The popularity of hip hop is rising and so is the normality of objectifying women.
W e live in a very progressive time right now, but is Hip Hop moving us backwards?
Brittany Williams, fellow blogger and author of the “U.N.I.T.Y” blog written this month, states that “women have played a crucial role in the development of the genre,” but is their role in the development of the genre today as respectable for women as it used to be?
Hip Hop as a whole has become known for its infatuation with the objectification of women.
Another fellow blogger Zeba Blay however argues, in his blog titled “What We Forget When We Talk About Hip-Hop’s Women Problems”, was also published earlier in the Huffington Post. He states that “ Since the 1980’s, Hip Hop artists have been accused of objectifying women, demeaning women, and promoting violence and sexual abuse against women.” However, student and blogger Dona Gay, author of blog post “ Hip-Hop/Rap Videos Centered Around Half-Naked Women a Effecting Young Girls” argues that, “unlike videos in todays age, [older music videos are] not fully focused on women.”
Take for instance these lyrics by renowned Rap artist Lil Wayne,
Miss Mary Mack, all rolled in pack, roll up With that sweet Kush, all down her back, roll up Miss Mary Mack, all rolled in pack, roll up She let me hit, straight from the back, roll up And ohh, I think I love that bitch, I think I love that bitch I think I love that bitch, I think I love her
Lil Wayne is known for his vulgar lyrics and for objectifying women in every song, but Lil Wayne is not the only famous rapper that is guilty of objectifying women in multiple songs.
Just recently, T.I. made a comment about Hillary Clinton and people are outraged about it. The article about the interview compares the T.I. comment to Drakes newest song “Hotline Bling” which so many people are at any given time blaring on their radio station and singing along to. The author states that, “like many other rappers, and quite frankly the music industry in general, he’s continued a long standing tradition of using crass and objectifying language in regards to women.” Drake later on commented about his sexist language stating that “…Sometimes you just get so far gone, you get wrapped up in this shit” Does this mean that we are already too far gone?
This article’s main purpose isn't to sit here and point the finger at only the men in todays Rap culture, because women, such as Nicki Minaj, have very much contributed to todays viciously sexist world. The most primitive example and one used in almost every other article about women being objectified is Nicki Manaj’s “Anaconda” music video. This video is filled with nothing but twerking and other sexually explicit material.
However, one last point of interest, who is it really be blamed here? The artist or society for encouraging and going along with the message given in pop culture. Are they just doing their job and giving the people what they want? How will we bring back a cultural trend that might be to far gone. Another blogger who goes by the name Unspoken Mind published back in September that “The sexualization of women in today’s music business- scandalous and provocative, sells. Sex sells.”
… Sex sells.
