In the Name of Music

In the 1990’s music artists such as 2live Crew, Sir Mix-A-lot and others whose musical themes centered on women, contributed to an increasing number of sexy imagery in music video. By the late 1990’s, video vixens were a popular and evolved form of modeling, and met firm foundation in the African American community.

There are plenty of criticisms about the propagation of female degradation seen in both video and in lyrical content, but “rude boy style” is what rules the hip hop world.

The negative images, lyrics, and attitudes often portrayed and spread through hip-hop music without a doubt contributes to already diseased perceptions of sexuality and self, but what about the implication for society as a whole? Hip Hop is a tool of self expression (originally stemming out of the frustrations of racial discriminations, culture differences, and daily “grind” in the African American community), Hip-hop has since spread its wings and invited all cultures to join the universal expression of life struggle.

The derogatory nature of many lyrics though heavily focused on, hardly makes up the essence of the music itself. Lyrics merely tell a story presenting both the good and bad sides of human nature through the story of life experience. Though many lyrics contain “derogatory” words much of this usage is intended to express or emphasis an emotion – not spread disrespect (excluding those whose sole intention is derogatory in the first place). Language is an expression of culture, and hip-hop which is built on language naturally expresses its foundation.

In 1996 Lil K.I.M confronted the world of hip hop with her in your face attitude.
Her debut album Hardcore sparked much dialog on the controversial use of sex selling hip hop. Topics such as female degradation, lack of self respect and the deteriorating status of the African American family were hot spots prompted by the release of Hardcore. Lil Kim then a protégé of popular rapper Biggie Smalls had already given the world a taste of her take no prisoners attitude in collaborations with Junior Mafia and other artists. What stunned more conservative audiences was the fact that she boldly flaunted her sexuality as a selling point, a practice many had already cultivated. The use of women to sell products is not a new phenomenon in American culture. Our societies earliest sales advertisements have always preferred women over men. Everything from alcohol, cigarettes, beauty products to household items feautre predominatly women.

Though some may have a negative view of Lil Kim, due of her audacious use of sexuality, her antics have resulted in other women taking a bolder stance. A stance that says “Yes, I am sexy and I know it, so buy it.