If you own the book "Hip Hop America" by Nelson George, you'll notice that he quotes Chris Rock on the cover of his book in big bold letters as saying "I love hip hop more than I love my mother." I'm pretty sure Chris said that in jest, but Nelson George might possibly agree in earnest.
I'm going to speak on the issue of women in hip-hop. And I'm going to preface my thoughts by quoting the aforementioned book. Nelson George writes "In the twenty plus year of hip hop history on record, a period that produced black vocalists Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Anita Baker, Tracy Chapman, Mary J. Blige, and Erykah Badu, there are no women who have contributed profoundly to rap's artistic growth". He then goes on to say "...I would argue that if none of these female artists would had ever made a record, hip hop's development would have been no different."
I beg to differ.
I'm not going to try and argue that women in hip-hop have been every bit as influential as men, because that's absurd. Hip-hop is very much dominated by males; always has been and always will be. But it is absurd to say that everything female artists have contributed to the culture could be erased and hip-hop would be exactly the same.
If nothing else, femcees of the past and present have given young women the confidence to step up and voice their opinions. Queen Latifah, Bahamadia, MC Lyte, Monie Love... these women have all had a positive impact on the morales of many females. And while that type of influence may not have directly influenced hip-hop at that time, it certainly paved the way for future femcees by giving them the ambition they needed to step up to the microphone and say "I got next!"
In my opinion, female rappers may have had a different sort of impact if they had stuck to the original storytelling style of the pioneers like Lyte. At some point in the mid-90's, female MC's (generally) took a whole new approach to songwriting and how they convey themselves to their fans. All of a sudden, female MC's were sex symbols who dressed scantily and had mouths dirtier than Saddam's most recent address. Many people feel that this is the point where the possibility of femcees making big moves in the game fizzled out.
Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown definitely sold well, but if you ask the average male hip-hop head if he likes Foxy, he'll respond with "eh, she's okay, I guess..." Females were the ones spending their money on her album; young girls were spending their allowances, and waitresses who were single mothers were spending their tips. Yet females had, and still do have, a relatively tiny voice in the world of hip-hop.
Some people argue that femcees have failed to make an impact on hip-hop because they never delivered classic songs or dropped a classic album. Queen Latifah's "UNITY" is an example of a classic song by a female MC, but the fact is that the male populous of the hip-hop community refuses to highlight gems such as this. Latifah also had a successful sitcom; one of the best (if not THE best) by any emcee. She had a decent talk show, she's had some hit movies, she's getting nominated for ACADEMY AWARDS!? She got her start from you, hip-hop! Like Jay said, "where's the love?"
While I will agree that many female rappers cannot do their thing on the mic, there are realistically just as many male rappers who lack skills. However, record execs will sign average Joe Rap, give him a bulletproof vest, and make him into a pretty thug. All of a sudden this guy is marketable, very appealing to WOMEN, and artists/labels/hip-hop continues to flourish.
Furthermore, the careers and accomplishments of femcees have given males both subject matter and food for thought. Lauren Hill and Wyclef are an excellent example. The impact of her success (5 Grammys) basically rewrote his role in hip-hop. Yes, females have definately made their mark in more ways than one. Call that mark a scar, but don't call it non-existent, because that's simply not true.
Females need more credit for what they have done for and contributed to hip-hop. Oh, and much respect to Sylvia Robinson who founded a little something called Sugar Hill Records in 1979. Delightful. If hip-hop could talk, it would tell Nelson George to speak for himself. Show females some respect for their love of the game if nothing more. Peace, I'm off to burn my bra.
Females need to rock, rock on...
- femme
