Introduction
I wanted my mixed tape to have a common thread of songs that talk about strong women, particularly in reference to men and relationships. It’s not limited to Southern hip-hop, but the artists and songs included are shown so often in the same venues as Southern hip-hop that they become a fringe aspect of that genre. The VMA’s, for example, had a mixture of Kanye West, Britney Spears, Pink, Rhianna, the Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne, Kid Rock…the list goes on. Another way that they are often linked together is on “Top 40” radio stations; they are played in clubs, etc. Keyes acknowledges that the hip-hop and rap industry has been primarily male-dominated and is thought of as a male musical genre, but there are plenty of female artists in the industry singing women-empowering songs along with some men singing songs with the same message.
Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)—Beyonce
While this song will probably soon be overplayed to the point of inducing nausea, at the moment, it’s one of my favorites. Beyonce is one of the best female hip-hop artists currently producing albums, and this song is off of her newest: I Am…Sasha Fierce. Beyonce is definitely a mixture of several of Keyes’ black female stereotypes. She’s a diva, as she says in one of her new songs, as well as a queen and definitely a fly girl. In the music video for this song, she’s is clothed minimally in basically a black bra and booty shorts. Keyes’ says that fly girls showcase the curves that are considered undesirable in mainstream white culture. Beyonce is definitely curvier than the women that are generally found in mainstream white America, but she is absolutely beautiful and she shows herself in a light that highlights her beauty. Her very persona radiates a confidence and inner strength that makes all of her songs and her entire career a testament to strong women.
Irreplaceable—Beyonce
While Single Girls probably will become overplayed to the point where no one can stand it anymore, Irreplaceable has already reached that point. Despite that, it is a wonderful song for the strong woman. Beyonce is telling her ex that she’s a prize and he’s not, basically. Beyonce calls her performer “alter-ego” Sasha—which inspired the name of her newest album. The reason that she created this alter ego is because Sasha is fearless. She’s strong, independent, and totally fearless and Beyonce wants to project that image to her fans, according to an interview she did with Marie Claire. She also said that she is proud to be one of the black women in the world opening doors for others who will follow, just like Halle Berry and Diana Ross opened doors that she went through. Back to the song though, she says that it is just about being independent and not falling apart if a relationship ends badly—you pick up your pieces and let him know that he’s replaceable.
Can’t Hold Us Down—Lil Kim & Christina Aguilera
I’ve mentioned this song in previous blogs, but I thought it definitely deserved to be a part of this list. These two artists definitely address the stereotype of younger women being either bitches or hoes that is addressed in Matt Miller’s “Southern Spaces”. The song says something along the lines of women get called a ho for doing the same thing that men do all the time—and they aren’t going to stand for it anymore. It takes a strong woman to stand up and embrace a stereotype and make it work for them instead of essentializing them into merely falling into that category. Stuart Hall addresses the problem of stereotyping in his Representation article. He says, “stereotyping tends to occur when there are gross inequalities of power”, which goes along with Miller’s idea that “women [are] infrequently represented” in rap culture but when they are it’s in a very limited view. This type of limited representation is clearly part of the lack of balance of power that Hall is referring to. Lil Kim and Christina Aguilera are both strong female role models in the hip-hop and pop industries who have shown themselves to be strong and independent.
So What? —Pink
As far as I’m concerned, Pink is the ultimate in kick-ass female power rocker chick. She’s not actually part of the hip-hop community, per se, but this song in particular has some crunk aspects to it, specifically in the beat, the bass, and her “flow”. She talks about losing her husband, but “so what, I’m still a rock star…I don’t want you tonight…I’m gonna show you tonight…I’m all right, I’m just fine.” Pink is another female artist who personifies the fly girl aspect of Keyes’ essay. She’s not black, but she pulls the independent woman aspect of that out and wraps it around herself. The entire concept of this song is that while she may be alone and may even miss the man that she is no longer involved with, she’s fine. She’ll make it on her own and she’s still a rock star.
Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely)—Pink
This song is absolutely one of my favorites ever. On a personal level, up until recently, this is how I’ve felt about every relationship I’ve ever been in. On a broader level, it’s a clear message to men that while we can like having them around sometimes, they have no business hanging around all the time and disrupting our lives. She’s strong enough to be in the relationship and enjoy the duality of life as part of a couple, but at the same time, she embraces and even demands having time to herself. Angela Davis talks about women having sexual freedom, specifically in the idea that they don’t need to be married if they don’t want to be, and that female blues artists actually started “preaching” that marriage isn’t necessarily the way to go. I think Pink has continued in this tradition—even though she doesn’t directly talk about marriage, she does talk about being in a relationship and being strong enough to say that she doesn’t need or want her man around all the time—she’s just fine by herself.
No Scrub—TLC
Davis talks about sexual freedom being one of the biggest changes in African American lives after slavery ended. She says that their lives didn’t change much in an economic way, but they were free to choose their own sexual partners for the first time. It might be a stretch, but that sort of sexual emancipation seems to make an appearance in many black female artists lyrics. No Scrub talks about the women in TLC not settling for just anyone, but making their own decisions about what men they will be with. They have high standards and aren’t just taking whatever they can get at this point. As much as Davis says that blues became the new freedom music after the spirituals and gospel of slavery, hip-hop is the freedom music of today. African Americans as a whole and women specifically can be more sexually available, explicit, and empowered than they were even just a few decades ago. Taking advantage of that sexual freedom is something else that makes up the strong women of today’s hip-hop scene.
Bossy—Kelis
Baldwin says that black female artists have initiated a sort of feminist reversal in the hip-hop industry by using the fact that they know that sex sells and exploiting themselves to make the money that they want to make in their careers. He also says that they haven’t done women any favors or made their sexuality more valuable. I disagree. In Bossy, Kelis talks about having diamonds around her neck and diamonds in her grill and refers to a previous hit, with the boys in the yard. She’s definitely using her sexuality to make money, but she’s not exploiting herself, she’s taking charge of her sexuality and using it in a way that benefits her. She has the lighter skin and long flowing hair that Missy Elliott talks about in her interview as being the token desirable black woman, but instead of trying to change that or conform to what’s expected out of that image, she becomes as explicit as anyone else and uses her natural look to advance herself as well as she can.
Work It and I’m Really Hot—Missy Elliott
Both of these are very sexualized songs. It’s not only about being an independent, strong woman, but it’s about taking charge of your female sexuality and desire for a male companion and making it happen. She wants sex and she tells him exactly how it will happen and how she’s wants to be taken. It’s raw, and gritty, and the epitome of the “Dirty South”…in my mind, at least. She pulls her southern-ness into Work It as well, with the reference to slavery in the “yessah, massa” line. The line is referring to the fact that the man she’s chosen for the night is going to be calling her the master of the event, but by pulling it in, she’s really epitomizing the dirty south. Matt Miller brings up this aspect of the dirty south in “Southern Spaces”, talking about the Old South and slavery still being a prevalent part of southern rap. Missy Elliott also addresses the black female body in her songs. She talks about her hips and ass and lips and tips in a way that lets the world know that she considers herself to be sexually desirable. While some would say that she is playing into the stereotype of black women being “bitches and hoes” I think she’s just flaunting the fact that she’s a sexual person in a way that is empowering rather than degrading. Yes, she’s talking about having sex with someone who we would assume is not her husband or even necessarily her boyfriend, but she’s talking about taking charge of that encounter and making it about her pleasure and her desire. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Elliott talks about the fact that as a woman, she’s not expected to be explicit in her lyrics, and it’s shocking to many people because she’s a woman, but men are allowed and even expected to do so. She says that it’s shocking and makes people uncomfortable to hear her talk the way she does in her lyrics, but she compares herself to being a door-opener for others. She says that since hip-hop women are pushing the comfort zone a little now, women in other genres can come through it.
Womanizer—Britney Spears
Britney Spears has gone through so many images over her career that one would assume that Madonna has rubbed more than just lipstick off on her. She’s been a teen icon, a sex symbol, a pitied young mother, a ridiculed psycho, and a cautiously supported comeback. Missy Elliott talks about her in her interview with Rolling Stone and compares her to a nun who is breaking out of that role and making herself into a strong, vital part of the music industry. She’s one of the women that Missy says are coming through the door that she’s helping to push open with explicit lyrics and sexualized songs. In Womanizer, Spears talks about the man that she’s attracted to being bad for her because he’s a womanizer, so she takes control and gets rid of him. In the video Spears plays several different women who are all actually the same, trapping and punishing him for being a womanizer. The song has several hip-hop aspects to it, including sampling from Lil Wayne’s Lollipop and talking about “fronting” and “swagger”—both prevalent terms in hip-hop. Several of Britney’s other songs have been about taking charge of her life and letting a man know that he’s not going to control it anymore, which is exactly the narrative that I think is important for young girls to hear.
Conclusion:
In Postindustrial Soul, Mark Anthony Neal says that hip-hop’s “narratives usually mirrored whatever concerns were deemed crucial to black youth” and although he’s talking about older hip-hop, I think that the same holds true today. If that is true, then one of the important themes in the lives of black youth (and we can assume white youth as well, as both groups are avid hip-hop listeners) is the appearance of strong women in pop culture. The women that I’ve discussed are all, in different ways, strong and important voices in the dialogue going on in hip-hop culture. While there are hundreds, if not thousands, of instances of women being reduced to “bitches and hoes” in rap and hip-hop, there is an emerging group of women dedicated to showing that there is so much more to them than that. And one of the things that I personally love about it, is that there are so many physical types of these women that young girls won’t be looking at only stick-thin models for an example of how to be a successful, strong, independent woman.
Works Cited:
Southern Spaces, Matt Miller
Representation, Stuart Hall
Postindustrial Soul: Black Popular Music at the Crossroads, Mark Anthony Neal
Black Empires, White Desires, Davarian L. Baldwin
Empowering Self, Making Choices, Creating Spaces, Cheryl Keyes
Blues Legacies and Black Feminism, Angela Davis
Women Who Rock: Missy Elliott, Jenny Eliscu, Rolling Stone Magazine, http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/missyelliott/articles/story/5938700/missy_elliott
Beyonce Interview, Marie Claire, http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/celebrity/interviews/272366/beyonce-interview.html
