Women can Rap too!!!

So Yesterday we discussed the role of Women in the rap game. Some are taken seriously while others are seen as jokes, but it is important to know that Women do have what it takes to spit rhymes and be able to uphold the status of being a rapper. One of the main points that we discussed when talking about women in Hip-Hop is the double standard. While men can talk about sex, drugs, and murder; it is seen as wrong if a woman raps about the same things. I think that this just all goes back to gender roles that we are used to seeing. Men are supposed to be manly, rude, crude, "players", and tough. Women are supposed to remain calm, lady like, and keep from using profanity. It is hard for a lot of people to take women rappers seriously when they rap using hard-core lyrics because it might seem like a ploy to make money. But women rappers like Queen Latifa and Lil Kim have made a name for themselves in the rap game. They know how to flow, rap about important issues, and they definitely have the part down. I Think that within the next ten to fifteen years there will be a decent amount of women who can rap and are respected by those who listien to Hip-Hop. We have to remember that Hip-hop has only been around for a little more than 35 years and with each decade that passes there are sure to be changes.
When women are in hip hop we mostly see them used as sex symbols. In almost every rap video on television, you can't not see a woman walking around in a thong and a bikini. Sure all men love women, but it starts to become degrading at a point. Sir-Mix-A-lot was probably one of the first rappers to have a hit song that had a video that exclusively showed women in a slightly degrading form (even though the song itself is fun and catchy), now videos such as Nelly's "tip drill" are much more graphic and degrade women even more. Many of these women have a choice and by putting themselves in these videos they give a bad name for women in hip-hop and in the rap game.


Fun Links

http://www.hiponline.com/artist/music/q/queen_latifah/

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_1_55/ai_57046400