Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University African-American Studies Theses Department of African-American Studies 5-8-2020 Confessions Of A Black Female Rapper: An Autoethnographic Study On Navigating Selfhood And The Music Industry Chinwe Salisa Maponya-Cook Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses Recommended Citation Maponya-Cook, Chinwe Salisa, "Confessions Of A Black Female Rapper: An Autoethnographic Study On Navigating Selfhood And The Music Industry." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2020. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses/66 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of African-American Studies at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in African-American Studies Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONFESSIONS OF A BLACK FEMALE RAPPER: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY ON NAVIGATING SELFHOOD AND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY by CHINWE MAPONYA-COOK Under the DireCtion of Jonathan Gayles, PhD ABSTRACT The following research explores the ways in whiCh a BlaCk female rapper navigates her selfhood and traditional expeCtations of the musiC industry. By examining four overarching themes in the literature review - Hip-Hop, raCe, gender and agency - the author used observations of prominent BlaCk female rappers spanning over five deCades, as well as personal experiences, to detail an autoethnographiC aCCount of self-development alongside pursuing a musiC career. MethodologiCally, the author wrote journal entries to detail her experiences, as well as wrote and performed an aCCompanying original mixtape entitled The Thesis (available on all streaming platforms), as a creative addition to the research. The author then coded the journal entries and song lyriCs using affeCtive methods coding cycles. The author concluded that the best way to navigate selfhood and traditional expeCtations of the musiC industry was to put her selfhood first, regardless of how other BlaCk female rappers performed on and off stage, or what Consumers or musiC exeCutives expeCted of BlaCk female artists. INDEX WORDS: BlaCk Feminist Thought, Autoethnography, BlaCk Women, MusiC Industry, Hip-Hop, AfriCan AmeriCan Studies, Hip-Hop Feminism, RaCe, Gender, Agency CONFESSIONS OF A BLACK FEMALE RAPPER: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY ON NAVIGATING SELFHOOD AND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY by CHINWE MAPONYA-COOK A Thesis submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and SCiences Georgia State University 2020 Copyright by Chinwe Salisa Maponya-Cook 2020 CONFESSIONS OF A BLACK FEMALE RAPPER: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY ON NAVIGATING SELFHOOD AND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY by CHINWE MAPONYA-COOK Committee Chair: Jonathan Gayles Committee: Sarita Davis MauriCe Hobson EleCtroniC Version Approved: OffiCe of Graduate ServiCes College of Arts and SCiences Georgia State University May 2020 iv DEDICATION First and foremost, I would like to thank God for giving me the gift that is this lifetime. I would also like to thank Him/Her for the ability to use my voiCe and writing to heal myself and others. I would also like to aCknowledge my Ancestors, Guardian ArChangels, and my entire Spirit Team who led me to and through this program that has allowed me to further explore my deepest truths and wildest dreams, all while proteCting my head and heart. Furthermore, I would like to dediCate this study to my dad, Dr. Cook, my mom, Mamakiri Maponya, my sister and nephew, Lexie Pie and Grayson, as well as my martial arts instructor, Master IsaaC Thomas. Lastly, I would like to dediCate this to my favorite person in the whole world, my baby brother, Wali K. I love you all very much. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The AfriCan AmeriCan Studies at Georgia State University deserves my utmost respeCt. I would like to aCknowledge the entire department for the effort they put in to make every single student feel welComed and cherished. Thank you, Dr. Simanga, for helping me with the process of applying, obtaining a sCholarship and joining the master's program. Without you, I would not have known about the program at all. Thank you, Ms. Bullock, for being the baCkbone of the AfriCan AmeriCan Studies offiCe, and making sure I always had aCCess to whatever I needed, including, but not limited to, the grad lab, classroom availabilities, setting up for events and the list goes on. Thank you, Mrs. Futrell, for just being you! I am grateful for our infinite conversations and your encouragement and calmness over the past couple of years. Oh, and thank you for the mints. Thank you, Dr. Umoja, for always keeping me in the loop. It has been an honor to work as your graduate assistant these past two years and absorb all of the knowledge you have to share with us students. Thank you, Dr. Hobson, for keeping it real! Thank you for pushing my writing and sCholarship, and not aCCepting bare minimum from anyone that crosses your path. Thank you, Dr. Davis, for taking fifteen minutes of class time every week to cheCk in and genuinely ask, “So how are y’all doin’?” Those simple words carried so much weight during an intense transition into grad sChool. Last, but certainly not least, thank you Dr. Gayles for agreeing to serve as chair for my projeCt. They said to choose your committee wisely and go with your gut and that is exaCtly what vi I did. Thank you for all your input, feedbaCk, patience and guidance throughout this tedious process. I am so proud of this work, and none of it would have been possible without your insight! vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ V LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... IX LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... X LIST OF DEFINITIONS ........................................................................................................... XI 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 PurposE of thE Study .................................................................................................... 3 1.3 SignificancE ................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 MEthodology ................................................................................................................. 5 1.5 REsEarcH QuEstion ........................................................................................................ 6 1.6 ThEorEtical Framework ............................................................................................... 6 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................ 7 2.1 “You In ThE Hood Now Baby” (Lil Kim, 2006) ........................................................ 7 2.2 WhEn I Say Hip, You Say Hop .................................................................................. 10 2.3 RacE Is In ThE Buildin’ .............................................................................................. 13 2.4 “LadiEs First” or Last?: An Exploration of GEndEr’s Effect on Agency in Hip- Hop .............................................................................................................................. 17 3 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 49 3.1 AutoethnograpHy ....................................................................................................... 49 3.2 REsEarcH DEsign ......................................................................................................... 50 3.3 Data Analysis .............................................................................................................. 51 3.4 REliability and Validity .............................................................................................. 52 3.5 VErification ................................................................................................................. 54 3.6 Limitations .................................................................................................................. 55 3.7 Empirical Conversation ............................................................................................. 56 3.8 Ethical ConsidErations ............................................................................................... 56 4 AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC LYRICAL DISCUSSION ................................................. 57 4.1 Coding CyclE 1 ............................................................................................................ 58 4.2 Coding CyclE 2 ............................................................................................................ 61 4.3 “Intro (ThE ThEsis)” ................................................................................................... 62 4.4 “Homage” ..................................................................................................................