Women have always occupied a fraught place in hip-hop, perhaps more so now than ever. If not subjected to borderline-ridiculous-if-not-for-its-readily- obvious-cultural-influence misogyny (spearheaded by Snoop’s ambitious cultural project of ensconcing the mystical “ho” as a viable Third Sex in the place of actual women) or extreme credibility bashing (NaS), women have the unenviable “honor” of being pure embodiments of sugar, spice, and moral enlightenment… who also can sexually service a man like an experienced pro...
...And it gets weirder as one peels back the layers, moving beyond male rappers’ discussions of women and female rappers’ self-presentation to rappers’ metaphorical representations of hip-hop as a woman. These presentations aren’t necessarily all misogynistic – some can be seen as uplifting. They are, regardless, deeply gendered. But don’t take it from me…
Common (“I Used to Love H.E.R.)?
“Slim was fresh yo, when she was underground
Original, pure untampered and down sister
Boy I tell ya, I miss her”
Shabaam Sahdeeq (“I Still Love Her”)?
“She universal, she got all that with her
Loving her body I couldn’t wait to hit her
Got with her had to get her in my clutch and thrust
‘Cuz I love to lust, and lust to love”
Cormega (“American Beauty”)?
“I love her like a mother, my physical path
She even overlooked the fact about my criminal past”
Pharoahe Monch (“Rape”)?
“Grab the drums by the waistline
I snatch the kick, kick the snares and sodomize the bassline”
If hip-hop is a woman, why does she almost always have a man’s voice?
Click here to read the full original review of Eternia's It's Called Life
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