Hip Hop The Commodification Of African American Women

Hip-Hop Music: The Commodification of African-American Women Since its emergence in the 1980s, hip-hop has taken the world by storm; it has impacted and revolutionized the way people behave, dress, and think. Hip-hop music enables people to connect in a way they would never be able to with any other genre of music. Although, hip-hop has swayed different generations over the years, its influence has not always been positive. In the past, hip-hop focused more on current events in society, personal struggles, life experiences and serving as a voice for the youth. However in recent years, hip-hop music has begun to promulgate a lust for material affluence, and in doing so romanticizes violence, drug usage, and the exploitation of women. No longer is hip-hop about what moves the audience rhythmically and makes them think; today it’s all about what sells, sex. In the past, sexual content and appeal was simply i in lyrics and music videos to spice things up, but now it is virtually a n essential. The psyche of those in the ego-driven hip-hop world is that having a plethora of women on your side, especially black women, is equivalent to success. In hip-hop women are treated as human beings whom are not worthy of respect and are instead treated like sexual objects and prizes. In Jay-Z’s song, â€Å"Money, Cash, and Hoes†, he raps â€Å"If you get close enough you can read the scripture: it reads: money, cash, hoes†. This line alone is a perfect example of what rappers truly define asShow MoreRelatedHip Hop And Rap Music1584 Words   |  7 PagesHip hop music is one of the most popular genres in present time that rose to prominence in the 1980’s. The hip hop genre was born in the African American community and has since then changed into what it is today. What most individuals don’t know is that originally rap music did not contain such explicit themes as it does now; such as misogyny, drugs, crime, and violence among others. Ma ny people may wonder what led to the introduction of such themes into rap music and why they remained popular.Read MoreRap Music Is Not The Only Type Of American Music Associated With Sex And Violence1508 Words   |  7 PagesRap music is not the only type of American music associated with sex and violence. The history of Rock’s Roll for example, is a good example. The same arrangements, with white people at the top, uplifted an entire American generation on sex and violence in other types of music. Now they are doing the same with rap music (Roberts, 1994). Rappers have thus been forced to abandon the stated goal of their humble beginning to conform to the marketable aspects of their crafts. (Rebollo-Gil Moras, 2012)Read MoreThe Sexualization Of Women s Status2384 Words   |  10 PagesSexualization of women in the media, be it as a marketing front for products or props in movies and music videos, serves to diminish women’s status in society. Though women are unive rsally exploited by the media, in North America women are depicted differently based on race. However, these depictions are polarized between women of colour, to be precise black women, and white women. When juxtaposed, white women appear as demure and black women as sexually aggressive. Mass media’s portrayal of black women is notRead MoreDifferences Between Hip Hop And Pop Hop3082 Words   |  13 PagesDiscuss notions of ‘authenticity’ in relation to either: a) Hip-Hop (and/or its sub genres). How have race, class and gender been redefined with regards to ‘keeping it real’? You should refer to academic texts such as Jones, Steve (2002) Pop Music the Press. Temple Uni. Press The notion of the authenticity in hip-hop is that it has to do with being associated to â€Å"the street† or the urban ghetto. â€Å"The core of Hip Hop cultural activity†, a â€Å"site of originality, culture, perception, andRead MoreGloablization4764 Words   |  20 PagesGlobalization (2004) Emulated through Images: The Globalization of Misconstructed African American Beauty and Hip-Hop Culture Kerri A. Reddick-Morgan Georgia State University kreddick1@student.gsu.edu Abstract From news coverage to entertainment, the media shapes, reflects, reinforces and defines the world in which we live. In publishing, theatre, films, television and popular music-industries largely controlled by white men--Blacks continually struggle for both a voice and representation.Read MoreThe Rap Artist Nicki Minaj Released The Platinum Hit Single Titled Anaconda 1533 Words   |  7 Pagesdiscloses how each of these aspects intersects to produce a culturally momentous relic in modern music. Through the examination of many theories and external sources it was possible to gain insight on the social constructions of the â€Å"fat body†, the commodification and consumption of racial others and the discursive structures of white patriarchy. This music video is revealed as a point of intersection illuminating knowledge of empowerment endorsed by the female icon. This song places the emphasis on theRead MoreMUSI 1002 Notes2546 Words   |  11 Pagesconsumptions into production . Referring to the creative process DJ Danger Mouse, brought genre into public discourse Sampling, Meanings, and Interpretation Brackett, â€Å"Sample Mania† Can’t Touch This, resembles Super Freak. Same backing track. Hip hop is now commercial, started by 1990s. He suggested that popularity is due to the sampling of well known songs. In 1997, hit songs based on samplings with pervasive What impact does the song have? What is popular music text? Anything that conveysRead MoreThree Waves of Variation Study14802 Words   |  60 Pagesstudy of African American speakers in Detroit showed women’s speech to be consistently more standard (i.e. in most cases to use fewer variables considered diagnostic of AAVE) than men’s across the socioeconomic hierarchy. British studies showed similar results (Trudgill 1974, Macaulay 1977). Other studies in the US, though, have shown quite mixed gender patterns. While women as a group tend to use more standard variants than men for stable variables, and for morphosyntactic variables, women overwhelmingly