As flattering as it may be, does Nicki Minaj want to be best looking female emcee in hip hop, or does she want to be the best emcee in hip hop? It’s hard to tell right now. With dozens of pictures circulating the internet showing off her camel toe and booty, it is hard to say what her purpose as an artist in hip hop is. Sadly, she’s evidently not that great of a rapper. Surely, that’s no secret.
In the 90’s, hip hop experienced the same thing during the Lil’ Kim/Foxy Brown era of female emcees. Sadly, it’s the emcees of the sexy and scantily clad value that get the most airplay, the most fame, but not necessarily the most respect. Leave that for the more classy (and in this writers opinion, much sexier) and more skilled MC Lyte, Lauryn Hill, Jean Grae, Eternia, and even though she recently admitted to a brutal lie, Roxanne Shante. Now here, classy doesn’t mean “classy” in the traditional sense, I’ll use it in this context here about being more about hip hop and less about public perception. Ironically enough, for the traditional hip hop head, its joints like “Cappuccino,” “Lost Ones,” “Hater’s Anthem,” and “Struggle” that take them to a special place and cause eargasms to erupt; a feat that the naked eye never could accomplish.
At this point, it’s bigger than misogyny. Well, misogyny is pretty big, but this is bigger than the visual aspects. It’s gotten to a point where an emcee, male or female, can’t rap regarding a female without being listed as “conscious” or “misogynistic.” This is where the title of the article relates. To some “Lights Please” by my new favourite rapper, J. Cole, is a song that’s about using women as an object to entail in sexual acts. I laugh at this interpretation and blame MTV and BET for allowing mentalities of this kind to suffice. Metaphors are cool, and yeah, they are a tool rappers use sometimes. Oh, hey! Maybe J. Cole used them as a metaphor here too!? Isn’t that a crazy idea? That he may be implying that other interests and temptations in his life conflict, to a point where the lights were once on (and he is enlightened), but are turned off by this other temptation (money, greed, women, etc.) that lead him to call for the lights to go off. Bingo!
Moreover, Drake’s largest fan base is females. Younger females, at that. But, somehow, lyrics like this slide under the rug when labeling him a “big, bad misogynistic rapper”: I sent your girl message/Said I see you when I can/ She send me one back but I ain’t never read it/ ‘Cause pussies only pussy and I get it when I need it. In fact, it’s even more hilarious when a crowd full of ladies rhyme this lyric for lyric. My point here is not to attack Drake, in fact, I think he’s an immensely talented emcee that’s reminiscent of a late 80’s early 90’s LL Cool J for 2010, but my point is to show how blind listeners are. So blind, that it leads to a misinterpretation on both accounts. So think about it, how many great rappers are being reviewed as “conscious” or “misogynistic?” How many great rappers, such as the aforementioned female emcees aren’t getting a fair shot because listeners – and moreover, pop culture – are shutting the lights off on them, succumbing to the temptations of hype, appearance, and affiliations.
One has to think, the aforesaid LL Cool J didn’t spring up to popularity until 1989’s Walking With A Panther, which included joints like “Big Ole Butt” and “Jinglin’ Baby,” songs that took away from other beauties like “Jack the Ripper” and “Nitro.” Then, he once again fell out of the limelight and started showing off his sex appeal, abs, and definition on the 1995 Mr. Smith, falling back into a trap of lower quality music and amplified record sales via his then-famous Ladies Love image. It is possible to walk this line though. We’ve seen Talib Kweli, Common, and Mos Def do it. Hell, even Cool J did it (see “Around the Way Girl”). But now, the horny minds of male and female teenagers are getting raped by misconstrued opinions and visions on a search to find the “greatest of all time” with the most minimal exposure.
So, one has to think, if great female artists like Eternia, Jean Grae, and MC Lyte were given the proper exposure, would they have succeeded on the charts and be as talked about as Lil’ Kim, Foxy, and now, Nicki Minaj. Granted, Lauryn had tremendous success (Grammy’s and record sales, regardless of the New Ark situation), but she could be the one exception to this trend. This theory of image linking to perceived skill and evident attention leads me to believe Baudrillard’s Simulacra is in full effect; that what we conceive as the “best” and most “beautiful” is really just a façade of something else. That something else is our misinterpretation.
Yes… we misinterpret the misinterpretations.
Lights please.
Big Shouts to the original source, iHeartDilla, for giving me the chance to post this: (http://www.iheartdilla.com/2009/10/lights-please-lights-please-commentary.html)
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I completely agree with you man why young girls sing lyrics like Drake and a lot of people for I have a younger sister and some of the music she be playing I try not to judge cause shes young but man sometimes I tell her you know what this means right?????. However espically in women theyre blinded by a beat a catchy hook and his looks than actual skill
The absence of a positive role model for girls is a big issue. Many girls don’t know what a real man should do and say. Also, as parents you can’t shield your child away from everything, but dialogue has to take place even at a young age about what they see and hear.
well this issue is more systemic and ingrained as opposed to anything upbringing could save. We can’t avoid “sexy.” And Sexy seems synonymous with popular. Popular is seemingly synonymous with “reality.” To the weak rationale anyways.
I guess that’s my point about all of this. It’s larger than any boob or butt cheek… Baudrillard’s Wonderland isn’t being observed as a falsity… it’s instead taken for what it is showing.
This reminds me of that stand up by chris rock, where he talks about the girls in the club singing along stuff like “Smack her with a dick, smack her with a dick” That was hilarious. As long as the beat is hot, they just don’t care…
It’s like Chris rock said females will dance in the club if the beat is right, and they know the song is not talking about them. so that makes it all right. It’s cliche but sex sells to the eyes its more about the visual than the vocal. look up five star chick remix video. Nicki (shaking my hard and washing my face). Anyway I Like both the ear and eye candy. Maybe I follow the trend b/c that’s all that is out there.
Deez I totally agree…thanx for posting this
nice write-up
It’s ENGRAINED. There are times I step back and think for a minute, and I’m like .. damn, how am I going to support this? You get so caught up in the ideology that it is what it is, and it needs to be accepted … but that’s not right. It’s not right at all.
“Many girls don’t know what a real man should do and say.”
lol, this is true, too. but some of you are mighty sweet talkers – like Drake. You can sugar coat the word ‘bitch’ or ‘hoe’ in 9239 different ways, that’s for sure.
What did Shante’ lie about?
Bags, she lied about getting her PHD. She actually never got it.
LMFAO you do get bonus points like whoa for dropping a Baudrillard reference into an article about hip hop. DIGGING IN THE STACKS, I dig it.
It’s like Trackstar from STL says: Hip Hop Needs Balance. It’s all about the diet going into your ears. (Got Invincible?)
What gets left unsaid a lot in intellectual looks at hip hop is the ongoing reality of class warfare in the United States. I know Marx hasn’t been cool for decades, but theory aside, poverty is the at the root of so much of this. There’s a white underclass, too, but the numbers make it clear how unfair life in the US really, statistically is.
And race aside, the poor have always been the one minority it’s always cool to piss on. They’re not educated, they don’t vote, and what’s crazy is that living costs are MORE EXPENSIVE in this country when you’re poor. Economists call it a “poverty tax” because they’ve got a black sense of humor.
“Black sense of humor” is a curious cliche, too, huh?
Anyways…obviously a good piece if it got me thinking and ranting on a Monday morning. Always good to see unexpected substance on a hip hop blog. Respect.
I have to agree with Soulclap on this one. Being that I am in the ATL, I know first hand about the fact that a lot of hits down here are garbage from a lyrical perspective but has a hot beat that will get the ladies to dance and make the strippers money. It is pretty sad that a lot of ladies will recite some of those lyrics that are just down right degrading to women. It makes you wonder, but you have to take it for what it is worth. Unlike the Golden Age of hip hop where tons of money were not being made and you had to earn respect and maintain respect, hip hop is now a business. If you have the look and a popular song you get on regardless of talent you will be picked up by a label because they see $$$$. Trust it is hard to mix a lot of songs that sound the same, but as long as the folks are dancing you have to take the quality of lyrics with a grain of salt. In closing it is up the real hip hop heads of the world to perserve the culture before it goes extinct.
Here in San Diego ( z90.3 FM) a songs that is on high rotation “Have a baby by me and become a millionaire – 50 Cent”.
All i can ask is how did this song get on the air.
Nothing but questions coming form San Diego, I am out
first time i heard roxanne shante i was turnned on to no end, love her.
when did that stuff about her phd and shit come out???
Women and girls need to have more respect for themselves and not put up with misogyny. Personally, I’d rather an emcee drop some clever rhymes instead of degrading the weaker sex. For those that have sisters, would you tolerate another dude talking this way about one of your sisters? I wonder if Drake would enjoy me describing how I raw dogged his sister?
It’s horrible..but great..great article, really well written. Part of me wants to put all the blame on the female emcees themselves with pure disgust towards them. &another part of me feels sorry for them, and wants to put the blame on the fact that sex sells. I can understand that they are going to do what’s going to bring the money in. & you’re right..you can’t avoid “sexy”, and the whole thing really is ingrained.You made a lot of great points and really shined some light on the brutal reality. Really enjoyed this..in a way. lol
-makeit16