It's hip hop week...againTime to celebrate a passion of mine.
And I have to start with the ladies...
It goes without saying that women have played a HUGE role in hip hop. From the onset of the genre, women were very influential in molding the art form. If you ask any male pioneer in hip hop, he'll tell you that one of the reasons that he picked up a mic was to impress a woman.
Much like those before me, I've always appreciated a woman who was into hip hop. Especially one who was knowledgeable about it. Over a period of time, we've seen some great women in hip hop.
From the early days of Roxanne Shante'...Salt N Pepa...Queen Latifah...MC Lyte...to the likes of Lauryn Hill...Lil Kim...Foxy Brown we've seen some great women influence the hip hop culture. They have helped changed the way that men view them and how the world viewed young black women. Over a period of time, things changed. The images of female MCs like MC Lyte and Queen Latifah gave way to a new generation. During this time...more than any other time...women in hip hop became the focal point of a man's desire. At that time, their male counterparts were lacing their songs with lyrics calling women "bitches and hoes". But the game really changed when females started to perpetuate those images in their songs and videos. 
Then came the age of the video vixen. There was time in hip hop when the music video was a direct correlation to the song. In the age of the video vixen, that concept went out of the window. It seems like every video has some scantly clad woman jumping around. Don't get me wrong, I like looking at a beautiful women as much as the next guy but when you see the same "formula" for every video...it gets redundant. As we've gotten older and we make an attempt to introduce our children to hip hop, it gets harder when you see that it bares little resemblance to what you fell in love with.
So, where do we go?
Where are women in hip hop? What is their role? One of the biggest female influences in hip hop is Debra Lee, who is the VP of the train wreck called BET.
What is the state for the women in hip hop?
Kyle, all I have to say is.. I dont think we'll ever get back to the likes of MC LYTE.. my favorite. She held it down for sure.
ReplyDeleteNot sure where the ladies of hip-hop have gone or where the future is for them.
ReplyDeleteI immediately thought of Salt-N-Pepa before I scrolled down to see the photo (one of my favorite of them) but you'll be hard pressed to find another U.N.I.T.Y or Love is Blind anytime soon.
That I know for sure.
Cue the Intro to death of autotune, because teh female MC has died a horrible death.
ReplyDeleteI mean come one Nikki Minaj?
for real though?
@ Trish and Kay C
ReplyDeleteI agree, totally!
@ Kingsmomma
I can't get with this Nikki chick. I can't take you serious as an MC with half yo ass out
@ Anon
Kick rocks
Definitely in a state of disrepair. The whole industry has been tainted with sex as a commodity so I don't know if we'll ever see the ladies who commanded respect and promoted womanhood again.
ReplyDeleteHip Hop's "feminist" movement is like a young girl trying to find her voice. Today it seems that many young female MCs think the only way to go is an oversexualized usury position consumed with designer label consumption. Which is pretty much the same thing we see in a lot of mainstream hip hop. I mean why do we live in a world where Jean Grae is still an obscure female rapper. Oh well. #lilmommasadface
ReplyDelete-OG
I think Jean Grae has the potental to light it up for the ladies all over again. There are a bunch of female MCs that we'll never know about because they have to come behind the Lil' Kims and the Foxy Brown's and Trinas. They have to concentrate on being oversexed and writing the kinds of rhymes that will pull in this musically shallow generation we have now. It's sad really.
ReplyDeleteI miss the Lauryn Hills and MC Lytes and Queen Latifahs and let's not forget Yo-Yo and even Monie Love and Nikki D. People know them for one or two hits, I had their tapes!