Katedra Anglistiky a Amerikanistiky Bakalářská Diplomová Práce 2019

Home , 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bitch Please, Blow Ya Mind, Bonita Applebum, Coke La Rock, Just a Friend

Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta

Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky

Bakalářská diplomová práce

2019 Jan Kysilka

Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Jan Kysilka

The Historical Development of the African-American Female Identity in Rap Music Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. 2019

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

…………………………………………… Author’s signature

I would like to thank my supervisor Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. for his advice and support throughout the writing process.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ...... 5 2. Sociocultural background in the U.S...... 8 The Music Industry ...... 10 African-American Stereotypes ...... 13 3. The Male Perspective ...... 14 Historical Development ...... 16 Devaluation of The Message ...... 22 The Image of Masculinity ...... 23 Mother vs. Other Women ...... 24 4. The Female Perspective...... 27 Historical Development ...... 29 The Club Effect ...... 33 Future Development ...... 34 5. Conclusion ...... 37 Works cited ...... 39 English summary ...... 45 České resumé ...... 46

1. Introduction

In 1973 Clive “DJ Kool Herc” Campbell decided to organize what was supposed to be an ordinary party in the Bronx. No one there would have probably expected the show Campbell provided, to be the beginning of one of the biggest music styles in the history. The original idea of rap music was to create a new funky type of music which after a while transformed into a much more important idea. An idea which, for African-Americans frustrated with the social relations in the United States of America, meant a new way to express their sadness or anger in a free manner. The free speech through a music style seemed like the perfect idea and the pioneers believed that their songs could actually help the situation.

Rap music dreams that were too big and too uncomfortable for America. What was supposed to be a tool for bringing people of different descents together in order to achieve equality at any level, turned into a tool which did the right opposite to the African-American society.

The United States of America are built on two ideologies and one historical experience which caused rap music, and lots of other thing in the American society, to go astray. Colonialism affected the American mentality immensely. A campaign which stood on two primal rules – survival of the fittest and conquering.

Therefore, the foundations were laid with concepts of masculinity and merciless treatment. It also caused the enslavement of Africans and immediate predisposition in the society. The modern society, however, is standing on the ideology of capitalism which is ordinarily considered as the traditional western approach to economy. The society which was already based on masculinity and power also added the concept of individualism and profit maximization which

5 made rap music what it is now. Because the representatives of record companies decide about what will the final musical product be, the original idea left very quickly and was supplemented by the idea of gangsters, whose stories have been very exciting for the American society since Hollywood started portraying criminals in a slightly better light than they deserved. The role for African-

American women was to portray always sexually charged and aggressive women.

The thesis aims to focus on the explanation of the unfair female identity established within rap music. The first chapter characterizes various historical and cultural features of the American society and how they contributed to the emergence of stereotypes for African-American women. Lastly, the impact of the record companies on the actual production is studied in the end of the first chapter.

The next two chapters aim to describe both male and female rappers and the historical development of their contributions to both the music style and the position of women.

In order to understand the male perspective, the concept of masculinity within rap music needs to be analyzed. Furthermore, the second chapter contains the difference between mothers and other women to rappers and description of this disparity. The last topic of the second chapter is the devaluation of the original message of rap music.

The last chapter focuses on women rappers and their way of dealing with a position and an identity they were given. Firstly, the historical development of the female representation is described including particular artists who decided to fight the unfair identity and who accepted it ultimately damaged the reputation

6 of African-American women even more. The effect of clubs is also taken into considered together with the range of its impact on this music style. Lastly, there is a commentary on the temporary situation and possible changes that could be carried out by the female rappers with some help from the male rappers or by feministic arrangements.

2. Sociocultural background in the U.S.

The Female Gender has come through several different oppressions in the history and not only in the American history, but worldwide. The fight for equality has been fought for centuries and it still cannot be considered resolved. Even though women obtained the rights that we nowadays consider basic, there is still an obvious disparity rooted in the American society. Despite the fact, that current society is considered modern and developed, there is still a presence of the spirit of the past which does not let people understand true equality. The three concepts that heavily influenced today’s society are colonialism, capitalism and consumerism, especially in connection to the topic of this thesis. Colonialism, which is based on conquering and the survival of the fittest, made masculinity very important. Capitalism introduced the concept of individuality which naturally divides the society. Together with that, the importance of a profit and the idea of property was embedded in people’s mind. Unfortunately, the vision of a profit led to slavery and created a whole new group of people within a society which was very hostile. The last important concept is consumerism which is very tightly connected to capitalism. This order made people want anything that is available in exchange for money. It gained importance especially in the second half of the

20th century and created a space for companies to promote their brands and build multibillion-dollar enterprises. But most importantly, it contributed to the objectification of the female gender. All three of these ideologies are very important for understanding today’s position of the African American Women in the society, but also their portrayal from others.

America has always been interested in violence and criminals. The movies, such as The Godfather, Goodfellas, Casino or even the western movies were very warmly accepted by the audience and started creating an idea of a likeable criminal. This image has definitely been heavily influenced by the style in which

‘Hollywood’ decided to shoot these movies. These movies usually portray a person who had to go through tough times and eventually succeeded in life which makes an ordinary spectator cheer for the protagonist. The fact, that this success was accomplished by illegal and most importantly immoral actions, is often secluded from the ‘positive’ storyline and therefore creates a character which is in the end loved by the audience and his crimes are ignored. This trend has been working ever since and undoubtedly helped the successful assimilation of gangsta rap. The distant idea is what makes any of these stories so exciting for the spectator. Presumably, most of the audience has never been through events that are even distantly similar to those described in the movies and rap songs. “White listeners can consume the music and images of a corporate construction of blackness while maintaining a safe distance from black pain and institutional racism” (Hunter 18). The average consumer of this music style is far from all the attractive features of the gangster life, but also does not need to worry about any racial or socioeconomic hardships that the rapper is trying to expose. This created a sort of numbness for the modern audience and makes the lyrics diffused which reflects through partial ignoring of all the despicable ideas that occur in rap music. Eventually, violence, materialism and misogyny have become a standard which most of the rappers follow in order to be successful and profitable. “Given its sources, we argue that changing the content of this music—

9 specifically with respect to the portrayal of women—requires in part changing the conditions under which it is created, conditions that lie at the intersection of three important forces: Socioeconomic disadvantage and associated gender relations in local communities, the material interests of the record industry, and the larger cultural objectification of women and associated norms of hegemonic masculinity” (Kubrin and Weitzer 26). The gender inequality is deeply rooted in the American society and cannot be blamed solely on this music style and neither can the situation be solved by rappers. There is a structural problem which needs to be faced by the whole society together and only then there can be considerable changes made to the entertainment industry. “But it is also true that hip-hop was often scapegoated, being no more misogynistic than American popular culture in general although perhaps peppered with less polite language.” (Perry 137). It is the way these ideas are presented and the explicitness which makes rap a target for the society. The factor of realness is crucial for rap, but the question is whether all the rappers need to portray an image which is so similar. These images are not as much about realness as they are about being interesting to the public. The line which marked realness was crossed a long time ago.

The Music Industry

Even though there have been plenty of rappers who shamelessly released multiple songs which degrade women and present violence, they definitely are not the only ones who need to take responsibility for this situation. The music industry and especially rap music have been influenced by the sociocultural background and just produced what consumers want. “Hip hop culture is not

10 separate from the rest of the American culture; objectified female bodies; those images are everywhere as well, those images are in advertising, those images are in movies, those images are in TV programs” (Jhally perf.). There is a ubiquitous image of a woman’s body and its primary focus to attract men to anything the image is promoting. Once rap started getting popular in the 1980s, the music companies’ representatives showed interest in the music style and of course were able offer artists better conditions to create music, but also all the management. In return, the artists just had to listen to them. With rap getting more aggressive and violent, the representatives noticed a trend of popularity for this type of music. Therefore, from then on it was the theme that generates money which is the most important concept for these companies in a capitalist society. “Producers not only encourage artists to become ‘‘hardcore’’ but also reject or marginalize artists who go against the grain. As a result of such practices, a directly proportional relationship has developed between rap music’s explicitness and the sale of its records” (Kubrin and Weitzer 6). This influence created an environment which let the rappers escape their economic situation for the price of displaying violence and devaluation of the original purpose of this music style. Not every starting rapper had the money to produce a track without some help. In fact, most of them needed some assistance in the beginning. The companies signed them right from the beginning and basically created their image through their music which deepened the negative characteristics of rap music. Once the author builds his career on controversial topics and acting, it is hard to be remembered for something else later on in life and most importantly, it is the style which attracts the people in the beginning and is later required to

11 continue. “I’m not trying to shake my ass on TV; I’m not trying to call women bitches and hoes; I’m not trying to be a crackhead, but I signed a contract, which says that, in order to get celebrity, in order to be famous, I gotta kinda just do it one time” (Parker). Lawrence “KRS-One” Parker, also known as “Teacha”, is one of the rappers who started their careers in the 1980s and still perform today.

KRS-One basically says that most of the rappers in fact do not support the ideas they present in their music. However, in order to get relevant and enter the business, they have to make something that really sells. Since many rappers come from the ghetto and their economic situation has been difficult, they choose to sacrifice their values in order to change their life. The African American male is undoubtedly in the center of hip hop. Unfortunately, his road to success is paved with the degradation of women who automatically had a disadvantage in this industry. The man’s voice, altered by the industry and the needs of the

American society, is the narrator which objectifies women (especially African

American women) and pushes them in the background. “The really negative thing about music videos and about advertising is, that that is the only way in which women are presented. And so, the only way in which men are allowed to make a connection in the popular culture with women is through sexuality” (Jhally perf.). It could be argued that rap music only reflects the reality of today’s society and uses strong language to do so. On the other hand, misogyny became a recurrent theme and transformed into something omnipresent in this music style.

In the end, by desensitizing these images and ideas, it made them seem ordinary and normal which made the situation worse.

African-American Stereotypes

Several different stereotypes have been created for the African-American community in the past and then slightly altered to fit the hip hop culture or any other. Although many stereotypes have been created in the past, the “Jezebel” and the “Sapphire” stereotypes are the most relevant for the chosen topic. Both of these stereotypes went through a mild change to fit the time and place, but still carry the same message as the original ones. “According to this stereotypical view, the Sapphire (in rap, referred to as ‘the bitch’) is an African American woman who dominates her entire household including her man. The sapphire can be described as a socially aggressive woman who tries through manipulation to control her man” (Adams and Fuller 945). The main problem with the word

“bitch” in rap music is the extremely frequent usage and generalizing of women.

Even if the woman in question does not fit the description displayed above or her nature is not explained at all, she is still often called the b-word. The word has definitely not lost its original meaning or power, but instead works as a tool to portray any woman as aggressive and manipulative. Generally, the word is used to describe a woman who is calculating and possibly poses a threat. Because of the frequent usage, it creates the image that men should be always cautious around women and they are not to be trusted. At the same time, the word signifies weakness and inferiority which has been magnified by the implementation of the male gender. It has been used by rappers to humiliate another rapper or another man. “The Jezebel (referred to as the ‘ho’ [whore] in rap) represents a loose, sexually aggressive woman. The Jezebel wants and

13 accepts sexual activity in any form from men, and she often uses sex as a means to get what she wants from men” (Adams and Fuller 945). The “Jezebel” stereotype on the other hand creates an image of a woman who is always interested in an intercourse and in the context of rap music requires something in return. Ironically, women are hypersexualized and labeled as prostitutes at the same time. Hunter states that the image of “Jezebel” is represented in Hip Hop as an almost exclusively African American stripper. (Hunter 17) It is important to note, that the words have become interchangeable and their original meaning can be distorted. According to Dr. Dre’s opening lines in his song “Bitches ain’t shit” the “bitches” actually are “hoes” as well: “Bitches ain’t shit but hoes and tricks, Lick on these nuts and suck the dick, get the fuck out after you’re done”.

Dr. Dre managed to fit both stereotypes with their description in the first three lines of his song. He is stating that women are tricky, promiscuous and their only value for him is the sexual one. African-American rappers use old stereotypes, created by the white society in the past, to devaluate women of the same descent with the aim of personal success and profit, which generates a big gap in their own minority.

3. The Male Perspective

Because the rap music has always been predominantly male, their voice is the one that sets the trends, creates values, end establishes standards. In the early 1980’s, when the rap music started growing, there were mainly male rappers and since the music style offered them a new outlet and a new sense of

14 freedom, they were able to express any feelings they had without any censoring.

Inevitably, these pioneers laid the foundations for the future artists based on their sociocultural background. Because these ideas and expressions had gained popularity, it created a basic set of rules that need to be followed in order to succeed. Frustration created by racial inequalities led to highly aggressive lyrics and a presentation of violent ideas in the music style which originally intended to bring people closer to each other. Therefore, the position of women in the industry had been heavily influenced before they effectively participated. The recurring expressions, ideas, and images generated a status which rappers started following in order to be relevant. This status was based on masculinity and “realness”. Rappers had to maintain this status in order to be accepted by the fans and also to be accepted by other rappers on the scene. This created a situation which only intensified the themes and contributed to the establishment of misogyny, violence, drug abuse, and consumerism standards. According to three separate studies by Dixon and Azocar, Price, Nir and Cappella, and Shurm

“the acceptance of degrading women may operate below consciousness as a result of the heightened accessibility of sexist constructs that are due to chronic activation of misogynist rap themes over time” (qtd. in Dixon et al. 355).

Therefore, these standards not only make offensive labels ordinary, but also decrease the social understanding of such constructs. This generates desensitization which keeps the society from fighting against such description and also suggests the audience that humiliation, rape or any other violence against women is acceptable. Smith states that even though rappers acquire wealth, they still maintain the ghetto image which is closer to the poor African-

American and Hispanic audience. (qtd. in Hunter 19) This again disproves the authenticity of rap lyrics and proves that rappers who want to stay relevant and successful need to create a music which is wanted by the society, therefore often astray from the true attitude of the author.

Historical Development

For the analysis carried out in this work the focus will be on mainstream rap songs which have been the most influential within the industry. Plenty of songs that contradict the idea of this paper have been recorded, but their reach is hardly comparable to those which became very popular. Hip Hop was born on the 11th August 1973 at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. Clive “DJ Kool Herc”

Campbell and his younger sister Cindy organized a party which changed the entertainment industry forever. DJ Kool Herc experimented with turntables and eventually started “breaking” and looping the records which led to the invention of the traditional beat. Coke La Rock started calling out names and rapping into the microphone over the music DJ Kool Herc was creating. There was not much development in the rest of the 1970s, but right from the beginning of a new decade Sugarhill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight” which peaked at #32 on the

Billboard R&B chart. Another important song published in 1980 was “The Breaks” by Kurtis Blow who also managed to perform on Soul Train which made him the first rapper on national TV. One of the most important moments for Hip Hop came on the 1st July 1982 when Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five released

“The Message”. This song is one of the first to comment on a social situation and make a report from the urban center which set a trend which stayed in this music

16 style until today. In 2012, Rolling Stone chose “The Message” as the greatest hip-hop song of all time. It was not the only important song Joseph “Grandmaster

Flash” Saddler put out that year. He also released “New York, New York” which is the first rap song which has the word “bitch” in its lyrics, but also shows the negative approach to the fight for equality which was going on at the time: “His wife took the kids, the car and the crib, In this man's world, so much for Women's

Lib”. It would be a generalization to say that this song laid the foundations for the whole music style by including these images and opinions, but it should definitely be taken into consideration since he is also the author of “The Message” which made him very popular and also very inspirational for other rappers. Also,

“New York, New York” was the first successful song to feature the n-word in its lyrics. Another influential song which contained the word “bitch” was “La Di Da

Di” by Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh. This song reached #4 on the R&B chart, but also has been sampled multiple times since its release, therefore can be considered as inspirational too. The music style had started getting popular from there and successful rappers and groups like LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C, Ice-T, Public

Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane or N.W.A emerged in the following years. These groups, together with the artist previously mentioned, started laying the foundations for what has become one of the biggest music styles in the history. However, the violent and misogynistic imagery spawned with them. For example, Ice-T raps in his 1986 song “6 ‘N the Mornin’”: “She started acting silly simply would not quit, Called us all punk pussies, said we all weren’t shit, As we walked over to her, ho continued to speak, So we beat the bitch down in the goddamn street”. “6 ‘N the Mornin’” is actually considered one of the first gangsta

17 rap songs ever. Not only is the woman called both a “bitch” and a “ho”, but also faces an assault for calling the man a “pussy”. The word works like a trigger for him, because it implies that he is cowardly and weak, therefore he had to resolve the situation by showing his physical superiority to reclaim his masculinity. The song promotes the two previously mentioned stereotypical words, of which exact meaning is again distorted and interchangeable, but also promotes the idea of violence against woman as the easiest way to solve a problem. It was especially

N.W.A who started a new era with their 1988 album “Straight Outta Compton”.

Their song with the same name features lyrics such as: “So if you’re at a show in the front row, I’m a call you a bitch or dirty-ass ho, You’ll probably get mad like a bitch is supposed to, But that shows me, slut, you’re composed to, a crazy motherfucker from the street”. The group also released a son called “A Bitch iz a

Bitch” in the same year which states that: “Now the title bitch don’t apply to all women, But all women have a little bitch in ‘em”. Even though these two lines are supposed to contradict each other and explain their view, it still says that every woman possesses those vile characteristics of a “bitch”. Records like these started flowing into the mainstream and created a space without boundaries.

Gangsta rap set the basic trend for the whole 1990s era, but its features are obvious even in today’s rap music. Songs with an opposite approach to women was still quite rare at the time. However, Marcel “Biz Markie” Hall released a song in 1989 called “Just A Friend” which describes his affection to a woman he is trying to date, in a non-violent manner, and it was a very successful song. It reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the Rap chart. Despite its

18 success, it did not start a trend and rappers in the 90s still leaned towards the gangsta rap style.

The whole 1990s era can be described as the golden era, because rap has established itself in the entertainment industry and started influencing everything around. Unfortunately, it was also the era of frustration, disagreements and death. Firstly, N.W.A had disintegrated in a not so peaceful manner and its previous member started recording “diss tracks” on each other. The following year there were the Los Angeles riots which happened after the Rodney King incident. The social relationships in the United States got stirred once again and it reflected in aggressive lyrics. There was a further division in the mid-1990s when Tupac “2pac” Shakur, who was the voice of the West Coast, went into a disagreement with Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace who at the time was the main representative of the East Coast. Both of them were undoubtedly very influential for the industry and both helped establish a different theme. 2pac released a song called “Dear Mama” which started a trend of a public appreciation of one’s mother. Because of its contradictory nature to the overall negative approach to women, this topic will be further discussed in one of the following subchapters. The Notorious B.I.G. on the other hand further promoted the image of a “pimp” in his songs “Hypnotize” and “Big Poppa”. Unfortunately, their dispute supposedly resulted in both rappers dying due to gunshot wounds. Circumstances of these murders are still unclear today. The 1990s were also the decade which made video clips for rap songs a standard which deepened the objectification of women and rooted their importance in sexuality. There were also some records which appreciated women or expressed affective and non-violent ideas, such as

“Keep Ya Head Up" by 2pac or “Bonita Applebum” by A Tribe Called Quest which consists of lyrics, such as: “Hey, being with you is a top priority, Ain’t no need to question the authority, Chairman of the board, the chief of affections, You got mine’s to swing in your direction”. Despite the success songs like these on the rap scene, the overall effect and impression of the music style was still very negative and misogynistic.

Given that the main features of Hip Hop were established before the beginning of the new millennium, the 2000s brought various new branches of rap music, but the main features stayed the same. More and more video clips showed scantily clad women who danced in a very sexualized way to often very offensive lyrics. The most prominent rappers of this decade were Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye

West and 50 Cent. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter explains the recurrent themes in his song “99 Problems” by saying: “Rap critics that say he’s ‘Money, Cash, Hoes’, I’m from the hood, stupid? What type of facts are those? If you grew up with holes in your zapatos, You’d celebrate the minute you was having dough.” Jay-Z basically explains the reasoning behind the exuberant spending and appeal to women. The capitalistic images are passed down in the “hood”, therefore young people cumulate their wishes which are unfortunately connected to money in the most of cases. In 2003 Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson released an album called “Get

Rich or Die Tryin’” which contained the hit “P.I.M.P.” which as the name suggests described 50 Cent as a famous, irresistible man, but also included a lot of foul language. This song has topped charts and became a great success. However, in

2005 50 Cent released an album called “The Massacre” which contained the song

“Candy shop”. Despite the fact, that it still suggests highly sexual ideas and the

20 video clip is quite strong, there is no strong language included in the song. 50

Cent said: „I think the song itself is great…I attempted to be as sexual as possible, from a male perspective, without being vulgar or obscene.” (qtd. in Brown 76).

The song also topped charts and got even nominated for a Grammy. Since there were no swearwords included and everything was explained with metaphors, the song could have been played almost anywhere. The fact that the cleaner song had more success should interest other rappers and possibly alter their understanding of the way to a popular song. As a matter of fact, the gangsta rap was not that popular in the second half of the 2000s and therefore other forms of this style appeared.

Finally, the 2010s brought a lot of new rappers because of the social media and various platforms, such as YouTube or SoundCloud. This gives an opportunity to those who do not have money to get in the business, but still can create music and try to make it this way. The music style got quite diverse in the last years, but also there have been more socially important songs released and they also got very popular. For example, Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” or “This Is America” by Donald “Childish Gambino” Glover both became very popular and sparked a conversation about racism and other American internal problems again. At the same time there are artists, such as Gazzy “Lil Pump” Garcia, Migos or Nayvadius

“Future” Wilburn, who still rap about guns, drugs, alcohol, expensive things, and call women by the infamous words “bitch” and “ho”. Even though these images are still prevalent in Hip Hop, there is a slow change which could maybe point the music style in another direction. One, that builds on clever lyrics and important social questions, as it was intended in the early stages.

Devaluation of The Message

Rap music started as a music style with a message. Originally there was a focus the social relations, problems of the country and problems of particular cities. It could have had the function of an informational outlet for the politicians about things that cause distrust, fear and anger within the society. More importantly, it was meant to bring different ethnicities together and possibly aim for some equality on the cultural level. Unfortunately, anger creates more anger and the primary problems were swapped for individual success and materialistic goals. In addition, new social problems emerged because of the promotion of drug abuse, consumerism, alcohol, guns, violence and misogyny. “Generally speaking, black people do not believe that misogyny and sexism and violence against women are urgent issues. We still think that racism, police brutality, black male incarceration are the issues that we should be concerned about.” (Beverly

Guy-Sheftall perf.) The problem is that these topics are not relevant either. It is also difficult to listen to a rapper comment on a particular problem which was ridiculed or detracted by the same rapper in their previous songs. Some rappers also tend to needlessly implement misogyny into songs which are actually commenting something important. For example, Kendrick Lamar raps in his 2017 song “HUMBLE.”: “Girl, I can buy yo’ ass the world with my paystub, Ooh, that pussy good, won’t you sit it on my taste bloods?”. This song got very popular quickly and especially drew attention because of its video clip. The main point of the record is the suppression of African-Americans in their expressions.

Implementing overly sexual or violent images just devaluates the work invested into the song, but most importantly devaluates the main idea. Overall, rap music

22 is filled with unnecessary exaggeration which presents the music style as unsophisticated and meaningless to the part of the society which is not interested in rap. Therefore, there is a decreased interest in the music from the outsiders and the important messages get ignored. Even though rap music has influenced other music styles and it is very much present in today’s world, its potential is still limited by the harsh way of expression. A scene from 8 Mile illustrates this situation quite well. There is a group of friends and there is only one member of that group who is interested in any social or gender problems. “That’s our problem. If we don’t respect our sisters, who will? We’re doing it to ourselves.”

(8 Mile) He points out that by disrespecting African-American women they also create a bad image for themselves and the whole African-American community.

The rest of the group always ridicule him for such comments or tell him to be quiet because none of them cares about it. The same scenario can be applied on rap music, where addressing these ideas is not very popular and the reaction to the serious songs has been weaker.

The Image of Masculinity

Masculinity and “realness” have been among the most important attributes of a rapper. Especially the gangsta rap era brought lots of disputes between various important rappers, but also brought many “diss tracks” which were the exhibition of masculinity. The status is incredibly important on the rap scene and needs to be maintained. This status is usually portrayed through different object and their amount. Rappers are basically showing their money and their lifestyle which is very attractive for an ordinary listener. The other important attribute is

23 the ability to appeal to lots of attractive women, therefore, to be the “pimp.”

Since the women in question are often described as prostitutes and objectified as a part of the rapper’s ownership, the number of women just magnifies his wealth. “The imagery projected in misogynistic rap has its roots in the development of the capitalist patriarchal system based on the principles of White supremacy, elitism, racism, and sexism” (Adams and Fuller – 942). The profit maximization is the basic idea of capitalism and most of the commercial rappers are guided by that idea. Because the women who surround rappers are there only, because they expect money or things from them, they are automatically labeled as something buyable and therefore objectified. This objectification creates a passivity of the women’s voice and the missing opposition. Rapper

Cornell “Nelly” Haynes symbolizes this objectification in his song “Tip Drill” where he slides his credit card between a woman’s buttock.

Mother vs. Other Women

Even though many rappers portray women as someone weak, aggressive, untrustworthy, and buyable, some of them seem to love their mothers more than any other woman and almost do not classify her as a woman. Popular rappers, such as 2pac, Cordozar “Snoop Dogg” Broadus or Kanye West all released a song dedicated to their mothers in the past. For example, Snoop Dogg released a song called “I Love My Momma” in 1999 in which he states: “You taught me how to care, You taught me how to share, You taught me how to love and to give, thanks to the one above, I love you momma.” The other rappers express a very similar feeling towards their mother as Snoop Dogg. Ironically, the same album contains

24 a song called “Bitch Please” which has lyrics, such as: “I get this pussy everywhere that I go, Ask the bitches in your hood ‘cause they know, Bitch please! Get down on your god damn knees, For this money, chronic, clothes and weed.” This is a good example of a song which is written for popularity, whereas the first song are his genuine feelings and his personal experience. Snoop raps about his mother being his only parent and his main mentor. "I value women, because one of the greatest women in the world raised me to be this guy that I am, so I could never not see the value in a woman." (Graham). Drake presents a similar idea, but when asked a question about misogyny in rap music during the same interview, his answer was quite ignorant. "I feel that to demeanor woman, it's something completely different than what we do, you know, I feel like, you know, the B-word at times is definitely, you know, demeaning, but I really do feel like a lot of the things in Hip Hop are context related. It's about how you say it and how you deliver the product." (Graham) The problem is that the generalization in rap music regarding women is so strong that lots of lyrics are aimed at everybody and nobody at the same time. The women showed in the video clips or mentioned in the lyrics are usually without names, without stories and without voices. So, when the rapper denounces the women around him for their character, it creates the image that the industry hates every woman because there is no limitation. Drake is both oblivious to the effect, but also seems to really follow trends of hip hop which work, as his attitude seems rather calm and friendly. The difference between the artist’s feeling about their mother and other women are quite incomprehensible. "She told me I was too nice. I couldn't believe it. It wouldn't work, because I was too nice. That was the

25 ultimate stab in the back. So, I went through a week and just going, forget it,

I'm just gonna be like them." (Shakur) 2pac states in one of his early interviews that a girl expected him to be more tough and left him because of the fact that he was too nice to her. The relationship between rappers and women might be influence by some personal negative experience which the artist transforms into hatred aimed at any woman that appears in his surroundings. Of course, there is not enough evidence to prove this as rappers need to stay “real” and only rarely filter such information outside. It would explain the altered reality of their relationships with women, but also the female approach to this. The other possibility is the frequent contact with a certain type of women. According to

Shakur’s interview, he needs to act as a bad person in order to impress these women. It would mean that rap music has created an image of a typical man in the industry and women who are interested in them also expect them to be as tough as they present themselves in their songs. That would suggest that these artists are usually surrounded by women who enjoy their behavior and therefore their rap then consists of opinions that are constructed due to a frequent contact with women who are interested in tough men. "My mother raised me, so I have this much respect for women and I fight often because of them. And it gives me a lot of friends. I got a lot of friends, ‘cuz I have respect for women. Ultra-respect for women." (Shakur) These scenarios are rather hypothetical and probably cannot be scientifically verified, but it would definitely explain the enormous disparity between their family relationship and their overall. After all, some of these men are married and have children while they are producing songs about

26 being in a never-ending presence of multiple beautiful women who are in awe of their property or their masculinity, but never of their lyrical prowess.

4. The Female Perspective

Women had a difficult position in rap music right from the beginning. Partly because there was not that many woman rappers and partly because the male artists started forming their identity in the music style, but also for the whole modern popular culture without them. Two basic approaches were established in the female rap community. The first one meant to subordinate to the identity they were given by the male rappers or rather by the male part of the American society. “Women, particularly African-American women, have long been characterized as loose, immoral, and hypersexual. The threat of sexual harassment, already a major problem for all women in the workforce, increases dramatically when women dare to enter nontraditional field” (Goodall 85). Female rappers had a very difficult quest. Not only did they need to dismiss the offensive stereotype that has been created for them by men, but they also needed to create a new identity at the same time to oppose the original one by something more accurate and authentic. What made it more difficult was the indirect approach they had to take in order to not be considered feminists as it was perceived rather harshly in the USA at the time and also the movement was associated primarily with the white women. However, their primary intention was definitely not the fight against stereotypes, but the music itself. But in order to become relevant,

African-American women rappers still had to find their own way into the industry which was against them. There were three basic approaches to the problem.

“Because street culture and the exploitative culture on which it is based have become such key sources of black identity in the hip hop generation, many young black women parrot the sexist ideas that are so widely circulated in hip hop; it’s a key to belonging” (Rose 174). The first one meant to accept the identity that has been created for African-American women and embracing it in order to attract the male audience and become successful. The problem was that a part of young female society decided to take these stereotypes and accept them too as they could see both male and female rappers painting the same picture which they eventually accepted as the true one. The second approach was based on an aggressive style which reminded the male one. It consisted of parodies on some known misogynistic songs or ridiculing of men rappers by questioning their masculinity or comparing them to each other in order to create some insecurity.

It was not that different from the first approach as both are somewhat reminiscent of the original male style. Even though it challenged men to think about their own lyrics, at the same time it made the female style quite similar to the style they despised. The last approach consisted purely of the love for the music and lyrical abilities which originally stood as the foundations for rap music.

“The fact that they use their lyrics to bring women’s issues to the forefront of rap music and Hip-Hop culture further disrupts the commonly held misconceptions and misrepresentations of Black women in Hip-Hop” (Pough, Check It While I

Wreck It 98). According to Pough, this approach was without a doubt the most suitable one as it was based on creating its own personal road which feels natural to the artists. At the same time, it fights the stereotype constructed originally and ignoring the identity helped to decrease its value. Unfortunately, the traditional

28 stereotypical image was still more profitable than any other at the time and that was what mattered to the music companies.

“Black criminals sell; black intellectuals don’t.

Black women dancers sell; black women rappers don’t.” (Hunter 30) It was only about the artist’s choice. It has meant either being popular and wealthy or staying true to one’s self and fighting the oppressive situation for the greater cause.

Historical Development

The first woman connected to rap music was the sister of DJ Kool Herc who helped him organize a party on which this music style arose. Surprisingly enough, the first song featuring rap to top the charts was “Rapture” by a rock band Blondie. The song is a mixture of several music styles and became very popular in 1980. It was also the first rap song with a video clip. The 1980s were dominated by artists and groups, such as Salt-N-Pepa, Roxanne Shante, The

Sequence, JJ Fad, Lady B, MC Lyte, and also Queen Latifah. “Perhaps in an effort to combat this tendency, pioneering female rappers tended to keep their sexuality well hidden” (Goodall 85) Their style was very neutral in the beginning, they chose the third approach and started slowly establishing the identity of a female rapper. These rappers were wearing men’s clothes in various video clips. Salt-N-

Pepa were without a doubt the most influential female rap group of the 1980s and some more years to come. They decided to preach the pro-woman ideas in their songs and succeeded. Their most famous song in the beginning was “Push it” for which they were nominated for Grammy. “These women are still underrated and have never gotten the credit due because they have climbed

29 twice as many mountains as the average rapper just dealing with motherhood and sexism. Not to mention being able to close out a stage full of males without showing anything and still exuding so much sexuality” (Chuck D 124). Salt-N-

Pepa managed to find the balance between a sexually charged songs and dignity which immediately brought them popularity. “Consequently, we have witnessed a growing sexual freedom in female rap. This freedom includes an evolution of the concepts and acceptability of female sexuality and an increasing willingness on the part of female rappers to display and address issues of their own bodies and sexuality.” (Goodall 85)

The 1990s were a much more diverse decade than 1980s. Lots of new rappers emerged and their styles varied significantly. “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” (Oware 796) Probably the most important and influential representative of this style was Lil Kim who produced only very sexual and vulgar songs which were aimed solely at the male audience. In her 1996 song called

“Not Tonight” raps: “Could he come over right fast and fuck my pretty ass? I’ll pass, nigga, the dick was trash, If sex was record sales you would be double glass, The only way you seein’ me is if you eatin’ me”. To a certain degree she equalized the efforts made in the 1980s to establish a sophisticated identity for a woman. Although Lil Kim contributes to some of the stereotypical characteristics made by men she also retaliates by questioning men’s sexual abilities and

30 basically their manhood which are both very highlighted in rap produced by men.

“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” (Oware 798) Of course, the sexual content sold better once again, but also heavily deepened the stereotypes created by the male rappers. At the same time, the pioneers started releasing songs that dissed their male colleagues and called them out for their immoral lyrics and practices.

In 1993 Queen Latifah released a song called “U.N.I.T.Y.” in which she states:

“Every time I hear a brother call a girl a bitch or a ho, Trying to make a sister feel low, You know all of that gots to go.” Queen Latifah specifically focused on the generalized words “bitch” and “ho” and described the consequences for men who want to make problems. Lauryn Hill, who is one of the most prominent female rappers of the 90s, joined Queen Latifah and openly criticized male rappers for preferring to money to a dignity in a song called “Lost Ones” by saying: “It’s funny how money change a situation, Miscommunication lead to complication, My emancipation don’t fit your equation”. She is basically exposing the industry for being manipulative and the rappers for creating a gap where there should not be one. “They use their performances as platforms to refute, deconstruct, and reconstruct alternative visions of their identity. With this platform, rap music becomes a vehicle by which Black female rappers seek empowerment, make choices, and create spaces for themselves and other sistas.” (Keyes 265) The overall outcome of 1990s efforts was sort of silenced by rappers, such as Lil Kim who had decided to maximize her profit during the

31 gangsta rap era by selling out to the industry and continuously contributing to the growing gender gap.

The 2000s were missing a leading voice which would fight for women or at least balance the other rappers who were oblivious to the worsening situation for women in rap music. The main rappers of this period were Missy Elliot, Eve and Remy Ma. The aggressive and highly sexual image prevailed in this period.

For example, Eve “Eve” Jeffers released a song featuring Gwen Stefani called “Let

Me Blow Ya Mind” which has become one of the most successful female rap songs of the 2000s. It won a Grammy Award in 2002 for the Best Rap Collaboration and did well on chart all over the word. The opening lines are: “Drop your glasses, shake your asses, Face screwed up like you havin’ hot flashes, Which one, pick one, this one, classic, Red from blonde, year bitch I’m drastic.” The usage of the b-word among females is fully implemented at this point and used very often in their lyrics.

The 2010s did not bring much of a change regarding the female rap scene, but instead offer a new space to rework the identity which has been around for almost 40 years now. The social media and music platforms are available to anyone which reveals many new artists with fresh ideas and lyrics. Also, Nicki

Minaj and Cardi B are currently dominating the scene and are undoubtedly the most commercially successful female rappers of all time. Their reach is far beyond anyone’s before, but is currently still wasted, because both of them follow the trend from the previous decade and produce mostly sexual and aggressive songs.

Nevertheless, their potential is great and still can be utilized. This topic will be discussed more thoroughly in one of the upcoming subchapters.

The Club Effect

Rap music is originally derived from disco which makes it a music style tightly connected to dancing. Not only breakdancing or hip-hop dancing which are, of course, part of the subculture, but dancing generally. The hypersexuality is apart from lyrics vividly demonstrated in video clips by dances which are alarmingly comparable to those from a strip club. “Strip clubs are important in today’s hip-hop industry, not simply as cultural spaces but as economic ones as well. Many potential rap singles are first tested by DJs in strip clubs. If the single is successful in the strip club, it often moves to regular club play and radio airplay”

(Sarig in Hunter 2007). The dance factor is very important for rap music as it is the social connecting link in clubs and creating “beats” that are specifically tested on strippers is causing a further sexualization in the video clips, but also to the consumers of this music style. As mentioned earlier, getting physically close to girls is a strong motivation for young men to dance at Hip-Hop clubs.” (Muñoz-

Laboy 622). Clubs also present a very profitable business for both sides, because if people listen to the music in a club and like it or actually link this song to a possibly positive situation from the club, there is a chance they will listen to the song later. At the same time, the people that are having fun might spend more money at the club. “It employs the strip club as its muse and has shifted the racial gender relation in hip-hop once again” (Hunter 16). Since the beginning of the new millennium, a new branch of rap music has emerged in the South with the center in Atlanta. Hunter also claims that “commercial rap has helped make the strip club a public place and part of the mainstream imagination” (Hunter

25). This suggests that it is normal to pay for a woman in order to experience 33 any sexual interaction with her. That deepens the consumerism which has been heavily influencing rap music since the beginning and now in the later stages most of rap music is nearly subordinated to the ideology.

Future Development

In the current situation there are two very successful rappers Onika “Nicki

Minaj” Maraj and Belcalis “Cardi B” Almanzar who have the power to change the industry. Their primary focus is at the moment solely commercial and basically follows the trend of 2000s. “Her image, at least, starts in the realm of product;

I’m trynna sell the most amount of CDs in the way that mainstream sells anything these days. I’m trynna just move in and move my product. Now, her culture may not be in hip hop; her consciousness may not be in hip hop, but her products definitely are” (Parker). KRS-One describes her current goal which is simply to earn money. He also presents the possibility of artists not interested in rap music because of its nature, but purely because of its profitability. Because Minaj often chooses unconventional clothes and make up, she might make a target out of herself, but according to KRS-One it is all just a part of the show. “Nikki know what roots and culture is. She playing games with everybody head here. She running around in a costume. Getting dudes all choked up. She’s playing a game.

Respect the sister for her hustle” (Parker). Just because she does not follow the traditional rules and does something out of the ordinary, does not mean that she is doing it wrong. She undisputedly knows how to draw attention and sell her perosnality, therefore would be a perfect pioneer of the second wave female resistance. KRS-One also states in his speech that it is very hard, if not impossible

34 to move from the commercial sphere to the original one and become relevant.

“There is not enough of a balance, you know, if there were more women’s voices out there to kinda counter all of these things that are being said about them.”

(Moorer) Minaj and Cardi B have a great number of followers at this point which means that their music is relevant no matter what. They would have a great opportunity to start something new and possibly inspire new female rappers to join the industry. There are definitely empty spaces and times are changing. The society is getting a little more politically correct last few years and major rappers release songs which comment on racial or social problems. “I think they slowly are trying to make a turn and it does seem like it’s contagious, because once one does it, another follows, then another follows, so I just think it takes a little bit, you know, of the male MC stepping out in the front and saying it’s ok to publicly appreciate a woman, knowing that most of them are married with kids” (Moorer).

The relationships in the rapper community are also much better now. Artists collaborate all the time nowadays and if they were to produce some songs together, it could possibly be the 2nd golden era and the influence would reach into a few upcoming decades.

In Addition, there are many more modern ways how to discuss these gender problems. The communication has never been easier and if representative from various field work together, they certainly might accomplish more. “Black feminist rhetorical criticism can play a unique role in interrogating the normative discourse of black femininity. Black women construct discursive communities within "safe spaces" and through their interaction with a masculinist, racist, classist, and heteronormative American society” (Reid-Brinkley 242). It would be

35 important to have this possible energy from celebrities aimed ad something meaningful and achievable in the beginning in order to keep them interested.

“Hip-hop feminism’s evolving digital presence is not only evidence of the movement’s relevance and strength but also reﬂects its continued interest in democratizing the creation and dissemination of knowledge as well as promoting open dialogues about issues important to communities of color” (Durham 733).

At this time, any female voice in rap music would prosper the African-American community. Any larger discussions or campaigns should, however, be regulated by a doctrine which would help solve these problems systematically. “Some condemn the sexism in rap and encourage others to do the same. Others offer complicated analyses that critique the larger societal issues that contribute to rap’s sexism, production, and consumption. Some offer third-wave feminist critiques that question how one can be a child of the hip-hop generation, love the music, and still critique and actively speak out against sexism” (Pough, What

It Do, Shorty? 81). Most importantly, solving problems like these requires a very long period of time, because ideologies defining the society cannot be simply canceled, but there definitely is a possibility in the modern time to at least alter the situation for the better. After all, as KRS-One raps in DJ Premier’s song

“Classic”, Hip Hop is all about: “peace, love, unity and havin’ fun”.

5. Conclusion

Despite its unexpected creation, rap music turned into one of the biggest and most profitable music styles in the American history. However, it is also the fact that caused the transformation of a music style which was originally supposed to bring people together and solve various cultural, social and racial related problems into a music style which prioritizes economic success before heritage and unity. These values are rooted in the American historic experience which was especially influenced by the process of colonization and enslavement.

This gave an importance to the concepts of patriarchy, masculinity and power advantage. Whereas, the modern society is based on capitalism which connects masculinity with individualism and creates a very dangerous construct. Because of capitalism there is a natural emergence of consumerism and materialism in the society which complements the profit maximization by the creation of the

American Dream. The first chapter focuses on these concepts and analyzes them in detail in order to understand the American mentality. There is also a subchapter focused solely on the entertainment industry and record companies which require offensive songs from rappers in order to generate a profit. The side effect is the recreation of historical stereotypes for African-Americans. These are basically the same, except the name is different from the original one.

The guilt for the unfair labeling of African-American women within rap music cannot be defined by a singular factor. However, the male rappers were the ones to create an identity for women before they even entered this environment. The most influential period were the 1990s during which the gangsta rap controlled all the imagery. This led to women being objectified and

37 generalized based on a smaller group of women. The terms “bitch” and “ho” were introduced and established. These words basically represented the older stereotypes “Jezebel” and “Sapphire” and became almost the only words to describe a woman. This hate is possibly generated through unpleasant personal experience of rappers with a woman or possibly by spending time around women who like these aggressive men and most importantly do not mind the description they were given. There are no logical reasons other than these to explain the extreme difference between rappers’ relationships with their mothers and with any other women. It probably signals the altered scripts of the record companies who often require this imagery from their artists.

Women were given an unfair position right from the beginning and unfortunately enough, they have not been able to resolve this situation yet. There were promising artists in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Salt-N-Pepa, Queen

Latifah or Lauryn Hill who found a way how to exist in this environment without fitting the description of male rappers. At the same time they called these rappers out for preferring money to dignity. Later on in the 2000s the sexually charger rap prevailed and set a standard for two more upcoming decades. However, the situation in today’s society seems to be much more politically correct and acceptable. At the same time, wide range of artists now can produce music because of platform such as YouTube or SoundCloud. This will create a much more versatile environment which will be open to new styles. 2010s feature two of the most commercially successful women rappers in the history and it is only up to them if they can change the identity for other rappers, but also other

African-American women. With a little help from other male rappers or other

38 influential artists they could definitely achieve something. They just need to start systematically working on this problem instead of focusing purely on generating profit for themselves. Temporary feministic organizations are willing to participate on this change and could organize these projects. There is a unique chance these years and the prominent women rappers of today should not miss it.

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English summary

The American historic experience with colonialism led to the establishment of importance of concepts, such as masculinity, survival of the fittest and most importantly slavery. Slavery automatically generated the lowest position for African-Americans in the society of the United States of America.

Together with a patriarchal society it creates the worst possible position for

African-American women. Stereotypes were created and stayed in a transformed way until today. Another important factor for the portrayal of the

African-American female identity were the record companies which heavily influenced the themes various rappers covered in their songs.

Male rappers are primarily guilty of creating an unfair and humiliating identity for African-American women. Because many rappers need to get out of their bad financial situation, they do not mind to rap about topics the record companies require. Another possible explanation are the women that surround the particular rapper, because they enjoy his tough approach and in the end the rapper generalizes women, because he only meets with those who do not mind such behavior.

Women rappers started off right in the 1980s and 1990s by ignoring the identity they were given by male rappers. They decided to build their own identity and were quite successful. Unfortunately, the interest in this defense decreased in the 2000s and 2010s which led to the scene consisting mainly of rappers who accept the identity they were given by the male predecessors.

České resumé

Americká historie je z velké části vybudována na kolonialismu, který do země přinesl koncepty maskulinity, důležitosti přesily a v neposlední řadě otroctví, které automaticky zaručilo Afroameričanům nejhorší pozici ve společnosti. Ve spojení se zavedeným patriarchálním systémem vytváří nejhorší pozici ve společnosti pro Afroameričanky. Otroctví také přineslo stereotypy, které s lehkými změnami přetrvaly dodnes. Dalším důležitým faktorem pro upevnění identity Afroameričanek byly nahrávací společnosti, které silně ovlivnily, o čem hudebníci rapovali.

Primární vinu za vytvoření nefér a ponižující identity pro Afroameričanky nesou rapeři. Jelikož se mnoho z nich před vstupem na scénu nachází v tísnivé finanční situaci, raperům nevadí rapovat o tématech, která nahrávací studia vyžadují. Dalším možným vysvětlením jejich přístupu je neustálý kontakt se

ženami, které mají jejich tvrdou povahu rády a v důsledku toho raper zobecní pohled na širokou společnost, protože se potkává pouze se ženami, kterým takové chování nevadí.

Raperky odstartovaly v 80. a 90. létech nadějně. Produkovali hity, aniž by věnovaly pozornost identitě, kterou jim rapeři vytvořili. Rozhodly se vybudovat si vlastní identitu. Bohužel však zájem o tuto obhajobu u nových raperek po přelomu tisíciletí opadl, což zapříčinilo, že se většina aktivních raperek sžila s urážlivou identitou, kterou jim vytvořili jejich mužští předchůdci.