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A “Man's Woman”?Contradictory Messages in the Songs of Female Rappers,

1992-2000

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A "Man's Woman"? Contradictory Messages in the Songs of Female Rappers, 1992-2000
Author(s): Matthew Oware
Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 39, No. 5 (May, 2009), pp. 786-802
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
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 Journalof Black Studies
Volume39 Number5
May 2009 665-688
© 2009 SAGE Publications
A "Man's Woman"? 10. 1177/0021934707299643
http://jbs.sagepub.com
hostedat
Messagesin the
Contradictory http://online.sagepub.com

SongsofFemaleRappers,1992-2000
Matthew
Oware
DePauw University

Employingcontentanalysisof 44 songs takenfromthe Billboardcharts

between1992 and 2000, theauthorsfindthatall femalerap artistsin the
sample includedthe cornerstones of rap in theirsongs: braggadocio,
consumption of alcohol and drugs,and "dissin"of femaleand male rap
competitors.Moreimportant, themajority oftheartistshadthemesoffemale
agencyand empowerment presentin theirmusic.However,theartistsalso
had songsthatwereantithetical to PatriciaHill Collins' Black feminism.
Indeed,a majority of thesongsexaminedhad womenwho self-objectified,
and used derogatory
self-exploited, lyricswhenreferring to otherwomen.
The authorfindsthatthesecontradictory messages,sometimes bythesame
artists,nullifythe empoweringmessages that are conveyedand only
reproduce andupholdmalehegemonic notionsoffemininity.

Keywords: Blackfeminism;
gender;hip-hop;race; rap

OurEroticknowledge empowersus,becomesa lensthrough whichwe

all aspectsof our existence,forcingus to evaluatethose
scrutinize
aspectshonestlyin termsoftheirmeaningwithinourlives.
AudreLorde(1984b,p. 57)

Negotiating black women

multiplesocial boundariesand identities,
rappers are in dialoguewith one another,with male rappers,with
otherpopularmusicians. . . withblack womenfansand hip hop
fansin general.
TriciaRose (1994,p. 148)

Author'sNote: I thankTiyiMorris,RobynRyle,StephanieShonekan,and DeannaOware.

toDr.Matthew
Pleaseaddresscorrespondence Oware,SociologyandAnthropologyDepartment,
DePauwUniversity,306Asbury IN 46135;e-mail:moware@depauw.edu.
Hall,Greencastle,

786

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 Messagesin Music 787
Oware/Contradictory

Rap musicprovidesan outletforindividualswho are marginalized,

oppressed,and silencedin Americansociety.Variousscholarshave dis-
cussed how rap musicand hip-hopcultureprovideda voice forpeople
who livedin thenew postindustrial, service-
sectoreconomywherefew
well-paying jobs were availableto personswithout postsecondary educa-
tions(Kitwani,2002; Rose, 1994).As a consequenceof thesechangesin
theeconomy,somepeoplein urbanareasturnedto rappingas a positive
outletofexpression. Muchoftheresearchon hip-hopmusicdetailedhow
Black and Hispanicmale artistsrappedabouteverything frompoverty,
police brutality,racism,materialism, to male/female heterosexual rela-
tionships.However,rap music is not nor has it ever been strictly the
domainof men(Emerson,2002; Keyes,2004; Rose, 1994).
Womenhavebeen a partof hip-hopculturesinceits inception.Early
femalepioneersdiscussedissuessimilarto men- marginalization, oppres-
sion,and urbandecay.They also rappedabout heterosexualcourtship
fromtheperspective of women,domesticviolence,and sexism,among
otherissues. Researchersand scholarsfoundthatthesefemalerappers
tendedto presentBlack womenas independent and autonomousin their
songs (Guevara,1996; Phillips,Reddick-Morgan, & Stephens,2005;
Rose, 1994). However,thereis no researchthatexaminesthelyricsand
messagesof femalerappersin the 1990s,whatis referred to hereas the
secondgeneration of femalerappers.1
Employing contentanalysis,thecurrent studysystematically analyzes
44 songsby popularfemalerapperslistedon theBillboardchartsfrom
1992 to 2000 and finds,similarto men,thelyricsof thesefemaleartists
includethetrademarks ofrap- exaggerated braggadocio, consumption of
drugsand alcohol,and "dissin"of fellowfemaleand male rap artists.
Beyondtheseaspects,and similarto theirfemalepredecessors, thereare
severalsongsthatareostensibly empowering to womenandthatillustrate
femaleagency.However,thereexist contradictions in the music; for
example,therearehighnumbers offemaleself-objection,self-exploitation,
and derogatory and demeaninglyricsaboutwomenin general.In some
cases the same artistswho empowerwomenthroughtheirmusic also
havelyricsthatobjectify anddemeanthem.In thefinalassessment, these
contradictory lyricsnullifythepositivemessagesthatare conveyedby
femalerap artists,consequently reproducing and upholdinghegemonic,
sexistnotionsof femininity, and servingto undermine and disempower
women.

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788 ofBlack Studies
Journal

LiteratureReview

In herbook,BlackFeminist Thought, Collins(1990) contended thatBlack

women'sexperiences andlivesneedto be movedfromtheperiphery to the
centerof analysisanddiscussion.She wrotethatcurrent socialphenomena
areunderstood orexamined froma European, Whitemalecontext. Thispar-
ticulartheoretical
approachtendsto makeuniversalistic, overarchingclaims
thatareattheleastincompatible, andthemost,antithetical tothelivedreal-
ityof Black women(and womenin general),whileproducing controlling
imagesofthisgroup.Furthermore, withintheEurocentric framework, Black
womenhavebeenconstructed as "other"andviewedas nonhuman, possess-
ingattributesthatareeitheranimalistic,
commodified, In addi-
orobjectified.
tionthismodeldepictsBlackfemaleeroticism as overlysexualized,devoid
ofitsphysical,emotional,andpsychic components (Lorde,1984b,pp.55-57).
These actionsnecessitatea theoretical framework thatinterprets Black
women'slivesfromtheirperspective-Black feminism.
Althoughchallengingracistformsof Whitesupremacy, some Black
males subscribeto sexistnotionswithinhegemonicdiscoursesthatare
integralto thesubordination of women(hooks,1994; Skeggs,1993). No-
whereis thismoreapparent thaninthesongsofmanymalehip-hopartists.
Scholarsand activistsarguethatmale hip-hopartistsdiscussand present
womenas caricatures, sexualobjects,and less thanhuman(Perry,2003;
Pinn,1996; Shelton,1997). JoanMorgan(2000) lamentedand criticized
thesexistlyricsof Black malesandthecontinued ofBlack
objectification
womenin rap videos in her book WhenChickenheads Come Home to
Roost.Scantilyclad,oftentimes long-hairedand light-skinned Blacksand
Latinasare drapedand paradedaroundmales in hip-hopvideos.Lyrics
suchas thesebyToo Short,"Bitcheson mymind/Bust a leftnut,rightnut
inherjaw/Openmyeyes,guesswhatI saw"or2 Live Crew'ssongencour-
agingwomento "Pop thatPussy"sendthemessagethatwomenaresexual
objectswhomalerapperscan denigrate anddominateat theirwhim.Pinn
(1996) wrote thatmale gangstarappersengagein thisbehaviorbecause
"womenare suspectbecause theyemasculateblack men,negatingtheir
manhoodand reducingtherespectreceivedfromothers"(p. 28). Other
scholarsarguethatthesetypesofsongsillustrate a fearoffemalesexuality,
thuswomenmustbe contained andcontrolled (Collins,1990;Kelley,1996;
Rose, 1994;Skeggs,1993).Extending thetheory ofBlackfeminism torap,
Blackfemaleartists providecountervailing voices againstmale sexism and
misogyny.

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 Messagesin Music 789
Oware/Contradictory

In herseminalbook,BlackNoise,TriciaRose (1994) devoteda chapter

to femalehip-hopartists.She contendedthatin thelate 1980s and early
1990srapperssuchas QueenLatifah,Salt-N-Pepa, andMC Lyte,although
notexplicitly callingthemselves ortheir music feminist, articulatedfeminist
principles of female empowerment, agency, and independence. These
artistsrefuteand challengerepresentations of womenas merelysexual
objects.Moreover,she contendedthattheseartistsare in dialoguewith
otherfemaleand male artists,and withhip-hopfans in general.For
example,QueenLatifahrespondsto maleswhouse theslurbitchin refer-
enceto womenin hersong"U.N.I.T.Y.":"Butdon'tbe callingme outmy
name/Ibringwrathto thosewhodisrespect me likea dame."In hersong,
"PaperThin,"MC Lytesetstheparameters of intimacy forhermate:"So
nowI takeprecaution whenchoosingmymate/I do nottouchuntilthethird
or fourthdate/Then maybewe'll kiss on thefifth or sixth."These artists
carveouta spacewherea Blackfemalesubjectivity is at thecenterofdis-
cussion.Clearly,the aforementioned artists'messagesare emancipating
andliberating forwomen(Rose, 1994).
Skeggs(1993),borrowing frombellhooks,arguedthattheseartists "talk
back,talkBlacktothecolonialist civilizingsystem thatattempts tocontain
theexpression of women'ssexuality" (p. 3). Theydefiantly speakto vari-
ous formsof institutional andhegemonicstructures operating to constrain
and limitBlack femalevoices,offering counterhegemonic perspectives.
Haugen(2003) arguedthatfemalerappers,particularly gangstarappers,
have createdand imposedtheirown definitions of womanhoodthrough
theiruse of profanity, voice intonations, and sexuality. More profoundly,
Phillipset al. (2005) observedthatfemalerappers"support eachother, cri-
tiqueeach other,conscientize each other,challengeeach other,and bear
witnessto each other"(p. 260). Althoughempowering and subversive to
male domination, thereare surprising and disturbing similarities between
maleandsecond-generation femalerappers.
In the 1990s,popularrapperssuchas FoxyBrown,Lil' Kim,and Da
Brat,or "sistaswithattitude" (Keyes,2004) employedthesamefigurative
speechand behaviorsas theirmale counterparts; thatis, theirnarratives
included"partying and smokingblunts(marijuana)withtheirmen;seduc-
ing,repressing, and sexuallyemasculating male characters; [and] dissin
theirwouldbe femaleormalecompetitors" (p. 272). Although challenging
malesexism,an analysisoffemaleartists inthe1990sillustrates thatmany
ofthemare"justliketheguys"in theirdepictions of women.As I discuss
later,themessageoffemaleupliftment andempowerment becomeseffaced
byfemaleself-exploitation andhyperobjectification.

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790 Journal
ofBlack Studies

Method

Althoughthelyricsof first-wave rapperssuch as Queen Latifahand

MC Lytehavebeenexaminedbyresearchers (Phillipset al., 2005; Rose,
1994), and therehas been extensiveanalysisof the representation of
womenin hip-hopvideos(Emerson,2002; Keyes,2004; Shelton,1997),
a systematic examination of themessagesthatare conveyedby thesec-
ond wave of femalehip-hopartists'lyricsis missing.Rose (1994) and
Phillipset al. (2005) purposefully focuson specificfemaleartistsand
theirlyricsthatillustratefemaleempowerment and agency.My sample
includes44 songsby femalerap artistsfrom1992 to 2000. Duringthe
early 1990s rap became increasinglypopularin the mainstream and
receivedheavyrotationon variousradiostations(Kitwana,2005). Thus,
artistswere chosen fromthe Billboard Top 100 and the Billboard
Rhythmand Blues/HipHop Chartsforthis timeperiod.The sample
includedsongsthatwereon thechartsforat least3 months, or 12 weeks.
This ensuresthatthesongwas in heavyrotation, therefore well known
to listeners.Duringthistimesome femaleartistswere as popularand
sellingas manyrecordsas men;forexample,Lil' Kim and FoxyBrown
had albumsthatsold one millioncopies.
Employingcontentanalysis,severalthemesemergedand weretabu-
lated fromthe songs. Specifically,therewas line-by-linecoding of
lyrics.Forexample,ifan artiststatedthatshe was "bad" in one lineand
the"dopestrapperon theplanet"in anotherline thenthesewerecoded
as twoinstancesofbraggadocio.Similarto malerappers,women'ssongs
includedthecornerstones of rapmusic,braggadocioor bravado,alcohol
and druguse, and also "dissin"of opponents,menand women.Where
females'musicdivergesfrommales' is thegreaterinstancesof empow-
eringlyricsaboutwomen(Emerson,2002; Rose, 1994). Thereare songs
thatdiscuss domesticviolence,femaleindependenceand agency,and
sexualityfromtheperspective of women.Althoughthesetypesof lyrics
empower and highlightBlack womanhood,thereare also lyricsfrom
someofthesesongsthatundermine thepositivemessagesconveyed.For
instance,themajorityof songsby womenduringthistimemakemulti-
ple and overtsexual references. Many artists'lyricsself-objectify and
seemingly
self-exploit, employing a male gaze. Finally,and it is surpris-
ing to note,manyof the femaleartistsuse derogatory and demeaning
language when discussingotherwomen.2

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 Messagesin Music 791
Oware/Contradictory

Findings

Bravado/Braggadocio
One ofthecenterpieces ofrapmusicis braggadocio lyrics.All ofthe44
examined
artists hadlyricsthatwerebraggadocio in nature,withthetypical
songcontaining sevenreferences to thistheme.This aspectof raphas its
rootsin toasting,a partofAfricanAmericanoraltraditions (Smitherman,
1997), wherebythe "toast-teller" engagesin verbalself-aggrandizement
anddepictshimself orherselfas the"dreamsofhis[orher]Blackaudience
and symbolizesforthemtriumph and accomplishment againsttheodds"
(Smitherman, 1997,p. 13). Forexample,in hersong"Sittinon Top ofthe
World," Da Bratwrote,"I'm on topoftheworld. . . /Girlfriend offender
cuz theyman'sthinkI'm all that/One ofthebaddestbitcheson theplanet."
She emphasizeshowshe is so "bad" thatsheupsetsotherwomenbecause
theirmen findher beautiful.3 Anotherexampleof thistypeof bravado
comesfromEve's song"WhatYa Want,"writing "PopularsinceI started
mylife . . . /Every thugsdreamwife,see thelove in theyeyes/My time
to shine,wholepackagemakehera dime."In theselyrics,Eve is depicting
herselfas popularandattractive to everymaleanda perfect10 physically,
ora "dime"in hip-hopvernacular.
In additionto being attractive and desirable,braggadociorappers
emphasizetheirpossessionof expensivematerialobjectsthatotherscan-
notobtain.An exampleof thiscomesfromFoxyBrown's,"I'll Na Na"
whereshe writes,"Uhh,rollinforLana, drippedin Gabbana . . . /And
y'all gonsee bythesemil'sI possess/Never settleforless,I'm in excess."
Foxy informs thelistenerthatshe wearsDolce and Gabbana,expensive
women'sdesignerclothingthatworking-class and middle-class individu-
als could not afford.Furthermore, the listenerlearnsthatFoxy earns
millionsof dollarsfromherrhyming and admitsin a self-congratulatory
mannerthatshe does notsettle;rathershe lives in "excess,"something
working-and middle-classindividualsfinanciallycannotdo. Another
artist,Lil' Kim,also wearsdesignerclothingandjewelry:"Usuallyrock
the Prada, sometimesGabbana ... /I stay drapedin diamondsand
pearls."Clearly,lavish and extravagant materialpossessionsare para-
mountformanyfemaleartists in the1990s.An overwhelming majorityof
theartistsexaminedmentioned owningor wearingdesignerclothingor
jewelryof some type.Similarto male rap artists,thesefemaleartists
depictthemselves as physically
appealingtopotential suitorsandmatesas
wellas in possessionofitemsthatcommonpeopledo notandcannotpos-
sess.Thistypeanddegreeofarrogance reverberates throughout rapmusic

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792 Journalof Black Studies

andis notuniqueto menor women;rather artists'abilities,in

itillustrates
theirnarratives,to overcomeobstaclesand eventuallyachievesuccess,
albeit,materialsuccess.

Alcoholand Drug Consumption

Theconsumption ofalcoholordrugsis a common themeinmalerapmusic
andnodifferent inthesongsofmanyofthefemalerappers examined here.In
theoverallsample,therewasan averageofone-and-a-half references
madeto
alcoholordrugs.Forexample, inhersong"Deeper,"Boss references alcohol
anddruguse:"I drink thatSt.Idesshit/. . . it'sprobablyallthatchronicthat
I smoke/Iuse to be likethatwhenI was outthereslangin'dope."In these
Boss drinks
lyrics, St.Ides,a maltliquormadepopularbyhip-hop and
artists,
also smokes"chronic," a potentformofmarijuana lacedwithcocaine.In her
song"Party Ain'tA Party," QueenPenwrites, "I'm tipsyfromthecab,down
thewholebottleofHenney/Is youdealing with thecatthat'sblunted."Queen
Pen'salcoholofchoiceis Seagram'sHennessy and"blunted" refers
totheuse
ofmarijuana. Thesefemalerappers debunkthestereotype that"ladies"do not
consume"hard"drinks andillegaldrugs.Indeed,fromtheseexamples, some
womenuse themostpotentand dangerous drugs and alcoholicbeverages.
Thesewomenpresent themselves as engaging inthesamepotentially harmful
behaviorsas theirmalecounterparts.

Dissin'
Femalerappers alsoengageinanother cornerstone ofrapmusic - dissin',
whichis theact of verballyinsulting an opponent. The typicalsongcon-
taineda littleless thanthreedisses.Dissin' purportedly has itsoriginsin
WestAfrica,amonggroupssuchas theEfikinNigeria(Smitherman, 1997,
p. 13),andlatercameto be knownas signifying in earlyAfrican American
oraltraditions. Smitherman (1997) writes"womenrulewhenit comesto
signifying . . . femalerappers usethisage-oldrhetorical strategy tolaunch
criticaloffensives" (p. 14). HeatherB exemplifies thisstylein thisverse,
"Fuckhowmuchyousellcause,I readyouralbumcover/You couldn'twrite
a jam ifyourlastnamewas Smucker." She dismissestheamountofrecords
soldwhilebelittling heropponent's lyricalskills,comparing themwiththe
brandnamefoodproductSmucker'sJam.GangstaBoo speaksdirectly to
potentialmale suitors:"Nasty Trick/Don't come at me talkin'that shit/Hea
ass
stupid nigga with histongue stuck out." The implication is that prospec-
tivemalesmust"comecorrect," thatis, in a respectfulmanner, or shewill
rebuketheiradvances,simplydisregarding themaltogether.

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 Messagesin Music 793
Oware/Contradictory

Indeed,most"disses"weredirected towardmaleswhoattempted towoo

womenwithgrandiosetalesof sexualgratification. A possiblereasonthat
malesmayfearfemalesexuality appearsin lyricssuchas thesebyLil' Kim
fromhersong"Hardcore":"The sex was wack,a fourstrokecreep . . .
/[laterhe asked]Couldhe comeoverrightfastandfuckmypretty ass?/I'll
pass, nigga dick was trash."Kim definessexual intercourseon her own
terms, male
critiquing bravado aboutthesexual of
gratificationwomen;she
has theultimate controloverwhether or notsex occursandthenthecapa-
bilityofassessinghispoorperformance - theultimate fearofmanyhetero-
sexualmales.This themeis echoedin GangstaBoo's lyrics:"Ha-ha,hey,
Ladiescheckthisout/Well, letmetellthisstoryaboutthisnigga/Witha little
dickbutwhenit's hard,he's swearin'it [is] bigger/I'mnotto be theone
guessyou ain'tgotmuchto offer." Here,GangstaBoo speaksdirectly to
womenabout specious male machismo.As with Kim, Boo evaluates
whether hermale suitormeasuresup and findsthathe lackstherequisite
endowment thatwouldlikelyfulfill
hersexualneeds.Thus,as Rose (1994)
wroteyouhavewomenspeakingto men,engagingin critiques ofsupposed
malesexualprowess;in addition, theyare speakingto otherwomenabout
thefailedattemptsofthesementosatisfy themsexually.These"disses"pro-
videa femaleresponseto malesexismandbravadoinrapmusic.4

Female Empowerment
and Agency
Femalerappers'lyricsgo beyondalcoholanddrugconsumption, dissin,
andbraggadocio. Severalsongsin thesampledealtwithmoreseriouscon-
cernsofwomen.In hersong,"Love Is Blind,"Eve exposesan issuethatis
rarelydiscussedin rap musicand in theAfricanAmericancommunity -
domesticviolence:

Howwouldyoufeelifsheheldyoudownandrapedyou?/
Whatkindoflovefroma niggawouldblackyoureye?/
Smackedyoudowncausehesaidyouwastootallforhim,huh?/
Howcouldyoubeatthemother ofyourkids?

In thissongEve arguesfromthestandpoint ofthevictim.Herfemalefriend

is beaten,raped,andas thelistener
learnslater,killedbyherabuser.In the
songsheinitially questionsthevictimaboutwhyshestayswiththeabuser
andlatersheconfronts theabuserabouthisactions.In theend,Eve shoots
theabuser,killinghim.Hersongresonates as a cautionary
taletoall women
againstbecomingtrappedin dead-endanddeadlyrelationships. As wellas
offeringa voiceforthosewomenwhofaceviolenceatthehandofsignificant

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794 Journal
ofBlackStudies

others,thesongis suffused withhooks'(1994) idea of women"talk(ing)

back,talk(ing)black" to theiroppressors.As Haugen(2003) arguedin his
discussionof femalegangstarappers,a woman'sact of verbalizing and
bringingany form of oppression to theforefront
is itself
reclaiming
power,
undermining malecontrolanddomination.
OtherBlackfeminist-oriented lyricswerecommoninmanyofthesongs
by women, with an average of one referenceto femaleupliftmentin the
songssampled. These lyricsbySalt-N-Pepa from theirpopularsong"Ain't
Nuthin'Buta She Thing,"typify thesekindsofmessages:

I'ma female, andI gotitgoinon/

Don'tbefooled bymys-e-x/
Itain'tthatsimple,I'mmorecomplex/
Let'skeepmoving forward, never
girls, lookback.

In thissonggroupmembers areconversing withwomenandmeningeneral,

warning men notto on
rely stereotypical notionsof genderand sex roles
with
wheninteracting them any or otherwomen. Furthermore, theyarecon-
veyingthe same messageto women while imploring these womento
progress andevolve,notregress,intheirthinking
andbehavior. Indeed,most
ofthesongsbySalt-N-Pepa inmysamplepresented thesesortsofmessages.
Althoughsomesongsfostered prideof Black womanhood, therewere
othersongsthatdemonstrated femaleagencyfocusing on male/female rela-
tionships froma woman'sperspective; forexample, in hersong, "What's
Up Star,"Sugainitiates
theinteractionwithmales.In thechorusofhersong
she says,"What'sup star,I'd liketo getto knowwhoyou are/Let's have
drinksat thebar/AndifI likewhatI see thenthedrinksis on me."5 Men
are typicallythoughtto be the initiatorsin heterosexualrelationships.
She demonstrates agencyin thissituation, upendingthenormative male/
femalecourtshipritualwhereby menapproachwomenandbuythemdrinks;
rathersheadjudicates ofa potential
andon a positiveevaluation suitoroffers
to buyhima drink.
Anotherexampleof agencycomes fromMC Luscious in her song
"Boom! I Got Your Boyfriend" whereshe seizes anotherhypothetical
woman'ssignificantother:

I'll takehim,shakehim,ringhimout
I'll showyourmanwhatitsallabout
So whenhetellsyouit'stheend
That'swhenyouknowI gotyourboyfriend.

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 Messagesin Music 795
Oware/Contradictory

MC Luscious'suse oftheverbstake,shake,andringinreference tohermale

paramour illustrates
thecontrolthatshe to
purports hold over him.She out-
doesherfemalecompetitor her
byarticulating ability toreveal what thegirl-
friendcannotto theboyfriend (possiblysexuallyrelated),leadingto the
dissolution of the relationship.
Hence,she demonstrates her controland
manipulation of the and her
paramour ultimately power over thefemale
opponent her
bystealing boyfriend. Althoughdevious and uneth-
potentially
ical,MC Luscious'swants,desires,andbehaviors areat thecenterofatten-
tioninhersong.
Manyofthesongsin mysamplehadexamplesoffemaleempowerment
or illustratedfemaleagency.Whetherspeakingaboutdomesticviolence
towardwomenor seekingto takeanother woman'sman,femalerappersin
the1990srevealed, through narratives
abouttheirdailylives,thepowerand
controlthatBlack feminists arguedBlack womenneededto highlight.
Thesethemesarealso echoedandincorporated in songsandlyricsthatpre-
sentfemalesexuality.

Female Sexuality
Severalpopularfemalerapartists presented themselvesinovertlysexual-
ized waysin mysample.Forexample,in hersong,"NotTonight" LU' Kim
raps,"I knowa dudenamedJimmy usedto runup in me/Ididn'tmindit,
whenhe fuckedmefrombehind/It feltfine,'speciallywhenheusedtogrind
it."Theseraunchy lyricsillustrate
thatLU' Kimis actingon herconsort and
is notpassiveinthissexualexchange, a subversionofthechaste,wholesome
virgin whois overtakenbythemoresexuallyexperienced maleparadigm put
forth inmanyromantic novelsandsoapoperas.Kimallowsandenjoyswhat
is oftenbelievedinhip-hop culture
tobe themostdemeaning andunroman-
tic sexualpositionforwomen - anal intercourse.
Yet Kim is nota "ho,"in
hip-hopterminology, becausehersexualityis notbeingexploitedby her
mate,shedoes notsubmitto hiswantsordesiresforhissatisfaction; rather
shegainssexualgratification fromthisencounter, especiallywhenherpart-
nerperforms a specific"grinding"technique. In hegemonic discoursessur-
rounding women'ssexuality, theyare silencedor are notallowedto derive
pleasurefromsexualintercourse withmales.Kimvoicesherpleasure.
Another sexualsongis Trina's"Da BaddestBitch"wheresheraps:
blatantly

G-stringmakehisdickstand/
Makeitquickthenslowheadbythenight
stand/
See I fuckhimintheliving
room/
I makehimeatitwhilemyperiodon.

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796 Journal
ofBlackStudies

Similarly to Lil' Kim,Trinacontrols thesexualrelationshipwithhermale

partners.Also, in her narrative,she makes her male partners perform oral
sex whileshe is menstruating, a levelof vulgarity
thatmanyheterosexual
maleswouldfinddemeaning.
Indeed,althoughnotas coarse,artistssuchas Salt-N-Pepa,who rou-
tinelyhad lyricsthatempowered women,also had lyricswheretheysexu-
alizedthemselves during periodunderreview:"AndI'm-afreakyoutill
the
cash
youpass out/Pay out,babytearyourbackout/Wanna freakme from
theback."Another of
popularpioneer rap, MC Lyte,also had lyricsfrom
hersong"Ruffneck," whichstated,"But he don'tgottabe largeto be in
charge/Pumpin' in andoutand outand in and herewe go/He'sgotsmack
it,lickit,swallow itup style."Sexuallyexplicitlyricsexistin second-
wave
1990sfemalerapperssongs.Furthermore, somefemalepioneerswho are
knownfor songs espousingthe positivesof womanhoodalso employ
overtly sexuallyricsin someof theirsongsduringthistime.This contra-
dictionpotentially undermines anyempowering messages.

Reclamationof"Bitch"
Femalerappersnotonlypresented themselves inoverlysexualizedways
in mysamplebutalso usedlanguagethatwouldbe considered derogatory
anddemeaning to women.The majority ofthefemaleartists in mysample
referredto themselvesor otherwomenas "bitches."The wordliterally
meansa femaledogandfiguratively translatesas a demeaning andderoga-
torywordusuallytargetedtoward women. However, the word holds multi-
in in
ple meanings rap music,particularly songsby female rappers.For
femalerapperssuchas Missy Elliott
and Trina, the word denotes a positive
andstrong womanwhois no nonsense.In hersong "She is a Bitch,"Elliott
writesin thechorus,

She's a bitch/
Geton downwhileI shootmyflow/
WhenI do mything/
Gottheplaceon fire,burnitto flame.

a personwithlyricalskills,whocanmotivate
In thiscase,bitchsignifies and
excitean audience.Self-evidentfromthetitle,"Da BaddestBitch"rapper,
Trina,metaphoricallyspeaking,expresseshowsheis thebestatrhyming and
sexualactivity.
Following ofthe"baaaaadnigger"
inthetradition talesofthe
late 19thcentury,thesewomenpresent themselves as thebestat theircraft,
albeitemploying nonnormative andmasculinist language(Kelley,1996).

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 Messagesin Music 797
Oware/Contradictory

Discussionand Conclusion

Femalerappersareobviouslymasters oftheirsexuality andcontrol their

sexual arenas;however,at whatexpenseto women,particularly Black
women,does thisformof powercost? In her analysisof the sexually
explicitlyricsof BWP's (BytchesWithProblems)"Two MinuteBrother"
Skeggs(1993) wrotethatfemalerappershave"createda popularspacefor
womento speaka sexuality whichis abouttheirdesiresin a waywhichis
ungovernable and impossibleto contain,yetis automatically locatedwith
control,fun,autonomy andindependence" (p. 17). Furthermore, sheargued
thatuse of sexuallyexplicitlyricsby womenis liberating and emancipat-
ingforthem,andthattheybecomesexualsubjectsandceasedbeingsexual
objects.Yet thisappropriationof masculinelanguageand behaviormay
pose farmoredeleterious problemsforwomenthanrealized - therepro-
ductionofa hegemonic paradigm thatwouldcontinue to treatwomenonly
as sexualobjects,theverythingthatis beingchallenged byfemalerappers.
CritiquingWhitefeminists fornotincluding womenofcolor'sissuesin
theirplatform,AudreLorde(1984a) wrote,

Itis learning
howtotakeourdifferencesandmakethemstrengths.Forthe
master'stoolswillneverdismantle
themaster'shouse... andthisfactis
tothosewomen
onlythreatening whostilldefine
themaster's
houseas their
onlysource ofsupport,
(p. 112)

Thisquoteperfectly capturestheproblematic
andcontradictory natureof
manyof thesongsof femalerappersin the 1990s.Althoughfemalerap
artistsarticulatea feministapproachin theirnarrativesby employing
empowering, autonomous,and independent lyrics,manyof themalso
reappropriatethe sexistand misogynist tropesthatpresentwomenas
hypersexualbeingswho are containedand controlledby,in thiscase,
otherwomen.Indeed,in this new paradigmit is Black womenwho
hyperobjectifythemselvesand degradeotherBlack women.Theyemploy
thetools of themasterthatonlystrengthens the structure
of theirown
oppression and domination.
QuotingJoanSmithfromher book Misogynies,bell hooks (1994)
wrote,

Weareallexposed
totheprevailing ofourculture,
ideology andsomewomen
learn onthat
early theycanprosperbyapingthemisogyny
ofmen;they
arethe
womenwhowinprovisional favorbydenigrating
otherwomen...
andby
the"man'swoman."
acting (p. 121)

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798 ofBlack Studies
Journal

In theend,thepositiveand liberatory songsand lyricsof severalfemale

artistsbecomeeffaced by lyrics songsthataredemeaning
the and anddegrad-
to
ing women,especially Blackwomen. The Black feminist approachis lost,
andin itsplace arisesa "man'swoman" - a womanwhoimitates andrein-
scribesa Whitesupremacist, misogynist In addition,
structure. thelyricsby
thesewomenonlyperpetuate theimageof Black womenas hypersexual
"jezebels,"whoexistformalegratification (Collins,1990).
The rolesof recordcompaniesand recordlabels in theproduction of
femalerappers'lyricsmustnotbe overlooked, however. Economically, the
goals of thesegroupsare to makea profit, usuallyrequiring familiar and
marketable sounds(or beats)andsimpleandcommercialized lyrics. her
In
researchanalyzingtheresponsesby minorities and Whitesto rap music,
Sullivan(2003) foundthatWhitesdid notreally"hear"thewordsof the
songstheylistenedto; rather theycommented on the"beat"of themusic.
In thecase of femaleartists,"sex sells,"thustheremaybe somepressure
byrecordcompaniestopushtheirartists towritesongsthatpresent women
in overlysexualizedand denigrating ways.However,theextentto which
thishappensis notinvestigated in thecurrent researchand needsto be
addressedin future works.
In conclusion,a plethoraof evidenceand scholarshipexiststhatdis-
cusses the variedways men oppressand suppresswomenin hip-hop.
Thereneedsto be morescholarship thatspecifically focuseson theways
thatwomen,especiallyBlack women,potentiallydisempowerthem-
selves.My researchexaminedhowfemalerappersof the 1990s,through
theirraps,presented empowering andlibratory imagesofwomenbutalso
undermined womenbypresenting themselves as hypersexual objectswho
demeanotherwomen.This researchmirrorsthe paradoxicalfindings
abouttherepresentation ofwomenandfemalerappersin hip-hopvideos,
wherebywomenare presentedand presentthemselvesin sexuallysug-
gestivemanners(Emerson,2002). Alongwithmales,Black femalesmust
also be heldaccountablefortheirchoices,specifically, howtheychoose
to depictthemselves eventhoughtheylivein a sexist,patriarchal society,
particularlyas thegenreofhip-hopbecomesmoreglobal,andthesounds
and imagesof Black womenare transmitted acrosstheworld.

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 I
too

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O o Ovo^-hO o *-< ocN«nmoo»r)OcnoO'«tOO^^<n^
3

O m o »o O <-i o O 1-'C-J- ^Tfoomcoooo^rtoor-mr-cn

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 Messagesin Music 801
Oware/Contradictory

Notes
1. Rose (1994) andPhillips,Reddick-Morgan,andStephens(2005) providedan excellent
andinsightful discussionoffirst-wave
womenrapperssuchas RoxanneChanteandLady B.,
amongothers.
2. In thissamplethereis overlapol songstromthefirstwave of femalerappersto the
secondwave,thusthereareartists frombothwavesincludedin mysample.
3. All lyricswereobtainedfromtheoriginalhiphop(rap)lyricsarchiveversion2.0 (avail-
able at www.ohhla.com). Fora completelistofthesongsexaminedsee theappendix.
4. Femalerappersalso sharedothersimilarities
withmalerappersnotreported here,such
as excessiveuse ofviolentlyrics.
5. Theremaybe someoverlapbetweencategories examined,forexample,"disses"could
also be codedand interpretedas femaleagencyorempowerment.

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MatthewOware is an assistant atDePauwUniversity.

professor His research include
interests
race and ethnicity,
multiracial popularculture,
identification, of gender,
and representations
race,andclass in rapand/or
hip-hopmusic.

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