The Miss-Education of the Female MC

"And I say what's tight, cause a sista write rhymes all day and all night.
Dwellin' South of the Hudson, New Jerusalem, in seclusion, using fake pseudonyms." Rah Digga

Women and hip-hop music have always had a strange relationship. For a woman to be a successful rapper she has to navigate between representing for the ladies while commanding the respect of the men. Over the years there have been women who could do both. But, recently it seems as if finding a respectable female emcee is about as difficult as finding gas for under $2.00. It's a thing of the past. This subject has been on my mind for awhile, but I wasn't sure how to approach it. I figured out that I'm looking at hip-hop like there is something missing. I don't even want to speculate on what percentage of rap music is bought by women, but I'm sure it's well over 50%. But where is the voice that speaks directly to (or comes directly from) that group? That seems to be a huge problem for numerous reasons which include but are not limited to: the self-confidence of young, primarily African-American girls, the communication between those girls and their male counterparts as they grow older, and the balance of power within the genre in general. I don't think this trend has to continue as things have not always been this way......

"Outside of me you try to picture me, young and black, that ain't no mystery.
But inside runs deep like an ocean, you couldn't understand if I spoke in slow motion" - MC Lyte

The 80's were a great time for hip-hop. The music was still fresh and ideas were still original. From the gangsta rap of N.W.A. to the "Daisy Age" of De La Soul there seemed to be something for everyone. What ladies like Roxanne Shante and Sha Rock started, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, and Salt-n-Pepa took to the next level. They represented strength, ability, and sexiness without any raunch. There was a sense that they could hold their own in a cypher and there was a sense that they weren't about to be any body's plaything. They had an understanding of what it meant to speak for women. For instance "Let's Talk About Sex" by S&P almost served as a Public Service Announcement in the wake of the recent hike in AIDS cases. It wasn't something their PR people told them to do, but it was how they felt they could help. On the creative side, MC Lyte's hit "Poor Georgie" still holds up as one of the best stories ever told by a rapper. She painted a great picture of a man out of control and how his choices affected him and those around him. These ladies were still able to have commercial success without compromising who they were. Queen Latifah still remains as the best example of a female emcee using her music as a stepping stone to further her career in other areas, a la Will Smith and Ice Cube. That's success.....

"Sippin' Zinfandels, up in Chippendales, shop in Bloomingdale's for Prada bags.
Female Don Dada has no problems splittin' cream with my team" - Lil' Kim

Ah yes, the 90's. Generally regarded as the crossroads in rap music. It was the rise of bottle poppin', booty shakin', ice rockin', and......lyricism? I've always contended that outside of Rakim, KRS-ONE, and a few others lyrics in the 80's weren't too intricate. The 90's had rappers trying to step up their lyrical game which, in turn, made for a very entertaining decade. Three of the biggest names during the 90's were responsible in one way or another for two of the biggest female rappers we have ever seen. Biggie gave us Lil' Kim. Jay and Nas (and to some extent LL) gave us Foxy Brown. General thought is that this is the time when it started to get bad for the ladies. Kim and Foxy were thought to have been way too sexual, way too crass, and were accused (and rightfully so) of having ghostwriters. The success of Kim and Foxy caused some female listeners to try and take control of their own sexuality as they saw it as liberating. Other listeners were turned off and looked to artists like Lauryn Hill, Bahamadia, and Rah Digga to be their voice. Other popular artists like Eve, Mia X, and Da Brat were somewhat in the middle. "Love Is Blind" shows that not everything we had in the 80's is gone now. Something I think gets lost in this whole mix is the lyrical side of the argument. Lauryn(my favorite female emcee ever), Da Brat, Digga, and Eve can all rap. I mean really rap. Foxy and Kim have done enough in their careers to prove that they can write really well and not just recite what Big or Jay tell them to. For every year some of these ladies set women back in terms of respect, they advanced the lyrical ability of the female emcee as a whole.......

"Au contraire mon frere, don't you even go there, me without a mic is like a beat without a snare.
I dare to tear into your ego, we go, way back like some ganja and palequo or ColecoVision.
My mind make incisions in your anatomy and I back this with Deuteronomy or Leviticus,
God made this word, you can't get with this, sweet like licorice, dangerous like syphilis." - Ms. Lauryn Hill

So where are we now? For me personally I haven't bought an album from a female rapper in about 5 years (Lil' Kim's The Naked Truth) and I only liked about half of those songs. And I can't see myself buying anything in the near future from another one. We've had Amil, Sole, Trina, Shawnna (who is terribly underrated), Diamond, Princess, Rasheeda, Remy Ma (who can rap), Charli Baltimore, Vita, Gangsta Boo, Jacki-O, Khia, Lady Sovereign, Queen Pen, and a bunch of others I try to forget. This looks too much like a "Where Are They Now" list. The only active female emcee that I really want to hear from is Jean Grae. She is better than about 90% of the men rapping and has the ability to make really good songs. If you haven't yet, check out anything by her, especially This Week. I also have hope for Eternia. She may be a force in the future, but it's yet to be determined. The future. And that brings me to Nicki Minaj. She seems to keep wanting to invade my speakers in one way or another. I don't want to knock any one's hustle, but if this is the direction it's going, I'm done. This chick cannot be the only female getting radio/video play, can she? Oh well. I'm hoping this comes full circle and we can get some variety. Because she has the right to make music if there is a demand for it. It's a free country. But, a yin to her yang is greatly needed.

Pres. Obama visits Republican House of Representatives

I'm not really sure how I would rate President Obama's first year in office. I mean, I recognize that he came into office with a full plate of problems (war, economy) that he did not create. He also came into office with a target on his back because he was the first... um... well you know. Along the campain trail Obama preached change, a new political climate, a new way to run government. In all honesty though, things look very similar to the status quo from my perspective. Campain promises to bring our troops home and to reform health care have been bogged down by the same political tug of war that we've seen for decades. It is still early, and there still is hope, but at some point all the moving, hope-filled speeches have to give way to some defined, measurable progress. Friday, hopefully was the start of the change we've heard about for so long. President Obama stood before the Republican House of Representatives and for over an hour answered questions posed by many of his critics. It was finally a moment where President Obama stood firm, held his ground, and stopped playing Mr. nice guy. Hopefully this day was a sign of things to come. That we will see our President move forward with his agenda even if the right wing objects or name calls. It was really a sight to behold as Obama went one-on-one hundred and forty and for all intents and purposes "won". I for one hope that this was the beginning of a new day and not just one more great speech from a great politician.

Pat Buchanan is Must See TV

So everyone else in the world says that Sotomayor is the "most" qualified appointee in the history of the Supreme Court. But, Pat says she is unqualified and an Affirmative Action pick. Strike one. She's never written anything that "he" has read. Strike two and this one was waaaaaaay too easy! And I'm not even going to do a STRIKE THREE on the whole white people built the country comment. That would be like fighting with a three year-old. If it wasn't for slavery this country would be so far behind the rest of the world it's appalling. You get hundreds of thousands of people to give you free work for over 400 years. That's how you get ahead. I love watching stuff like this because it really lets me know how some people think. We all knew Pat Buchanan had issues with race. And I'm not one to call someone a racist becuase they are against Affirmative Action or because they are proud to be a white male or whatever. We all have, and SHOULD have, different views on the world. But, this guy is really making it hard to not deserve the R-Word. At least he gave black people props on running track! That's a compliment, right? I'd write more on this, but I'm getting heated just listening to this. I'M OUT!

The Dream Reborn.........WOW!!

I've never heard of this guy before, but I guess he is somewhat popular on Youtube. This particular segment he rants and complains about the sterotypical images of blacks on television and movies. I've listened to this and I have no idea what his stance is or what he is trying to get across. Here's a quick recap. He doesn't like the television show The Game, the second season of The Boondocks, Flavor Flav, New York (A.K.A. Tiffany Pollard), The Real World, College Hill, BET, and some other stuff. Now normally I would be all for someone wanting more positives images of African-Americans on television and film. I've wanted for years for shows like City of Angels to stay on forever. So my beef isn't with this guy's basic premise. It's with the ignorance and stupidity at which he makes his case. When I listen to this I get a feeling that he is a Black man who tries to "please" White people. Better yet, he wants the White population to know that he "isn't like THOSE Black people and he's DIFFERENT." He appears to not to want to be lumped into the sterotypical Black man category. And that's fine, but why the hell do you care about what someone else thinks of you. If someone of any color watches Flavor of Love, or Real and Chance, or any show like that and assumes that is how all Black men are, then they are ignorant. Smart White people know that not all Black people are a certain way. Smart Black people know that not all White people are a certain way. Anyone that does not understand that basic premise, does not deserve the time you would have to spend to explain that to them. You think I watch Jackass and think all White guys are like Bam or Steve-O? Hell no. The main difference between Blacks and Whites in the media is that White people have the luxury of having comedies, reality shows, and movies that portray them in a negative light because they have numerous other shows that outweigh the bad. For every Paris Hilton's My New BFF is an ER. For every Jackass there is a Seinfeld. We don't have that luxury as Black people. There are some great roles that we have on TV. S. Epatha Merkerson on Law and Order, Dennis Haysbert on The Unit and Jada Pinkett Smith on HawthoRNe. We've had The Miracle at St. Anna in theaters as well as The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency on HBO. There are numerous other examples. So we have a long way to go, but if you want to find positive images of African-American's in the media they are there. Back to his point. I thought The Game was a good show. Sterotypical? Maybe. But, I always felt the writing on the show showed growth with the characters and the good and bad to the lifestyles of pro athelets and their wives/girlfriends. And Malik being a "momma's boy" was not as exaggerated as he made it seem. And the gold digger on the show was.......white! The second season of The Boondocks was less political than the first. But, just because the show focused more on Riley doesn't mean it was "niggerish" at all. "The S-Word" and "The Story of Catcher Freeman" put a humorous spin on sensitive topics and still came out very good. And "The Hunger Strike" and the "Uncle Ruckus Reality Show" were two of the funniest and most critically acclaimed shows of either season. I don't know what this guy was trying to prove with this video, but he did a piss poor job in explaining it. Let me know if I'm tripping!!

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you...

"Hello new world, here we come on them twinkie tres, with the hood screaming 'We're on our Way"-Clipse

What's up everyone out in the blogosphere?  It's ya boy B. choppin it up for the first time on the chop up.  I'm the fourth member of the chop up family and now that the cipher is complete... you know what it is!  

Seriously though the plan right now is I will be sort of the devil's advocate of the crew.  I love Rocky(mad love for defending our country), T-Smitty, and DMack to death, but we don't always share the same opinion.  So in between my own posts I am gonna provide the counter-point to the blog.  So relax and take notes, as I get my Skip Bayless on.  

"And if you don't know, now you know, n!##@!"-Notorious B.I.G.