…when I say that Women CANNOT address these issues meaningfully.
Case in point: one Dr. Tricia Rose, Africana Studies Professor at Brown University. She considers herself to be a “Hip Hop Theorist” and has written and/or edited a number of books on the subject.
Yesterday, I had the chance to watch the Tavis Smiley “State Of The Black Union” program which is carried live on CSPAN every Feb (Black History Month); one of my buddies burned it onto DVD for me, and I had finally gotten around to watching it yesterday. Rose was one of the panelists.
Aside from her comments regarding Hip Hop being totally offbase, she goes into the same, tired “misogyny/sexism” tank that 99.9% of all Hip Hop detractors go into. Of course, the FACT that Missy Elliott is Hip Hop’s most commercially successful female rapper EVER, or that Queen Latifah was able to parlay her successful rap career into tv sitcoms (and BOTH Lesbians, by the way!), movies and a perfume line, or that Lauryn Hill was a multi-Grammy award winner, doesn’t in any way detract from the “fact” that Hip Hop is horribly tilted against Women. And of course, the irony can’t be strong enough, considering the source where all this comes from-a product of one of the most prestigious universities *on the planet*.
We all should be “oppressed”.
But, here’s my burning question for the Good Doctor:
If indeed Hip Hop is so irredeemably sexist, and if Black Women have such a hard time getting a fair shake as it’s currently been done in the Hip Hop world-then WHY don’t some smart and brave Black Woman, or indeed a group or team of Black Women, come together and form their own record label, that would feature female rappers? They could present an alternative view and perception of Black Women that prevails in Hip Hop videos and the like today.
Think about it-Jay-Z is the success he is today, not just because he’s a great rapper, but also because he’s a great *businessman*. Back in the mid-90s, he teamed up with Damien Dash and co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records, and the rest, as they say, is history. He didn’t complain, whine or moan about the big record labels not signing him-he simply got together with someone of likemind, did the damned thing, and again, the rest as they say, is history.
What’s stopping say, Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah and Missy Elliott from forming their *own* version of Roc-A-Fella? Heck, they could even get the ear and aid of Oprah Winfrey herself(!) to get the project off the ground.
Of all the many criticisms that have been levied against Hip Hop for its supposed misogyny, isn’t it fascinating that NO ONE has ever asked this question? Hmm?
Now, since we both have an interest in markets and how they work, and Men and Women and how *they* work, let me layout for you WHY such a question has not and will not be posed by the Prof. Rose’s of the world:
1. Because doing what Jigga and Dash did takes RISK, and Women by and large are risk averse.
2. Because there isn’t a large enough market to support female rappers-this has been confirmed by 50 Cent himself, who said that he wanted to market female rapper Remy Ma, but the current Hip Hop market won’t support a female raper like that. Sound familiar? Ever heard of the WNBA? Yea, they’ve been on financial life support for YEARS now, and don’t look to make any money anytime soon. Simply put, guys don’t wanna see gals playing hoops.
3. But wait, there’s more! Not only don’t guys wanna see gals playing hoops, BUT WOMEN DON’T EITHER-and this transfers right over into the current discussion. I personally know Black Women who’ll buy Kanye West, The Roots, Common and Jay-Z, but will NOT buy Missy Elliot OR Queen Latifah. I’ve seen the iPods myself.
So, when you really get down to it, all the largely female critics of Hip Hop can really do, is squawk and crow about why rappers are going so hard on *some* Women. Because they really don’t have any viable alternative.
And of course, they’ll never, ever, ask whether what the rappers are saying, has even a scintilla of truth to it.
Oh, no…
Any questions? 
Holla back
The Obsidian
