An article called "Love Hurts", was recently published in Vibe magazine, discussing the occurrence of domestic violence within the hip hop community. The author, Elizabeth Mendez Berry (one of our readers!) asks several important questions about whether hip hop lyrics that condone/discuss violence against women, actually cause violence against women.
"When you get paid big money to call every women a ho, at what point do you start believing you're a pimp?" She also talks about many famous rappers, including Biggie, Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes, Mystikal, and Big Pun, who have all been accused of violence against there partners.
Some other interesting stuff...
"Violence against women crosses class and racial line, but it affects certain groups disproportionately...
[One] academic study indicates that partner abuse against Latino women is 50 percent higher than among white women. Minorities are less likely to talk about it, however. "Communities find it easier to focus on oppression that comes from outside than on what we do to ourselves," says Dr. Oliver Williams, executive director of the University of Minnesota's Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community.
The complex legacy of racism has given gender dynamics a particular twist in communities of color, according to Marcus Flowers, 28, a community educator and trainer at Atlanta's Men Stopping Violence.
"Because of socioeconomic factors, African American men have a harder time fulfilling the protector and provider roles, so they overcompensate in other areas," says Flowers. "They focus on wielding power they can-in their own communities and in their intimate relationships." Author and activist Kevin Powell has called this "bootleg masculinity"-and hip hop's studio pimps and gangstas are it's poster children. "Of course hip hop didn't create violence against women, but it can endorse and accelerate it," says Powell, who admits that he has himself been violent toward women in the past. "If you listen to mainstream rap over the last 10 years, you would think that we men of color hate women."
Interesting stuff, check out the article. I am really glad this article was published in VIBE. This is a much needed discussion in mainstream rap media.
Thanks Elizabeth!
Thats a really great article! I might go pick up a copy of vibe to read it in full.
And its so relavent and real. I mean just sit down and listen to the lyrics of any angry rap song.
I mean lets take the current favorite, drop it like its hot.
Im unsure of the lyrics but it theres something about "popping" a "bitch" or something.
Im not even sure what that means but it sounds so negative.
Blah. Rap makes me sad.
Yo, I love good rap and hip hop, they're not inherently bad. I just don't define misogynist lyrics as good...
I thought the article was great, though if it wasn't in VIBE I would have expected a bit more of analysis of other factors around class and race. The recording industry is always begging for more of the "violent black thug" thing, and won't fund any other kind of hip hop, so brothers that want to make positive music (or women that do, for that matter) don't get far. And the article didn't talk at all about the fact that violence against women of color has always been endemic (and ignored), but when men of color direct that violence towards white women (or when they're even /acccused/ of doing so), we get a media witch hunt. Same thing with poor white victims vs rich white ones - remember when Amber of Amber alert fame was all over the national news? In my hometown of Portland, Oregon, there were a couple of young "white trash" girls kidnapped, and later murdered, but their pictures weren't all over the news. This is not to excuse violent attackers from being held accountable, but I think it's important to see the complications of sexism, racism, and classism in the situation. ALL violence needs to stop, and that means addressing the poverty and sexism that are at the root, without allowing the white power structure to use it as an excuse for further racist repression. Take the lead from the Spelman sisters that organized to keep misogynist rappers off campus!
Magnificent post Samhita!
I would surely like to make any sort of cooperation about Hip Hop which will be against domestic violence, disrespect for females and violence generally speaking. Please contact HipHopPow through the website.
Thanks Sam!