Bitches Ain't Shit but Hoes and Tricks: Sexism, Feminism and Denial in hip hop

“Never lettin’ ya leave, never lettin’ ya go.” – Amerie, Can’t Let Go (All I Have) Early in Chris Rock’s Black Ambition Tour set, he jokes about his uncomfortable relationship with hip hop. Especially now that he has a daughter, he thinks more about the words. He notes, however, that women are always the people that seem to get the most amped when those misogynistic songs blare through the speakers. The lyrics could be Stick it in her ass Stick it in her ass Hoes always love it When you stick it in they ass and what is seemingly every woman in the club saying as they grind up on their man or dance with their girls? “That nigga ain’t talkin’ about me. Shiiiit. Holla!” In LA, it’s pretty much standard that you must rock something from the Snoop Dogg/Dr. Dre Chronic era in your old school set at the hip hop club. Probably the most misogynistic song on either the Doggystyle or Chronic albums is Ain’t No Fun (If My Homies Can’t Have None). Nate Dogg sings the smoothed out chorus over a silky 70s style soul loop on a song about passing a woman around like she was a joint. The girls go wild. Every damn time. They laugh. They joke. They high five. “That nigga ain’t talkin’ about me. Shiiiit. Wesst Side bitches. What?!” The key women in hip hop seem to only broach the subject of this rampant sexism by suggesting their own sexual dominance. Missy Elliot’s most recent hits all deal with her demands of men in the bedroom. On Ghostface Killah’s Tush she says, I really like you baby Do you know how to wife this lady? Give me what I want don’t talk don’t touch Unless you got a bank account to make my face blush Now shush Eat my bush And I can give you what you want Make a wush The implication being that she’s as sexually aggressive as the men and, unless you’ve got the money to back up your bravado, you better do what she asks. That’s great and all and I love a strong, sexually aware person but shouldn’t women be demanding that same respect outside the bedroom? Li'l Kim and Foxy Brown have never gotten past the sex as a weapon ideology either. According to them, the only power women have is in the pussy. Jean Grae and Ms. Dynamite aside, is the most accessible feminist voice in hip hop a man? Talib Kweli regularly broaches the subjects on his records. He consistently looks at the plight of black women in the world, if not in hip hop specifically, and rarely, if ever, makes sweeping generalizations about women in his word choice and metaphor. Is there anyone else out there challenging hip hop, challenging young black minds to consider women as something other than hoes, tricks, chickenheads, your baby’s mamma, or big mamma? Maybe it’s Erykah Badu whose Worldwide Underground album might be the preamble to the future of hip hop anyway. From the outset, she has been a soul singer intricately tied to her love of hip hop. She challenges the hip hop generation to always re-evaluate what is accepted as true. On the single from Worldwide Underground, Danger, she looks at a common archetype in hip hop, the drug dealer, and showcases what the woman at home is doing while he’s away or on lockdown. No hoes or tricks here just a strong woman taking similar risks as her partner whether she gets acknowledged for what she does or not. But, perhaps, the truest commentary on where women in hip hop are takes place later on her album on the Love of My Life Worldwide remix. The guests on the track are Bahamadia, Queen Latifah, and Angie Stone - 3 powerful female MCs who haven’t put out relevant commercial hip hop releases in 5, 10, and 20 years respectively. But the ladies in the club are dancing and cheering. “That nigga ain’t talkin’ ‘bout me.” Who is that nigga talking about then? “Excuse me, miss. What’s your name?”

Related: hiphopmusic.com: Hip Hop Blogs - Blind to Gender Issues? diesel nation: Hip Hop Hates Women a day in a life: Black Females are Valued by No One