Tag Archives: Hip Hop

Lil Wayne and Black History Month

26 Feb

At the close of Black History Month, I want share 2 images I found on the internet that display why this month is so crucial. (they’re tiny so you may have to click on them).

21st century Venus Hottentot

I found this image on Facebook yesterday, but  I’d first learned of Saartjie Baartman (Sarah is her English name) at the very beginning of this month while doing some research for my thesis*. Saartijie was put display in London as a human freak show, and called the Venus Hottentot. During my research, I read “How Not to be a 21st Century Venus Hottentot,” where writer Fatima N. Muhammad compares video girls and hyper-sexed female rappers to Venus Hottentot, as they too are examined and put on display for their body parts.  She explains that mainstream hip hop has adopted racist 19th century ideas.

I don’t think anyone could argue with that after Lil Wayne’s offensive comment about Emmit Till in his song “Karate Chop Remix.”

Lil Wayne Emmit Till

I found this picture on Faanmail’s site (Thanks FAANMAIL! I love your posts).

Since the song leaked, the line “beat that pussy up like Emmit Til,” has been pulled from the song, and Till’s family has asked the rapper for an apology. Wayne has yet to respond. I’m not holding my breath. Anyone who thought putting that line in a song was ok has no respect for the Civil Rights Movement and isn’t real enough to own up to their mistakes.

Someone needs to strap him to a chair and make him watch all 14 hours of Eyes on the Prize.

But I’m not one bit in shock that Wanye would say something like that. It’s not the first racist thing to come out of a rappers mouth.

And it’s hardly different from his song “Mrs. Officer,” when he says, “Rodney King baby yeah I beat it like a cop.”

Once again he managed to disrespect women and diminish the importance of a tragic event in black history in just a few short words.

This line from Lil Wayne and the image of Saartijie Baartman portray the necessity for Black History Month and year-round community education, as history has already began to repeat itself.

Further Reading

Muhammad, Fatimah. “How NOT to Be a 21st Century Venus Hottentots.” Home Girls Make Some Noise: Hip Hop Feminism Anthology. Ed. Gwendolyn D. Pough, Elaine Richardson, Aisha Durham, and Rachel Raimist. Mira Loma: Parker, LLC, 2007. 115-140. Print.

http://faanmail.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/talk-back-lil-wayne-epic-records-and-sony-entertainment/

*My thesis is on the image of black women in hip hop. I explore how male rappers talk about vaginas in comparison to how woman rappers do. In addition, I look at how a rapper’s ethos is built on a racist and sexist ideology. It has to be at least 25 pages due in early April. Clocks Ticking!

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Are we taking the Volkswagen commercial too seriously?

5 Feb

VW Comercial pic

There has been much commotion about the new Volkswagen commercial, where a white guy speaks with a Jamaican accent.

Many say the commercial is mocking black people; New York Times’ Charles Blow called it  “blackface with voices.”

Though I personally wasn’t offended, my islander friends might have a problem with it.

My thing is: People quickly become outraged when the teeniest bit of insensitivity occurs from outside sources, but what about when one of our own is shamelessly racist?

Why is Kanye allowed to say, “You know white people—get money don’t spend it. Or maybe they get money, buy a business. I’d rather buy 80 gold chains and go ignant…blame it on the pigment.”

Why can A$AP Rocky say, “They say money make a nigga act niggerish. At last a nigga nigga-rich.”

Why is Lil Wayne entitled to decide, “Beautiful Black woman, I bet that bitch look better red.”

Sure, maybe the commercial was mocking a Jamaican accent. Sure, maybe it was a little insensitive. But when Kanye declares the pigment of his skin makes him ignorant— when Lil Wayne decides a woman lighter complexion is more beautiful than a dark skin woman —when A$AP Rocky says Black people act niggerish when they become wealthy, but it’s justified because they’re rich—suddenly, that commercial doesn’t seem so significant.

Perspective people—that’s all I’m asking for.

Is it because theses rappers are Black that they are allowed to say racist things? Is it not racist or less hurtful because they are Black?

I don’t think so. If anything it’s worse.

But the absolute worst part, though, is that they get away with it. We don’t call them out. How can we criticize companies for being insensitive when we do not shame people of color for their own blatantly racist remarks?

It’s hypocritical—don’t you think?

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We Are All Bitches, Hoes, and Tricks (You are NOT exempt)

9 Jan

Maria Llyod, writer from Reason4Rymes, has split Black women into 2 classes.

She says:

“I must admit that I don’t have the slightest interest in how rappers view black women. Why? Because they’re not talking about me. In fact, they’re not talking to me either because I don’t listen to their music…The women the rappers are addressing are the women who use the word ‘b*tch’ as a term of endearment. They are the women who have no respect for and/or knowledge of black history. They are frequently making poor decisions regarding their finances and their sexual behavior.”

Lloyd goes on to talk about the divide between educated and uneducated black people. She defines “educated” not solely as schooling, but as “the ability to think for yourself with conclusions drawn from research and experience.” In her opinion, rappers talk about uneducated women.

I shook my head at every word on that page.

First of all, women who say rappers “aren’t talking about them” are kidding themselves. They are talking about all women, especially Black women.

Now, rappers may differentiate between “ratchet pussy” (Juicy J), “bad bitches,” “independent women,” and whatever else they like to call us. They are not singling out or excluding certain women in their lyrics. It doesn’t matter if you’re educated, or whether or not you listen to their music. If you are a woman, you fall into one of their many categories.

The degradation of women in the music industry is not an “uneducated” woman’s problem. It is (or should be) a concern for all Black women. It is our image that is being dragged through the mud for the entire world to see. Those are our bodies that appear in music videos. We are the bitches, hoes, and tricks that they are referring to.

Black women’s reputation is especially at risk. The image rappers put forth is absorbed in the eyes of other ethnic groups. Society doesn’t always take the time to differentiate between “educated” and “uneducated” Black people. I can’t tell you how many nonblack people have asked me ignorant questions like “Can you dance like the girls in the music videos?” or “Have you ever been to Compton?” or “Do you like Lil Wayne?” simply because of the color of my skin.

When an “educated” Black woman walks into a room, people may draw conclusions from the way that she dresses and presents herself. They may think she is well-mannered or high class (or whatever their words may be) but that doesn’t mean their perceptions of all Black women have changed just because one “educated” woman walked into that room. If anything, they may think “Oh, she’s one of the good ones,” like many racists like to say.

And it shouldn’t be like that. I shouldn’t have to prove that I am “educated” or “one of the good one’s” (both definitions pretty much mean the same thing). The image of Black women should be changed so that when I am in front of any audience, they are not comparing me to horrifying images of Black women they see on TV.

People categorize and stereotype all the time. The only way to change the stereotype of Black women is with a united front. Not only must the “educated” women boycott degrading music, as Lloyd says later in her article, but everyone must push for a change in the music industry.

See Maria Lloyd’s article

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