FEATURE:
She Bad
Are Women in Rap Underrated and Underappreciated?
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EVEN though Cardi B…
PHOTO CREDIT: Justice Apple for Rolling Stone
has hit out against critics many times, her recent comments about how women in Rap and Hip-Hop are under-celebrated and given less attention is not far off the mark. As we can see from this NME article explains, Cardi B has highlighted how women are not given proper respect:
“Cardi B has spoken out on the mistreatment faced by women in rap.
She shared the opinion on Twitter yesterday (June 25), replying to a fan who pointed out the frequent criticism female rappers receive despite their strong talent and impressive production values.
“I hate how Women rappers can perform & have whole ass choreography routines & still get criticized & picked apart while men rappers just walk around in one circle, jump up & down, giving the bare minimum with no criticism @ all,” @ReinaHoneey posted, herself replying to a user that shared footage of Cardi’s performance at the 2019 BET Awards.
“Female rappers have to bust their ass on performances, great visuals, hours on make up, hours on hair, pressure by the public to look perfect, make great music and yet are the most disrespected,” Cardi replied.
“Always they not good enough, what’s new? It’s boring, why her not me.”
Cardi has long been vocal on the dissonance between how men and women are viewed in the rap world. In February, she spoke of the “crazy expectations” female rappers are pressured to meet, telling Mariah Carey in an interview: “It’s not like it’s a competition, but people are always comparing and comparing and comparing. It’s almost like they want to see you fail.”
In a 2020 interview with Billboard, she noted the pressure female rappers face to continuously deliver new material. “If you don’t have a super crazy smash, it’s like oh, you flop, flop flop,” she said”.
Maybe it is an old debate, though there does seem to be a double standard. There are many terrific women in Rap who are producing original and hugely strong music. In what Cardi B was saying about the effort and passion women put into their music. It does seem like, even though there is an influx of wonderful women across Rap and Hip-Hop, they have to fight harder for attention and respect. One can say that this is true across all of music. There are essays concerning sexism in Rap, whilst recent articles such as this one go into details about continuing misogyny. Maybe things have improved since the 1980s and 1990s. The article explores how women are under-represented in Rap. They also look at the attitudes male rappers have towards women – and the damage that can do in a societal sense:
“For decades, the genre of rap has lauded male artists while female performers struggle to succeed in the male-dominated industry. When over 6.7 million fans voted on a ranking of the “The Greatest Rappers of All Time,” only three of the top 100 rappers were female artists. Furthermore, in 2019 when rising female artist Saweetie earned her title on the Billboard Top 100 Chart, she was only the 7th woman to do so that year. Prior years saw even fewer women make this list: seven was the most number of women who had reached this achievement in a given year during the entire decade.
IN THIS PHOTO: Bree Runway
The overarching issue leading to women’s underrepresentation among “elite” rappers is the lack of representation of women across all major roles in the music industry, especially songwriting and producing. In a USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative study, Professor Stacy L. Smith analyzed the artists of 700 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart over the years 2012 to 2018. Professor Smith uncovered that across all seven years, 12.3 percent of songwriters were female, 21.7 percent of the artists were female and only 2 percent of producers across 400 songs were female. Most crucially, the producing side of the music industry has consistently lacked female representation. This male-dominated environment hinders women with a passion for music production, preventing them from reaching a high level of success and achieving their career goals. Even further, female artists are consistently put in positions of answering to male producers. As producers often have a high degree of creative control over music, these male producers’ ideas heavily influence the women’s songwriting. Professor Smith’s study corroborates this idea, concluding, “Women are shut out of two crucial creative roles in the music industry.”
Professor Smith went on to explain, “What the experiences of women reveal is that the biggest barrier they face is the way the music industry thinks about women,” adding, “The perception of women is highly stereotypical, sexualized and without skill. Until those core beliefs are altered, women will continue to face a roadblock as they navigate their careers.”
Moreover, the lack of representation of women in music does not end at rankings and top 100 charts; women are also underrepresented at award shows such as the Grammys. In 2019, Cardi B made history, becoming the first female rapper to earn the award of “Best Rap Album.” While this recognition was a step in the right direction, the 2020 Grammys quickly stifled the progress. With the exception of two female artists featured on a nominated album, no other female rapper was nominated for an award.
The question then remains, in a male-dominated industry, where the so-called “greatest rappers of all time” are 97 percent men, why do so many rap songs sexualize women? Rap lyrics offensively and derogatorily call women “bitches,” “sluts,” “hoes,” “females” and romanticize a woman’s attraction to a lavish lifestyle, portraying wealth as a universal sex language.
All of these slurs, and more, are highly objectifying. Calling a woman a “bitch” likens her to a female dog, characterizes her as aggressive and annoying and casually ridicules her. The term “slut” nonchalantly criticizes what society views as promiscuous behavior or clothing, often a reason society blames women for being victims of rape. The derogatory term, “hoe,” has similar negative connotations. People generally use these terms to label women, not men, and portray them negatively. “Hoe” and “slut” embody society’s double-standards that scrutinize and judge a woman’s sexuality but praise a man’s. The impact of calling a woman a “female” holds similar weight, as the connotation of “female” implies that a woman can be considered for just her sexual traits while men, seldom referred to as “males,” are worth more”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Megan Thee Stallion/PHOTO CREDIT: Flo Ngala
It is a complex and broad issue that cannot be solved that easily. Cardi B’s comments come at a time when the likes of Megan Thee Stallion, Bree Runway, Flo Milli and Mulatto are ruling. I am not sure of the extent of toxicity and misogyny through Rap - through it is clear that women are still held to a different standard compared to their male peers. It is shocking to think that very little progress has been made through the decades. If male rappers can score a minor hit and still find a lot of support and backing, women have to strike harder and reach higher in order to obtain the same sort of security. I will finish up there. Through the years, I have written many features regarding sexism an misogyny that has run through the music industry for decades. With more women in music now than at any other time, it is more pronounced. There is a lot of awareness coming from women themselves. I do wonder why relatively few men have raised the issue and called for change. Let’s hope that, with artists like Cardi B hitting out, there is change and improvement. I always feel Rap and Hip-Hop and much tougher genres for women than, say, Pop. If some areas of music like Heavy Metal are making small steps regarding sexism (though there is still a big issue), there seems to be this stagnation in Rap. In the long-term, these attitudes and this climate might put off very talented women from coming into the field. That would most certainly be…
A devastating loss.