Changing State Of Women In Hip Hop

Coming to think of hip hop and the presence of women rappers, there is not much that can be talked about. There are not as many commercially successful female rappers who have got the public’s attention as male rappers. But, that does not completely out list women from this genre that is oh so popular amongst youngsters. One of female rappers, who has been referred to as the best female ever to kindle the genre, is LaurynHil of Fugees, though her long hiatus has led the fans to succumb to a hopeless void. As for today, it may be rightly assumed that Nicki Minaj is perhaps so popular that only she may be known to everybody as the only female, popular rap artist. Contrary to this assumption, there are a surprising number of women in the industry who could be called to rap for fellow artists.

Unfortunately, with there being women rappers alongside male rappers, the idea boils down to a flinching though: sex sells. To elaborate, let us take a look at how Minaj as a pop and sexualised artist has been raising the horns in the world of hip hop. Although, Minaj and the other female hip hop artists are independent and strong women, they are shaped predominantly by the men.

Women and Hip Hop Music

Women are greatly objectified in hip hop and this is evident from the music videos of various male artists

peculiar to the particular genre. The male artists have been seen to be discussing women in a misogynistic way. Keeping this aside, there is more that can be understood in a female rappers videos and the raps that they make. While there is definitely a place for female rappers to bloom in their own independent spaces and talk about their sex life just how a male rapper is allowed to, a lot of artists are trying to fit into the concept of a sexy female rapper. It appears like music labels are bent on capitalising the woman’s sexuality than willing to express her innate ability to rap.

Some overly sexual rappers include Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks. Iggy Azalea is the first female and the first Australian to be featured in the XXL Freshmen class, who signed on the T.I.’s Hustyle label with the most famous song of hers being titled Pu$$y. Azealia Banks released her own version of a song by Baauer of Harlem Shake fame and put her full body on display.

While it is perfectly acceptable for Banks and Azalea to rap about their sexual contacts, it is upsetting to know that it is this that has brought fame to them. They are powerful artists who may easily claim to be one of the few artists who can rap in the industry, little is realised that it is their sexuality and the way major labels extract a profit on them that catches the fans’ attention.

Last Word

Interestingly, there are female rappers who are also known for their charm such as Kreayshawn who is known to be an interesting and in fact, the most interesting female rapper who is active as of today. What is appalling is that she puts through her tactics in such fashion that it is understood that her motives are to overcome the male dominated industry.