass, Pendergrass describes himself as a “helpless fool in love”. He also emphasizes his feeling of pain and sorrow in the absence of his female lover. These “gentle and soft” features were demonstrated in 8 of the 10 songs that were analyzed. However, the sudden change of shared male features demonstrated in “Jojo”, reveals a rise of male-dominance and hypermasculinity in the lexicon of male artists. In the song, Jojo performs male-dominance and control over the female prostitute, as her pimp, by “keep[ing] her on the street”. This emphasizes the lack of respect or differing status positions Jojo’s has with the woman. Furthermore, he also maintains his standard role as a provider by “keep[ing] her right”. In other terms, specifically in prostitution, he provides her with the clothes, make-up, food or stimulant she needs to maintain an appealing image for potential paying …show more content…
Among the 10 songs that were analyzed in 2016, some of the most common terms that were used to refer to women were “baby”, “broads”, “bitches”, “side bitch”, “lil mama”, “baby mama”, “wifey”, “hoe”, “girl”, “lady”, “woman” and “PYT” (Pretty Young Thing). Each individual song used either two or three of the listed terms when referring women. Furthermore, each song analyzed during this period contains lyrics that were directed towards women in positive ways (labeling them as “Queens”) and negative ways (viewing them as sexual objects). In addition, there were also song lyrics that referred to the way the male character perceives himself. One contradictory example is when artists make character comparisons with men who are stronger or more successful than them, while other artists dictate that their character is original and cannot be mirrored. Specifically, in his song “Panda”, Desiigner makes a hypermasculine reference towards himself in the line: “Man I’m the macho like Randy”. Randy Mario Poffo, also known as “Macho Man”, is an American professional wrestler who has been labeled as one of the greatest pro wrestlers in history. In the song “Broccoli” by D.R.A.M., the male artist’s lexicon perpetuates hegemonic masculinity through his demonstration of competitiveness, dominance, assertion of power
In his most recent album, Kanye West raps, “Now if I fuck this model/ And she just bleached her asshole/ And I get bleach on my T-shirt/ I 'mma feel like an asshole.” He suggests that it is the girl’s fault for getting bleach on his tee shirt, which she only did to make herself more sexually appealing. This misogyny in hip-hop culture is recognized to bring about problems. For instance, the women around these rappers believe they can only do well in life if they submit themselves to the men and allow themselves to be cared for in exchange for physical pleasure. In her essay, “From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hoes”, Joan Morgan argues that the same rap music that dehumanizes women can be a powerful platform for gender equality if implemented correctly.
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
Will sexism ever come to an end in today’s society? Are women going to let men step all over them? Jennifer Mclune discusses in her article, Hip-Hops Betrayal on Black Women, how black male singers objectify and degrade black females in the music industry. The purpose of this article is to show how black women are being deceived in the hip hop industry and being used as sex symbols instead of showing them for their true colors. Mclune (2015) voices her strong argument in attracting her audience by using ethos, tones, and the use of word choices.
The semantics of the word “hoe” lead to defenders’ thoughts that a man can be a “ho” too. Men who defend this thought might point to the fact that a ho is “…anyone who has ‘too much’ indiscriminate sex…” (Rose, 171). In this instance, they are putting less weight into the fact that these words are used to put down women. Rappers might use these terms in lyrics in order to diss another man by attacking their manliness. Defenders of hip hop like rappers say that “bitches and hoes” are a specific type of girl, and that when they use those words, they don’t mean to reference all women. However, the reality is that rappers use these words pertaining to all women. Women who listen to the music are attracted to this demeaning image, because at least it would be “about them”. So, when hip hop’s defenders’ say that “there are bitches and hoes” to further their argument for hip hop, they reassure women that a hyper-sexualized image and lifestyle is acceptable. For this reason, this argument ignores the effects of these impressions on women, and attempts to legitimize the classification of women as figures existing to be used by
The music of today has many songs in which there is a hidden meaning or stories behind the song. The song " Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke and Pharrell is a song with a hidden meaning given much to talk about , another song which has a similar meaning with previous song is "You Do Not Even Know It " by Rick Ross. The intent of this paper is to compare song to song through its similar meaning. Both of these songs have a very rough meaning. These songs are inspired in hidden personalities , lies , appearances, violation , drugs , sex, etc. In " Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke and Pharrell it talks about rape and sexual assault and all of these because of the use of alcohol and drugs. In "You Do Not Even Know It " by Rick Ross it also talks about how some people appearencess are not what they really are in
In The Venus Hip Hop and the Pink Ghetto, Imani Perry argues that the over-sexualized, unattainable bodies of black women in popular culture will lead to the breakdown of feminism and the positive body image of the everyday black women. As hip hop music continues to become more popular, the sexist messages presented in lyrics and music videos are becoming more common to the everyday public, including young black girls developing a self-image. Instead of these girls being exposed to healthy, positive role models who encourage individuality and that there is more to a woman than her body they are given hip hop video models whose only purpose is to look sensual on screen. The strong women that do exist in the hip hop genre are pushed to sexualize themselves or their lyrics to sell records or stay relatively unknown. Although Perry’s arguments are logical, I believe that she is creating a slippery slope of logic. A genre of music cannot destroy the self-image of black women that has existed for generations.
This hypersexual behaviour is the most straightforward way for a man to assert his masculinity, most often at the expense of women, while undermining the definition of masculinity given by hegemonic masculinity. The self reference artists make, framing themselves as pimps, hustlers, and players, asserts an oppositional masculinity defined by consciously chosen hypersexuality, and the affluent “pimp” is preoccupied with the commodification of women (Miller-Young, 2008, p.
Randolph, A. (2006). "Don 't Hate Me Because I 'm Beautiful": Black Masculinity and Alternative Embodiment in Rap Music . Race, Gender & Class Journal, 200-217.
Perhaps this trend of commercially successful music promoting hypermasculinity and misogyny found success in funk music and the labels continue to push for these themes in an attempt to continue benefitting from the themes’ popularity and profitability. Both funk and hip hop share the characteristic of being genres that have recurring themes that have been commercially successful, and although it may be out of the control of the artist, these themes play a huge role in both
Oswald, Janelle. “Is Rap Turning Girls into Ho’s?” The Black Book: A Custom Publication. 3rd ed. Ed. Sam Pierstorff. Modesto: Quercus Review Press, 2012. 171-175.
The most popular new music to emerge from the ‘80’s was rap music. It first developed in the mid ‘70’s in New York City, and soon in other urban areas, primarily amongst African-American teen-agers. It became very popular with the urban public that it soon began to spread throughout the United States and much of the world. It replaced rock music as the creative force in music of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s. However, as popular as it was then and it is now, the lyrics of many rap songs have caused controversy. Many believe and have charged that these lyrics promote racism and violence and show contempt for women.
Women have consistently been perceived as second-class citizens. Even now, in times when a social conscience is present in most individuals, in an era where an atmosphere of gender equality 'supposedly' exists, it is blatantly apparent that the objectification and marginalization of women is still a major social issue. In reality, progression in terms of reducing female exploitation has been stagnant at best. Not only is the degradation of women a major problem that to date has not been eradicated, but it is actually being endorsed by some music celebrities. There are a growing number of people who purchase rap albums that support the fallacy that women are mere objects and should be treated as such. As the popularity of rap continues to climb at unprecedented rates, so too does its influence on the perception of women. In the vast majority of hip-hop songs, the depiction of women as sexual objects, the extreme violence directed towards them and the overall negative influence these lyrics have on the average adolescent's perception of women make rap the absolute epitome of female exploitation.
Krohn, Franklin B., Suazo, Frances L. “Contemporary Urban Music: Controversial Messages in Hip-Hop and Rap Lyrics.” ETC: A Review of General Semantics. 52 (1995): 193-54. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
As one moves past the initial onslaught of rhythmic beats that calypso has to offer, it is difficult to miss the way in which it reverberates with negative and demoralizing images of women to their male counterparts. Whether it is within the lyrics of Sparrow’s “Drunk and Disorderly” or Square One’s “My Ding-a Ling”, an ample number of verses are often dedicated to making lewd comments about the female body and the suggestive body language described through thinly veiled rhymes and puns, can be offensive depending on the listener. The half naked models being displayed on the various album covers of calypso, soca and rap mix tapes further reinforces these negative connotations. This bandwagon has been jumped upon by many, including the rap genre in the last two decades, wanting to capitalize on a marketing strategy that generally purports to flag consumer attention, playing on their sense of eroticism. The sections titled “Music, Sex, Sexism” and “Woman Rising” within Peter Manuel’s text: Caribbean Currents, dive into the many issues surrounding gender within music as well as female portrayal specifically in calypso. Observations can be made simply by reading through the textual comparisons. Many aspects of this subject area allude to the fact that the issue of gender portrayal in music can be construed differently depending on who the critical listener happens to be. With the increased awareness and heightened sensitivity to the way in which females are portrayed in popular media, it is important to reflect on the impact these lyrics have on male-female relationships within the communities who most often enjoy this music genre.
The negative perception of women throughout popular culture in the form of music has greatly impacted the portrayal of women on today’s society. This study involves on examination of sexist ideologies in dancehall lyrics that portray women in stereotypical and negative manner. This particular king of music explored in the study is dancehall music, a popular genre in Jamaican culture today. The primarily focus is on the effect of popular songs have on women in society, as well as how song lyrics can cause objectification of women and how are the roles of men and women reflected.