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German hip-hop: misogyny in rap music

Elena Wasserzier — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 16:06:49 +0000

Rap has always been a form of radical expression. Artists would describe their living situations, childhood, relationships and politics in a form of recitative criticism, rap. While it has been and still is a channel for criticism and change, some directions of rap or particular rappers take a very derogatory approach to their relationships and women in general. Misogynistic and violent lyrics are on the daily.

#unhatewomen

Especially lately, there has been an uproar in Germany following the campaign #unhatewomen against misogyny in German rap. In a video by #terredesfemmes, several women read out critical verses and lyrics by controversial rappers and songs, which are intrinsically misogynistic and brutal owing to their glorification of violence against women; often labelling them as objects and “sluts”. The campaign was followed by drastic measures by the rapper Fler, who in order to “defend himself” and his image, threatened to hunt down a particular feminist who posted the campaign on Instagram, tagging several German rappers, including Fler to position themselves and react. No one would probably have expected him to start a bounty hunt, including offering money to whoever finds her and delivers her to his address. While this might just have been another provocative move, he definitely crossed a line by posting her on his Instagram and shaming and threatening her.

The whole situation is as unimaginable as it seems. It is just a representation of how seriously dangerous the issue is, and how they take what they sing as the truth. The issue is that many people read the lyrics as art and artistic expression that might be true and not every rapper means what he raps just in order to be provocative and sensational, it creates a certain image for many teenagers and young people, who are heavily influenced by contemporary rap. Although many have the ability to differentiate between lyrical fantasy and reality, there is going to be a flock of people that support the misogynistic point of view that these specific rappers represent and discuss in their so-called art. And it’s not only portrayed in German hip-hop. Misogyny and certain power structures, vocalized in rap all over the world, show the inherent patriarchy at a global level.

The rapper Snoop Dogg raps in his song “Bitches ain’t sh*t”: “Bitches ain’t sh*t but hoes and tricks / Lick on these nuts and suck the d*ck”, referring to what women’s dignity means to him. He is not the only one. Another example is probably one of the most polarizing rappers of the world. Eminem raps aggressively in his song “Kill you”: “Slut, you think I won’t choke no whore / Til the vocal cords don’t work in her throat no more?!“

The roots of misogyny in rap

In many cultures and nations rap is an expression of the authentic experience of the artist. Often it is considered normal that rappers objectify women in their songs and create stereotypical narratives. The subordination of women and the threat of violence secures the masculine ego and are supposed to reflect their environment. Derogatory names like “b*tch and wh*re” are commonplace and emphasize the devaluation of women. Furthermore, polarising lyrics and provocations sell better on the market anyway, and commercial success might follow.

Kanye West, an American rapper, even confirmed in an interview that misogynistic lyrics are an outcome of men “who’ve found themselves belittled, turning towards the women in their lives and lashing out at them in order to feel validated. In their jobs, the social life and everyday situations.”

Of course, not every artist produces misogynistic songs or is a potential violent person or rapist, rather the contrary since many verses can be seen as sarcastic, excessive and overdrawn.

Real-life consequences

Nevertheless, the influence on youth remains overpowering. A study by the Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications focused on how misogynistic song texts can influence listeners to be more willing to commit violence towards an intimate partner. Especially women in the age group 20-24 are most at risk to experience non-fatal violence by their partners. Half of their survey participants claimed that popular rap tends to shape the attitude of the listeners regarding domestic violence. This supports the thesis that “misogynistic music also serves as a means to desensitize individuals to sexual harassment, exploitation, abuse, and violence toward women” and “legitimizes the mistreatment and degradation of women”. Derogatory language and exposure of youth “increase hostile and aggressive thoughts,” which may correlate to “more permanent hostility toward women”. Equally over 50% of the survey participants believed that the language used in many rap songs also promotes aggression, violence, and disrespect towards women. The acceptance of the objectification of women by listening to misogynistic content might lead to an adaptance of similar behaviour.

But there’s also the manifestation of the “freedom of expression” that allows artists to express their sentiments in the way they intend or want to do that. Even Grammy executive Producer Ken Ehrlich approved that the industry is more concerned with allowing artists to express their artistic freedom and what is on their mind. Sayings like “don’t worry, it’s just a song”, are used frequently to defend derogatory songs when individuals complain or voice disapproval. Fact is that misogyny in music is still an issue to be battled, even in 2020.

Campaigns like #unhatewomen will help raise more awareness towards the issue, but might be forgotten if not constantly brought up. We have to talk about the process of desensitization and hate speech towards women that listeners are constantly exposed to in many songs. And whilst we as listeners of contemporary music and rap have a responsibility to continue listening and spreading the message against misogyny and subordination of women, the responsibility falls upon the artists, who should start changing their patterns, which should already have been shed decades ago.

by Elena Wasserzier

Photo credits

fight fist mic, OpenClipart Vectors

EMINEM rapping, Scott Kinmartin, CC BY 2.0.

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The post German hip-hop: misogyny in rap music appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Rap music as a political message

Pauline Zaragoza — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 15:43:56 +0000

Rap music which is mostly considered as a scandalous art can be the subject of curiosity. Actually, by nature rap constitutes a tool for contestation and can carry out a political message.

Origin and characteristics of rap

Rap music can be defined as a cultural movement born in the seventies in American black and Latino ghettos. It is rooted in the Hip hop movement and has been influenced by various music such as reggae, blues, or rock. This music incorporates “rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular“ and it is composed of content (what is being said), flow (rhythm, rhyme), and delivery (cadence, tone). Etymologically, the word “rap” comes from the verb “to rap” which means to “to strike, especially with a quick, smart, or light blow” and is also slang for “to talk or discuss, especially freely, openly, or volubly; chat”.

A political DNA

In the field of music, rap holds an original place. It is considering as the first music “without professional musician”. Rap music is intrinsically politics. Rap’s politicization can be explained by the fact that it’s a way to express the concrete effects of pauperization in ghettos and by the politicized interpretation of rap music by the media. According to Arsenik’s statement, “No one can pretend to rap without taking a position”. In the nineties, this sentence was particularly true with some groups such as the Public Group in the US or Assassin and IAM in France.

Political rap music exploded in the eighties. At this time, it has been a way to express a malaise and claims of the ghettos’ inhabitants. During this Golden Age, what we call “gangsta rap” was born; N.W.A group in California composed by Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren and DJ Yella are the standard-bearer of this style. They were inspired by their daily life with police brutalities and gang wars.

In 1988, they signed the hit “Fuck tha police”, a classic song in which they denounce police violence against young black American. Before, in 1982, the group Grandmaster Flash had written the famous song “The Message” in which they criticized power symbols, police and justice.

Rap music can be pictured as the incarnation of oppressed revolt: the representation of an anti-establishment discourse based on identity and claims of urban life’s problems. According to some sociologists, such as Boucher, rap must be studied as a movement which inform us about values conveyed in urban areas and by young people. Hence, rap music is a new political enunciation.

The birth of mainstream rap

With time, rap has become one predominant aspect of world pop culture. Next to the birth of a political rap in the eighties and nineties, we can see a broadening of the genre. There was also a development of a “provocative” mainstream rap with its symbols such as luxury cars, guns or even women.

But compared to this “non-engaged” rap, we can also see the mainstreaming of a more political rap style. Indeed, engaged rap is popular because there are representing certain youth from ghettos. As explained by the French rapper Youssoupha, the success of rappers in society is a “militant act” in itself rather than its militancy being bound to the art-form or the lyrics.

As engaged rap is spread, it carries with it a message. As an example, in the nineties, famous French rappers such as Kery James, IAM, Minister AMER, Assasin, NTM and many others used their popularity for the hit “11’30 against racists laws”.

Also, at the international scale, we are witnessing the coming of popular engaged rappers who wake people up to listen. One of the most famous is Jay-Z who talked about racism and the black experience in America in his Grammy-nominated album, “4:44.”. We can also cite Eminem or Kendrick Lamar with his Grammy-nominated album “Damn” and his 2015 album “To Pimp a Butterfly”. In this last one, we can listen featuring lyrics such as: “Donald Trump’s in office/ We lost Barack and promised to never doubt him again/ But is America honest, or do we bask in sin?”.

Originally, rap, by tackling topics such as money, delinquency or insecurity, was born from pain and contestation. And even if today we are witnessing a mainstreaming of rap which implies the arrival of white middle-class rappers, this engaged DNA is not dead.

A style still alive: political rap during social crisis

Political rap is especially prominent while a society faces an important crisis, whether it’s a political or historical one, or one concerning identity. In France, the day following the access of the presidential election second round by Jean-Marie Le Pen had led famous rappers to gather and incite youth to block far-right accession with the song “La lutte est en marche”. The French rappers Kery James who is considered as the king of French engaged rap had made the hit “Letter to the French Republic” (“Lettre à la République”) where he tackles the demonization of Muslim people in France and inhabitants of French ghettos who comes from a France that has forgotten its colonial past and its discrimination.

We can talk about Donald Trump’s access to the White House, which has created a wave of engaged rap song. We can cite Eminem with his explosive freestyle rap which he unleashed on the President. About the same target, Childish Gambino with his brilliant and brutal music video “This is America” criticized US modern society; the video clip had more than 1 million views in less than 24 hours. With this song, he raised awareness about the fact that guns have more value than human life and the banalization of violence especially against Black American. In addition, in the United Kingdom, the rapper Stormzy with his song “Vossip Bop” included a gem on Brexit and Boris Johnson: “Rule number 2 don’t make the promise/ If you can’t keep the deal then just be honest/ I can never die I’m Chuck Norris/ Fuck the government and fuck Boris.”

As described by the journalist Karim Madani, rap involves provocation. According to him, “politics and rap are a bad melange. We are in a censured period with the politically correct but Rap Music by its nature is inherently politically incorrect”.

by Pauline Zaragoza

Photo Credits

Eminem-04, Mika Väisänen, CC BY-SA 4.0,

Tupac graffiti New York, JJ & Special K, CC BY-SA 2.0,

Jay-Z concert, i am guilty, CC BY-SA 2.0,

Festival des Vieilles Charrues 2017 – Kery James – 170, Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0

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