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The Infestation of Misogynist Lyrics in Rap Music

I love rap music. However, whenever I'm playing music with my mom I can't play rap. By my mom not being used to typical rap lyrics, she is shocked by the misogyny and demands me to stop playing the song at once. My typical response to this is just a small shrug accompanied by a laugh because, like all rap fans, I am accustomed to it.

Many rap fans will say that the rappers misogynist lyrics aren't why the songs are popular. However, if you carefully listen to the lyrics of the most popular rap songs every verse there will most likely  be at least one time a woman is called a derogatory name.

Take one of my personal favorites, Kanye. I love him for his amazing producing, making unique beats, and the creative sampling he scatters through his songs. However, the song I Love It does not have any good rap verses, does not have a unique producing, or, to me, any redeemable qualities. This song is basically one lyric repeated over and over to show Kanye and Lil Pumps love of women being intimate by using a derogatory name for women being sexually promiscuous. When I saw that this song was number six on the Billboard Top 100 at one point, I was shocked. Compared to songs by Kanye like All of the Lights, Can't Tell Me Nothing, Touch the Sky, and many more, which all peaked at sub-twenty on the Billboard Top 100, I Love It is horrible. With all artists songs that represent misogyny are getting more streams. This causes smaller artists to flood their songs with derogatory names in hopes it of becoming as popular as I Love It.
The reason the epidemic of demeaning women in rap must stop is because young women are listening to this music and, without knowing, are feeling influenced to fall into what these rappers portray women as, objects for men to use. This is caused by continuous exposure to hearing women be called derogatory words. Uzochi Nwoko, a writer for The Harvard Crimson, explains that, "it is important to be vigilant in denouncing misogyny and to be careful to not take these aspects of rap and hip-hop to heart." While the first step should be not internalizing these lyrics, the next step is getting rid of these lyrics all together. This type of lyric doesn’t add any value in any song and people would enjoy the song as much without these words. The only impact that demeaning women in rap has is impressionable women thinking it's okay to be called these words, and young boys thinking it's okay to call women these words because their idols, like Kayne, call women derogatory names.

Next time you listen to your favorite rap song, I challenge you to listen to the lyrics. How many times do they use a derogatory word for a woman? Does using that word effect the meaning of the song? Could the song be the same without the word? Is the word good or bad in this context? The answers will surprise you.

Comments

  1. Elizabeth M. BlairNovember 1, 2019 at 11:10 AM

    Hello! My name is Ms. Blair and I have been observing your classroom for the past few weeks. I will also be student teaching in your class this winter. I look forward to getting to know you and your classmates throughout this school year!

    Many have criticized rap music for its misogynist language and themes, but misogyny continues to pervade many popular releases. Will rap music eventually shift away from this? How might this connect to some of our community or society's values?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DelaneyDecember 8, 2019 at 7:57 AM

      Those are very good questions! I think it might shift, but a huge shift in the music industry would need to occur for this to happen. When the rap industry used to be less popular rappers talked about violence in their neighborhood and trying to get out of the hood. However, when rap music became one of the most popular genres rappers became much richer and at a younger age. So they couldn’t talk about the hood and their struggle, because they didn’t have that experience. But most rappers, rich and poor, have the experience of being attracted to women and so they rap about objectifying them, because that is a topic most men can relate to. This causes the rapper to become more popular and so the topic becomes a popular thing to rap about, because most people can’t relate to being rich and having Rolexes. Therefore I think this topic is popular, so rappers will continue rapping about it, unless the industry shifts, like before.

      Delete

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