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A "Man's Woman"?: Contradictory Messages in the Songs of Female Rappers, 1992-2000 Matthew Oware Journal of Black Studies 2009; 39; 786 originally published online May 29, 2007; DOI: 10.1177/0021934707302454

The online version of this article can be found at: http://jbs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/39/5/786

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Downloaded from http://jbs.sagepub.com at RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE on June 5, 2009 Journal of Black Studies Volume 39 Number 5 May 2009 786-802 © 2009 SAGE Publications A “Man’s Woman”? 10.1177/0021934707302454 http://jbs.sagepub.com hosted at Contradictory Messages in the http://online.sagepub.com Songs of Female Rappers, 1992-2000 Matthew Oware DePauw University

Employing content analysis of 44 songs taken from the Billboard charts between 1992 and 2000, the authors find that all female rap artists in the sample included the cornerstones of rap in their songs: braggadocio, consumption of alcohol and drugs, and “dissin” of female and male rap competitors. More important, the majority of the artists had themes of female agency and empowerment present in their music. However, the artists also had songs that were antithetical to Patricia Hill Collins’ Black feminism. Indeed, a majority of the songs examined had women who self-objectified, self-exploited, and used derogatory lyrics when referring to other women. The author finds that these contradictory messages, sometimes by the same artists, nullify the empowering messages that are conveyed and only reproduce and uphold male hegemonic notions of femininity.

Keywords: Black feminism; gender; hip-hop; race; rap

Our Erotic knowledge empowers us, becomes a lens through which we scrutinize all aspects of our existence, forcing us to evaluate those aspects honestly in terms of their meaning within our lives. Audre Lorde (1984b, p. 57)

Negotiating multiple social boundaries and identities, black women rappers are in dialogue with one another, with male rappers, with other popular musicians...with black women fans and hip hop fans in general. Tricia Rose (1994, p. 148)

Author’s Note: I thank Tiyi Morris, Robyn Ryle, Stephanie Shonekan, and Deanna Oware. Please address correspondence to Dr. Matthew Oware, Sociology and Anthropology Department, DePauw University, 306 Asbury Hall, Greencastle, IN 46135; e-mail: [email protected].

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Rap music provides an outlet for individuals who are marginalized, oppressed, and silenced in American society. Various scholars have discussed how rap music and hip-hop culture provided a voice for people who lived in the new postindustrial, service-sector economy where few well-paying jobs were available to persons without postsecondary educa- tions (Kitwani, 2002; Rose, 1994). As a consequence of these changes in the economy, some people in urban areas turned to rapping as a positive outlet of expression. Much of the research on hip-hop music detailed how Black and Hispanic male artists rapped about everything from poverty, police brutality, racism, materialism, to male/female heterosexual relationships. However, rap music is not nor has it ever been strictly the domain of men (Emerson, 2002; Keyes, 2004; Rose, 1994). Women have been a part of hip-hop culture since its inception. Early female pioneers discussed issues similar to men—marginalization, oppression, and urban decay. They also rapped about heterosexual courtship from the perspective of women, domestic violence, and sexism, among other issues. Researchers and scholars found that these female rappers tended to present Black women as independent and autonomous in their songs (Guevara, 1996; Phillips, Reddick-Morgan, & Stephens, 2005; Rose, 1994). However, there is no research that examines the lyrics and messages of female rappers in the 1990s, what is referred to here as the second generation of female rappers.1 Employing content analysis, the current study systematically analyzes 44 songs by popular female rappers listed on the Billboard charts from 1992 to 2000 and finds, similar to men, the lyrics of these female artists include the trademarks of rap—exaggerated braggadocio, consumption of drugs and alcohol, and “dissin” of fellow female and male rap artists. Beyond these aspects, and similar to their female predecessors, there are several songs that are ostensibly empowering to women and that illustrate female agency. However, there exist contradictions in the music; for example, there are high numbers of female self-objection, self-exploitation, and derogatory and demeaning lyrics about women in general. In some cases the same artists who empower women through their music also have lyrics that objectify and demean them. In the final assessment, these contradictory lyrics nullify the positive messages that are conveyed by female rap artists, consequently reproducing and upholding hegemonic, sexist notions of femininity, and serving to undermine and disempower women.

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Literature Review

In her book, Black Feminist Thought, Collins (1990) contended that Black women’s experiences and lives need to be moved from the periphery to the center of analysis and discussion. She wrote that current social phenomena are understood or examined from a European, White male context. This par- ticular theoretical approach tends to make universalistic, overarching claims that are at the least incompatible, and the most, antithetical to the lived reality of Black women (and women in general), while producing controlling images of this group. Furthermore, within the Eurocentric framework, Black women have been constructed as “other” and viewed as nonhuman, possess- ing attributes that are either animalistic, commodified, or objectified. In addition this model depicts Black female eroticism as overly sexualized, devoid of its physical, emotional, and psychic components (Lorde, 1984b, pp. 55-57). These actions necessitate a theoretical framework that interprets Black women’s lives from their perspective–Black feminism. Although challenging racist forms of White supremacy, some Black males subscribe to sexist notions within hegemonic discourses that are integral to the subordination of women (hooks, 1994; Skeggs, 1993). No- where is this more apparent than in the songs of many male hip-hop artists. Scholars and activists argue that male hip-hop artists discuss and present women as caricatures, sexual objects, and less than human (Perry, 2003; Pinn, 1996; Shelton, 1997). Joan Morgan (2000) lamented and criticized the sexist lyrics of Black males and the continued objectification of Black women in rap videos in her book When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost. Scantily clad, oftentimes long-haired and light-skinned Blacks and Latinas are draped and paraded around males in hip-hop videos. Lyrics such as these by Too Short, “Bitches on my mind/Bust a left nut, right nut in her jaw/Open my eyes, guess what I saw” or 2 Live Crew’s song encour- aging women to “Pop that Pussy” send the message that women are sexual objects who male rappers can denigrate and dominate at their whim. Pinn (1996) wrote that male gangsta rappers engage in this behavior because “women are suspect because they emasculate black men, negating their manhood and reducing the respect received from others” (p. 28). Other scholars argue that these types of songs illustrate a fear of female sexuality, thus women must be contained and controlled (Collins, 1990; Kelley, 1996; Rose, 1994; Skeggs, 1993). Extending the theory of Black feminism to rap, Black female artists provide countervailing voices against male sexism and misogyny.

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In her seminal book, Black Noise, Tricia Rose (1994) devoted a chapter to female hip-hop artists. She contended that in the late 1980s and early 1990s rappers such as Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, and MC Lyte, although not explicitly calling themselves or their music feminist, articulated feminist principles of female empowerment, agency, and independence. These artists refute and challenge representations of women as merely sexual objects. Moreover, she contended that these artists are in dialogue with other female and male artists, and with hip-hop fans in general. For example, Queen Latifah responds to males who use the slur bitch in reference to women in her song “U.N.I.T.Y.”: “But don’t be calling me out my name/I bring wrath to those who disrespect me like a dame.” In her song, “Paper Thin,” MC Lyte sets the parameters of intimacy for her mate: “So now I take precaution when choosing my mate/I do not touch until the third or fourth date/Then maybe we’ll kiss on the fifth or sixth.” These artists carve out a space where a Black female subjectivity is at the center of discussion. Clearly, the aforementioned artists’ messages are emancipating and liberating for women (Rose, 1994). Skeggs (1993), borrowing from bell hooks, argued that these artists “talk back, talk Black to the colonialist civilizing system that attempts to contain the expression of women’s sexuality” (p. 3). They defiantly speak to various forms of institutional and hegemonic structures operating to constrain and limit Black female voices, offering counterhegemonic perspectives. Haugen (2003) argued that female rappers, particularly gangsta rappers, have created and imposed their own definitions of womanhood through their use of profanity, voice intonations, and sexuality. More profoundly, Phillips et al. (2005) observed that female rappers “support each other, cri- tique each other, conscientize each other, challenge each other, and bear witness to each other” (p. 260). Although empowering and subversive to male domination, there are surprising and disturbing similarities between male and second-generation female rappers. In the 1990s, popular rappers such as Foxy Brown, Lil’ Kim, and Da Brat, or “sistas with attitude” (Keyes, 2004) employed the same figurative speech and behaviors as their male counterparts; that is, their narratives included “partying and smoking blunts (marijuana) with their men; seduc- ing, repressing, and sexually emasculating male characters; [and] dissin their would be female or male competitors” (p. 272). Although challenging male sexism, an analysis of female artists in the 1990s illustrates that many of them are “just like the guys” in their depictions of women. As I discuss later, the message of female upliftment and empowerment becomes effaced by female self-exploitation and hyperobjectification.

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Method

Although the lyrics of first-wave rappers such as Queen Latifah and MC Lyte have been examined by researchers (Phillips et al., 2005; Rose, 1994), and there has been extensive analysis of the representation of women in hip-hop videos (Emerson, 2002; Keyes, 2004; Shelton, 1997), a systematic examination of the messages that are conveyed by the second wave of female hip-hop artists’ lyrics is missing. Rose (1994) and Phillips et al. (2005) purposefully focus on specific female artists and their lyrics that illustrate female empowerment and agency. My sample includes 44 songs by female rap artists from 1992 to 2000. During the early 1990s rap became increasingly popular in the mainstream and received heavy rotation on various radio stations (Kitwana, 2005). Thus, artists were chosen from the Billboard Top 100 and the Billboard Rhythm and Blues/Hip Hop Charts for this time period. The sample included songs that were on the charts for at least 3 months, or 12 weeks. This ensures that the song was in heavy rotation, therefore well known to listeners. During this time some female artists were as popular and selling as many records as men; for example, Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown had albums that sold one million copies. Employing content analysis, several themes emerged and were tabu- lated from the songs. Specifically, there was line-by-line coding of lyrics. For example, if an artist stated that she was “bad” in one line and the “dopest rapper on the planet” in another line then these were coded as two instances of braggadocio. Similar to male rappers, women’s songs included the cornerstones of rap music, braggadocio or bravado, alcohol and drug use, and also “dissin” of opponents, men and women. Where females’ music diverges from males’ is the greater instances of empowering lyrics about women (Emerson, 2002; Rose, 1994). There are songs that discuss domestic violence, female independence and agency, and sexuality from the perspective of women. Although these types of lyrics empower and highlight Black womanhood, there are also lyrics from some of these songs that undermine the positive messages conveyed. For instance, the majority of songs by women during this time make multiple and overt sexual references. Many artists’ lyrics self-objectify and self-exploit, seemingly employing a male gaze. Finally, and it is surprising to note, many of the female artists use derogatory and demeaning language when discussing other women.2

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Findings

Bravado/Braggadocio One of the centerpieces of rap music is braggadocio lyrics. All of the 44 artists examined had lyrics that were braggadocio in nature, with the typical song containing seven references to this theme. This aspect of rap has its roots in toasting, a part of African American oral traditions (Smitherman, 1997), whereby the “toast-teller” engages in verbal self-aggrandizement and depicts himself or herself as the “dreams of his [or her] Black audience and symbolizes for them triumph and accomplishment against the odds” (Smitherman, 1997, p. 13). For example, in her song “Sittin on Top of the World,” Da Brat wrote, “I’m on top of the world.../Girlfriend offender cuz they man’s think I’m all that/One of the baddest bitches on the planet.” She emphasizes how she is so “bad” that she upsets other women because their men find her beautiful.3 Another example of this type of bravado comes from Eve’s song “What Ya Want,” writing “Popular since I started my life.../Every thugs dream wife, see the love in they eyes/My time to shine, whole package make her a dime.” In these lyrics, Eve is depicting herself as popular and attractive to every male and a perfect 10 physically, or a “dime” in hip-hop vernacular. In addition to being attractive and desirable, braggadocio rappers emphasize their possession of expensive material objects that others cannot obtain. An example of this comes from Foxy Brown’s, “I’ll Na Na” where she writes, “Uhh, rollin for Lana, dripped in Gabbana . . . /And y’all gon see by these mil’s I possess/Never settle for less, I’m in excess.” Foxy informs the listener that she wears Dolce and Gabbana, expensive women’s designer clothing that working-class and middle-class individuals could not afford. Furthermore, the listener learns that Foxy earns millions of dollars from her rhyming and admits in a self-congratulatory manner that she does not settle; rather she lives in “excess,” something working- and middle-class individuals financially cannot do. Another artist, Lil’ Kim, also wears designer clothing and jewelry: “Usually rock the Prada, sometimes Gabbana . . . /I stay draped in diamonds and pearls.” Clearly, lavish and extravagant material possessions are para- mount for many female artists in the 1990s. An overwhelming majority of the artists examined mentioned owning or wearing designer clothing or jewelry of some type. Similar to male rap artists, these female artists depict themselves as physically appealing to potential suitors and mates as well as in possession of items that common people do not and cannot possess. This type and degree of arrogance reverberates throughout rap music

Downloaded from http://jbs.sagepub.com at RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE on June 5, 2009 792 Journal of Black Studies and is not unique to men or women; rather it illustrates artists’ abilities, in their narratives, to overcome obstacles and eventually achieve success, albeit, material success.

Alcohol and Drug Consumption The consumption of alcohol or drugs is a common theme in male rap music and no different in the songs of many of the female rappers examined here. In the overall sample, there was an average of one-and-a-half references made to alcohol or drugs. For example, in her song “Deeper,” Boss references alcohol and drug use: “I drink that St. Ides shit/...it’s probably all that chronic that I smoke/I use to be like that when I was out there slangin’ dope.” In these lyrics, Boss drinks St. Ides, a malt liquor made popular by hip-hop artists, and also smokes “chronic,” a potent form of marijuana laced with cocaine. In her song “Party Ain’t A Party,” Queen Pen writes, “I’m tipsy from the cab, down the whole bottle of Henney/Is you dealing with the cat that’s blunted.” Queen Pen’s alcohol of choice is Seagram’s Hennessy and “blunted” refers to the use of marijuana. These female rappers debunk the stereotype that “ladies” do not consume “hard” drinks and illegal drugs. Indeed, from these examples, some women use the most potent and dangerous drugs and alcoholic beverages. These women present themselves as engaging in the same potentially harmful behaviors as their male counterparts.

Dissin’ Female rappers also engage in another cornerstone of rap music—dissin’, which is the act of verbally insulting an opponent. The typical song contained a little less than three disses. Dissin’ purportedly has its origins in West Africa, among groups such as the Efik in Nigeria (Smitherman, 1997, p. 13), and later came to be known as signifying in early African American oral traditions. Smitherman (1997) writes “women rule when it comes to signifying...female rappers use this age-old rhetorical strategy to launch critical offensives” (p. 14). Heather B exemplifies this style in this verse, “Fuck how much you sell cause, I read your album cover/You couldn’t write a jam if your last name was Smucker.” She dismisses the amount of records sold while belittling her opponent’s lyrical skills, comparing them with the brand name food product Smucker’s Jam. Gangsta Boo speaks directly to potential male suitors: “Nasty Trick/Don’t come at me talkin’ that shit/He a stupid ass nigga with his tongue stuck out.” The implication is that prospec- tive males must “come correct,” that is, in a respectful manner, or she will rebuke their advances, simply disregarding them altogether.

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Indeed, most “disses” were directed toward males who attempted to woo women with grandiose tales of sexual gratification. A possible reason that males may fear female sexuality appears in lyrics such as these by Lil’ Kim from her song “Hardcore”: “The sex was wack, a four stroke creep... /[later he asked] Could he come over right fast and fuck my pretty ass?/I’ll pass, nigga dick was trash.” Kim defines sexual intercourse on her own terms, critiquing male bravado about the sexual gratification of women; she has the ultimate control over whether or not sex occurs and then the capa- bility of assessing his poor performance—the ultimate fear of many heterosexual males. This theme is echoed in Gangsta Boo’s lyrics: “Ha-ha, hey, Ladies check this out/Well, let me tell this story about this nigga/With a little dick but when it’s hard, he’s swearin’ it [is] bigger/I’m not to be the one guess you ain’t got much to offer.” Here, Gangsta Boo speaks directly to women about specious male machismo. As with Kim, Boo evaluates whether her male suitor measures up and finds that he lacks the requisite endowment that would likely fulfill her sexual needs. Thus, as Rose (1994) wrote you have women speaking to men, engaging in critiques of supposed male sexual prowess; in addition, they are speaking to other women about the failed attempts of these men to satisfy them sexually. These “disses” provide a female response to male sexism and bravado in rap music.4

Female Empowerment and Agency Female rappers’ lyrics go beyond alcohol and drug consumption, dissin, and braggadocio. Several songs in the sample dealt with more serious con- cerns of women. In her song, “Love Is Blind,” Eve exposes an issue that is rarely discussed in rap music and in the African American community— domestic violence:

How would you feel if she held you down and raped you?/ What kind of love from a nigga would black your eye?/ Smacked you down cause he said you was too tall for him, huh?/ How could you beat the mother of your kids?

In this song Eve argues from the standpoint of the victim. Her female friend is beaten, raped, and as the listener learns later, killed by her abuser. In the song she initially questions the victim about why she stays with the abuser and later she confronts the abuser about his actions. In the end, Eve shoots the abuser, killing him. Her song resonates as a cautionary tale to all women against becoming trapped in dead-end and deadly relationships. As well as offering a voice for those women who face violence at the hand of significant

Downloaded from http://jbs.sagepub.com at RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE on June 5, 2009 794 Journal of Black Studies others, the song is suffused with hooks’ (1994) idea of women “talk(ing) back, talk(ing) black” to their oppressors. As Haugen (2003) argued in his discussion of female gangsta rappers, a woman’s act of verbalizing and bringing any form of oppression to the forefront is itself reclaiming power, undermining male control and domination. Other Black feminist-oriented lyrics were common in many of the songs by women, with an average of one reference to female upliftment in the songs sampled. These lyrics by Salt-N-Pepa from their popular song “Ain’t Nuthin’ But a She Thing,” typify these kinds of messages:

I’m a female, and I got it goin on/ Don’t be fooled by my s-e-x/ It ain’t that simple, I’m more complex/ Let’s keep moving forward, girls, never look back.

In this song group members are conversing with women and men in general, warning men not to rely on stereotypical notions of gender and sex roles when interacting with them or any other women. Furthermore, they are con- veying the same message to women while imploring these women to progress and evolve, not regress, in their thinking and behavior. Indeed, most of the songs by Salt-N-Pepa in my sample presented these sorts of messages. Although some songs fostered pride of Black womanhood, there were other songs that demonstrated female agency focusing on male/female relationships from a woman’s perspective; for example, in her song, “What’s Up Star,” Suga initiates the interaction with males. In the chorus of her song she says, “What’s up star, I’d like to get to know who you are/Let’s have drinks at the bar/And if I like what I see then the drinks is on me.”5 Men are typically thought to be the initiators in heterosexual relationships. She demonstrates agency in this situation, upending the normative male/ female courtship ritual whereby men approach women and buy them drinks; rather she adjudicates and on a positive evaluation of a potential suitor offers to buy him a drink. Another example of agency comes from MC Luscious in her song “Boom! I Got Your Boyfriend” where she seizes another hypothetical woman’s significant other:

I’ll take him, shake him, ring him out I’ll show your man what its all about So when he tells you it’s the end That’s when you know I got your boyfriend.

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MC Luscious’s use of the verbs take, shake, and ring in reference to her male paramour illustrates the control that she purports to hold over him. She out- does her female competitor by articulating her ability to reveal what the girlfriend cannot to the boyfriend (possibly sexually related), leading to the dissolution of the relationship. Hence, she demonstrates her control and manipulation of the paramour and ultimately her power over the female opponent by stealing her boyfriend. Although devious and potentially uneth- ical, MC Luscious’s wants, desires, and behaviors are at the center of atten- tion in her song. Many of the songs in my sample had examples of female empowerment or illustrated female agency. Whether speaking about domestic violence toward women or seeking to take another woman’s man, female rappers in the 1990s revealed, through narratives about their daily lives, the power and control that Black feminists argued Black women needed to highlight. These themes are also echoed and incorporated in songs and lyrics that present female sexuality.

Female Sexuality Several popular female rap artists presented themselves in overtly sexualized ways in my sample. For example, in her song, “Not Tonight” Lil’ Kim raps, “I know a dude named Jimmy used to run up in me/I didn’t mind it, when he fucked me from behind/It felt fine, ‘specially when he used to grind it.” These raunchy lyrics illustrate that Lil’ Kim is acting on her consort and is not passive in this sexual exchange, a subversion of the chaste, wholesome virgin who is overtaken by the more sexually experienced male paradigm put forth in many romantic novels and soap operas. Kim allows and enjoys what is often believed in hip-hop culture to be the most demeaning and unroman- tic sexual position for women—anal intercourse. Yet Kim is not a “ho,” in hip-hop terminology, because her sexuality is not being exploited by her mate, she does not submit to his wants or desires for his satisfaction; rather she gains sexual gratification from this encounter, especially when her part- ner performs a specific “grinding” technique. In hegemonic discourses sur- rounding women’s sexuality, they are silenced or are not allowed to derive pleasure from sexual intercourse with males. Kim voices her pleasure. Another blatantly sexual song is Trina’s “Da Baddest Bitch” where she raps:

G-string make his dick stand/ Make it quick then slow head by the night stand/ See I fuck him in the living room/ I make him eat it while my period on.

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Similarly to Lil’ Kim, Trina controls the sexual relationship with her male partners. Also, in her narrative, she makes her male partners perform oral sex while she is menstruating, a level of vulgarity that many heterosexual males would find demeaning. Indeed, although not as coarse, artists such as Salt-N-Pepa, who rou- tinely had lyrics that empowered women, also had lyrics where they sexualized themselves during the period under review: “And I’m-a freak you till you pass out/Pay cash out, baby tear your back out/Wanna freak me from the back.” Another popular pioneer of rap, MC Lyte, also had lyrics from her song “Ruffneck,” which stated, “But he don’t gotta be large to be in charge/Pumpin’ in and out and out and in and here we go/He’s got smack it, lick it, swallow it up style.” Sexually explicit lyrics exist in second-wave 1990s female rappers songs. Furthermore, some female pioneers who are known for songs espousing the positives of womanhood also employ overtly sexual lyrics in some of their songs during this time. This contra- diction potentially undermines any empowering messages.

Reclamation of “Bitch” Female rappers not only presented themselves in overly sexualized ways in my sample but also used language that would be considered derogatory and demeaning to women. The majority of the female artists in my sample referred to themselves or other women as “bitches.” The word literally means a female dog and figuratively translates as a demeaning and derogatory word usually targeted toward women. However, the word holds multiple meanings in rap music, particularly in songs by female rappers. For female rappers such as Missy Elliott and Trina, the word denotes a positive and strong woman who is no nonsense. In her song “She is a Bitch,” Elliott writes in the chorus,

She’s a bitch/ Get on down while I shoot my flow/ When I do my thing/ Got the place on fire, burn it to flame.

In this case, bitch signifies a person with lyrical skills, who can motivate and excite an audience. Self-evident from the title, “Da Baddest Bitch” rapper, Trina, metaphorically speaking, expresses how she is the best at rhyming and sexual activity. Following in the tradition of the “baaaaad nigger” tales of the late 19th century, these women present themselves as the best at their craft, albeit employing nonnormative and masculinist language (Kelley, 1996).

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Discussion and Conclusion

Female rappers are obviously masters of their sexuality and control their sexual arenas; however, at what expense to women, particularly Black women, does this form of power cost? In her analysis of the sexually explicit lyrics of BWP’s (Bytches With Problems) “Two Minute Brother” Skeggs (1993) wrote that female rappers have “created a popular space for women to speak a sexuality which is about their desires in a way which is ungovernable and impossible to contain, yet is automatically located with control, fun, autonomy and independence” (p. 17). Furthermore, she argued that use of sexually explicit lyrics by women is liberating and emancipating for them, and that they become sexual subjects and ceased being sexual objects. Yet this appropriation of masculine language and behavior may pose far more deleterious problems for women than realized—the repro- duction of a hegemonic paradigm that would continue to treat women only as sexual objects, the very thing that is being challenged by female rappers. Critiquing White feminists for not including women of color’s issues in their platform, Audre Lorde (1984a) wrote,

It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths. For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house...and this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master’s house as their only source of support. (p. 112)

This quote perfectly captures the problematic and contradictory nature of many of the songs of female rappers in the 1990s. Although female rap artists articulate a feminist approach in their narratives by employing empowering, autonomous, and independent lyrics, many of them also reappropriate the sexist and misogynist tropes that present women as hypersexual beings who are contained and controlled by, in this case, other women. Indeed, in this new paradigm it is Black women who hyperobjectify themselves and degrade other Black women. They employ the tools of the master that only strengthens the structure of their own oppression and domination. Quoting Joan Smith from her book Misogynies, bell hooks (1994) wrote,

We are all exposed to the prevailing ideology of our culture, and some women learn early on that they can prosper by aping the misogyny of men; they are the women who win provisional favor by denigrating other women…and by acting the “man’s woman.” (p. 121)

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In the end, the positive and liberatory songs and lyrics of several female artists become effaced by the lyrics and songs that are demeaning and degrad- ing to women, especially Black women. The Black feminist approach is lost, and in its place arises a “man’s woman”—a woman who imitates and rein- scribes a White supremacist, misogynist structure. In addition, the lyrics by these women only perpetuate the image of Black women as hypersexual “jezebels,” who exist for male gratification (Collins, 1990). The roles of record companies and record labels in the production of female rappers’ lyrics must not be overlooked, however. Economically, the goals of these groups are to make a profit, usually requiring familiar and marketable sounds (or beats) and simple and commercialized lyrics. In her research analyzing the responses by minorities and Whites to rap music, Sullivan (2003) found that Whites did not really “hear” the words of the songs they listened to; rather they commented on the “beat” of the music. In the case of female artists, “sex sells,” thus there may be some pressure by record companies to push their artists to write songs that present women in overly sexualized and denigrating ways. However, the extent to which this happens is not investigated in the current research and needs to be addressed in future works. In conclusion, a plethora of evidence and scholarship exists that dis- cusses the varied ways men oppress and suppress women in hip-hop. There needs to be more scholarship that specifically focuses on the ways that women, especially Black women, potentially disempower themselves. My research examined how female rappers of the 1990s, through their raps, presented empowering and libratory images of women but also undermined women by presenting themselves as hypersexual objects who demean other women. This research mirrors the paradoxical findings about the representation of women and female rappers in hip-hop videos, whereby women are presented and present themselves in sexually sug- gestive manners (Emerson, 2002). Along with males, Black females must also be held accountable for their choices, specifically, how they choose to depict themselves even though they live in a sexist, patriarchal society, particularly as the genre of hip-hop becomes more global, and the sounds and images of Black women are transmitted across the world.

Downloaded from http://jbs.sagepub.com at RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE on June 5, 2009 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 2 2 1 6 2 3 1 5 0 2 3 6 5 4 2 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 2 8 0 3 0 2 0 5 12 11 14 15 12 Sexual Derogatory 0 1 1 2 3 6 1 3 3 4 3 4 6 0 2 5 1 0 14 12 10 8 2 1 1 4 5 3 6 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 3 Appendix Alcohol and/ 9 9 0 5 0 3 0 3 1 7 1 13 15 14 15 20 12 16 21 15 16 Female Rapper Songs from 1992-2000 Rapper Songs from Female Braggadocio or Drugs Dissing References Women Toward Empowering “What Chu Like” I’m Looking For” Is Blind” “Love I Got Your Boyfriend” Your I Got Artist & Song Bo$$, “Deeper” Da Brat Featuring Tyrese, Tyrese, Da Brat Featuring Da Brat, “Fa All Y all” All Da Brat, “Fa Da Brat, “Funkdafied” Da Brat, “Ghetto Love” Da Brat, “Give It 2 You” It 2 Da Brat, “Give Da Brat, “Sittin O n...” Da Brat, “That’s What Da Brat, “That’s Eve, “What Ya Want” Ya “What Eve, Evans, Featuring Faith Eve “Gotta Man” Eve, Foxy Brown, “Hot Spot” Brown, Foxy Gangsta Boo, “Nasty Trick” Gangsta Boo, “Nasty Foxy Brown, “I’ll Be” “I’ll Brown, Foxy Heather B., “Do You” Heather B., “Do Lil’Time” Kim, “No MC Luscious, “Boom! Lil Kim, “Not Tonight” Lil Kim, “Not MC Lyte, “Cold Rock a Party” MC Lyte, MC Lyte, “Keepin on” “Keepin MC Lyte, MC Lyte, “Ruffneck” MC Lyte,

799

Downloaded from http://jbs.sagepub.com at RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE on June 5, 2009 1.20 0 0 0 6 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 5 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 1 15 15 53 3.11 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 4 0 0 3 3 0 1 8 4 3 15 18 17 137 5 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 6 8 8 1 1 1 4 2 10 15 11 11 0 0 1 1 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 8 1 4 1 3 4 4 0 4 1.45 2.80 4.11 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 3 0 0 1 64 123 181 7.57 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 6 1 0 18 10 10 15 13 333 Elliott Featuring Da Brat, “Sock It 2 Me/The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” Featuring NAS, EVE, “Hot Boyz” Featuring NAS, Williams, “All My Love” “All Williams, “Man Behind The Music” “Man Behind Butta, Markell, “Party Ain’t A Party” Ain’t “Party Butta, Markell, Queen Pen Featuring Teddy Riley, Riley, Teddy Queen Pen Featuring Missy “Misdemeanor” Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott Average Queen Latifah, “Just Another Day” “Just Queen Latifah, Queen Latifah, “U.N.I.T.Y.” Queen Latifah, Queen Latifah, “Weekend Love” “Weekend Queen Latifah, Queen Pen Featuring Eric Queen Pen Featuring Teddy Riley, Nutta Riley, Teddy Queen Pen Featuring 6 Queen Pen, “All My Love” Queen Pen, “All Rah Digga Featuring Busta Rhymes, “Imperial” 16 Salt-N-Pepa, “Ain’t Nuthin’Salt-N-Pepa, “Ain’t Thing”A She But Salt-N-Pepa, “Gitty-Up” 4 Salt-N-Pepa Featuring En Vogue, “Whatta Man”Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa Featuring En 2 Salt-N-Pepa, “Let’s Talk About Sex” Talk Salt-N-Pepa, “Let’s Salt-N-Pepa, “None Of Your Business”Your Salt-N-Pepa, “None Of 1 Salt-N-Pepa, “Shoop” Salt-N-Pepa, “You Showed Me” Showed Salt-N-Pepa, “You & Kandi, “4, 5, 6”Sole Featuring JT Money 18 Suga, “What’s Up Star?” (From “The Show”) Up Star?” (From “The Show”) Suga, “What’s Puffs” The Lady Of Rage, “Afro 4 Trina, “Da Baddest B***h” Trina, Trina, “Pull Over” Trina, Yo Yo, “The Bonnie And Clyde Theme”And Clyde “The Bonnie Yo, Yo 5 Total

800

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Notes

1. Rose (1994) and Phillips, Reddick-Morgan, and Stephens (2005) provided an excellent and insightful discussion of first-wave women rappers such as Roxanne Chante and Lady B., among others. 2. In this sample there is overlap of songs from the first wave of female rappers to the second wave, thus there are artists from both waves included in my sample. 3. All lyrics were obtained from the original hip hop (rap) lyrics archive version 2.0 (available at www.ohhla.com). For a complete list of the songs examined see the appendix. 4. Female rappers also shared other similarities with male rappers not reported here, such as excessive use of violent lyrics. 5. There may be some overlap between categories examined, for example, “disses” could also be coded and interpreted as female agency or empowerment.

References

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Perry, I. (2003). Who(se) am I? The identity and image of women in hip hop. In G. Dines & J. M. Humez (Eds.), Gender, race, and class in media: A text reader (2nd ed., pp. 136-148). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Pinn, A. (1996). Getting grown: Notes on gangsta rap music and notions of manhood. Journal of African American Men, 2, 23-35. Rose, T. (1994). Black noise: Rap music and Black culture in contemporary America. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Skeggs, B. (1993). Two minute brother: Contestation through gender, race and sexuality. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Sciences, 6, 1-23. Shelton, M. (1997). Can’t touch this! Representations of the African American female body in urban rap videos. Popular Music and Society, 26, 107-116. Smitherman, G. (1997). “The chain remain the same”: Communicative practices in hip hop nation. Journal of Black Studies, 28, 3-25. Sullivan, R. (2003). Rap and race: It’s got a nice beat, but what about the message. Journal of Black Studies, 33, 605-622.

Matthew Oware is an assistant professor at DePauw University. His research interests include race and ethnicity, multiracial identification, popular culture, and representations of gender, race, and class in rap and/or hip-hop music.

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