First of all, I find it kind of funny that Vanilla Ice, back when he was still rappin', was criticized for not paying royalties, lying about writing his own lyrics, and lying about his past. And here he is today in trouble for robbery. Rose pointed out that "black ghettoness" seemed to be essential for being a rapper. And now Vanilla Ice, who actually wasn't very "ghetto," gets caught for robbery, a theme found in rap music. Funny how things work out.
Why do I, a white middle-class female, listen to rap music? Rose talks about how white people are basically needed in order for anything, especially music, to progress and be accepted. I started listening to rap when I was in first in high school. I remember driving around with my friend listening to Lil Wayne's Prom Queen then going home and trying to remember the title of the song. Obviously I have never experienced anything that's rapped about in these songs...but for some reason, I do listen. In part it is because I enjoy the beat because it's past paced and fun (usually). I also don't really like female artists, and as we've discussed, most rappers are male. I do understand that rap music comes from a certain culture, a culture which I don't know anything about, especially in the middle of South Dakota. But it does interest me. I hate to say because it sounds so different from what I know, and don't humans always become interested by the unknown?, but that sounds odd. It sounds like I'm ogling another culture, one that has more struggles than I personally do, for my enjoyment. When it's put that way, it sounds worse than me just simply stating I listen to rap music and leaving it at that.
I remember being a little girl in the mall at a music store. I was with my mom. There was a poster of Eminem on the wall and I asked my mom who that was. My mom told me and said he was "bad" and not to "listen" to him. I indeed listened to her for years after that, and was cautious to ever even listen to a song by him. Even when I was older and started listening to him, I was scared to tell anyone I did because I still had it in my head that he was bad. Now I look back and question it. WHY was he bad? Why was he bad for rapping about the hard life he had and all that he went through? Why was he bad for expressing himself?
One thing I don't understand is the concept of sexism in black rap music. Is it really sexism, or is it only sexism by white people's standards? Obviously these black men has wives/girlfriends/women in their lives they love and respect. Maybe in a roundabout way, referring to them as a big booted bitch is a...compliment? It's hard for us to understand because if a guy ever said that to me, I'd be very upset. But maybe it's just again a difference in culture.
Women in rap is a whole different thing to delve into. Women rappers in the past seemed to be much more progressive than the women now. Now women rappers (and really singers in general) don't really have that much to outright say, and that's sad. Some (like Nicki Minaj, ya know) are trying, but they can't have a whole entire song dedicated to feminism and women's rights because no one would listen. So, those messages are covered up by lyrics about sex and clothes and men.
So many topics to cover, so little time.
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