Simmermon: Lyrics degrading to female listeners
Rappers are crossing the line between the art of expression and offensiveness.
Friday, February 15th, 2008
“I’m gonna bitch-slap my ho, and you should too.”
I think it hit me as I was driving home from work the other day. I was mindlessly listening to the radio when the song “Big Pimpin” came on. So here I am singing along, thinking about getting home and fixing a lean cuisine, when—like a ton of bricks—it hits me that I am completely degrading myself. I have often dismissed song lyrics based on a fun beat or just never taking the time to really listen, but there are songs out there, especially in the rap and hip-hop genre, that endorse the mistreatment and inequality of men to women. Whether it’s talking about how fun it is to “be a player” or “if your ho act up, put her six feet deep.”
Does nobody else have a problem with this? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills here (this is a line I’ve been working on. I really think I might be the next Ludacris.). “Look I don’t care how crazy yo bitch is, you can’t kill her, and if you did, it would mean some serious jail time...playa.”
OK, maybe not Luda. Maybe more like R.Kelly.
One might say chauvinism has existed from the beginning of time. The supposed first story ever written claims that women came from men and are therefore innately less superior. However, such ideas have been progressively suppressed since the women’s right movement, so I’m wondering when it became cool to be a bigot and how society has let it come this far.
These artists and their ideals are glorified by the media, which allows people to feel justified in their own mistreatment of others. Some men think it’s cool to spread their seed all over the town, because that’s what they hear on the radio and the TV. We are not animals living in some primitive world. We are rational beings capable of respect and meaningful relationships. By demoralizing our set standards as higher-thinking beings, we are slowly sending ourselves back into the Stone Age.
I don’t mean to sound like Will Smith, but it’s gotten a little out of control, when lyrics that talk about raping and killing women are considered the “new hot thing.” We have to sit back and ask ourselves, “what kind of society are we becoming?”
Art is an expression, true, but when the emotions being sparked by that form of expression are causing more harm than good, it’s time to take some responsibility for the principles we supposedly hold. I really feel, however, that this argument is hopeless, lyrics are going to keep degrading and objectifying women, artists are going to continue to make millions of dollars off of them and women are going to keep grinding their booties on the dance floor to them. Everybody’s going to give up their integrity and get VDs, and the world’s going to continue to turn like it always has.
Simmermon is a Leawood senior in journalism.
Discussion
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I hate this bandwagon of hating on rap music. Okay, maybe rap says certain things...but why not get down on rock music or horror movies? No one seems to complain about movies like 'Saw' showing people getting cut up and crap. This is an obvious attempt by someone who dislikes rap to vent. And that line in Big Pimpin' referenced isn't on the song nor would have been played on the radio...
yet another article bashing hip hop from a white female who's from the nice confines of suburbia. When people misinterpret and misreport hip hop music, it simply reinforces racial stereotypes about young black, hispanic, and asian males. Way to go...your readers came away sharing your prejudiced message that youung black males are sexual deviants... Don't get me wrong, there are questionable lyrics and practices in all musical cultures, however...why do you simply point out hip hop. The Kansas City Star had a great article last month which touched on degrading lyrics in music, and it stated that country was worst. But I guess no one is willing to criticize some white males.
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