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I can& #39;t tell you how cool it has been to see women come into their own in Hip Hop. When I got into rap, women were little more than adornments for rap videos and the maligned subjects of those very songs.
(a thread, for those interested, continued below)
(a thread, for those interested, continued below)
In the 90& #39;s a crop of female rappers started to show up - many of them more talented than their male counterparts who were, by then, making millions. One of them, "Da Brat" dropped the song below, "Funkdafied." https://youtu.be/k9YikG3cRV8 ">https://youtu.be/k9YikG3cR...
Funkdafied is great, but as you can see - she had to be "Legitimized" - first with the appearance of a "Pimp" character who opens the video and with the unnecessary presence of Jermaine Dupri.
Another, albeit lesser known female rapper from the 90& #39;s - The Lady of Rage - could probably tell a similar story. Her song "Afro Puffs" got play because of its presence on the "Above the Rim" movie soundtrack which was huge at the time. https://youtu.be/0vZApT1566E ">https://youtu.be/0vZApT156...
A great talent, but as you can see, subject to the same "chaperoning" that Da Brat underwent. Rage& #39;s video begins with a yoked dude, presumably the Terminator, who...kidnaps her, I guess, before she destroys the mic? Also notice her legitimizer& #39;s presence - Snoop Dogg.
There are more examples, some more successful than others, but I think the point is pretty clear. Women had a tough hill to climb in Hip Hop and still do. That& #39;s why it is SO fucking cool to see @iamcardib and Megan Thee Stallion ripping shit up with WAP https://youtu.be/ONZogHRyCtc ">https://youtu.be/ONZogHRyC...
The pearl clutchers and puritans are out in force due to the song& #39;s powerful and explicit display of sexuality, but this is nothing new in Hip Hop. In fact it& #39;s something about as old as the art form itself. Here is @TooShort in 1990: https://youtu.be/F1V6b-NyzHc ">https://youtu.be/F1V6b-Nyz...
As you can see, sexuality has never been a problem in Rap - it& #39;s a problem now because a woman is in control of it. Cardi and Megan are sitting in the same seat Too Short and countless other men have been in since hip hop& #39;s inception. Cool times to be a Hip Hop Head
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