Hip hop has always been like an object of mine, like a car, that I never really took time to get to know how it came to run the way it does or why it requires certain things to get it started. I would drive it around and show it off but I never really took time to look at the history behind the owner; who they were, where they came from, what they used it for. This is why I had never really thought too much about my feelings about hip hop until last year. I heard hip hop music on a daily basis but I never really listened to it and analyzed it. I am on the speech and debate team at CSUN and I decided to do a poetry piece on hip hop. I had come across a poem, “Letter to Hip- Hop,” by Bridgette Gray. This poem was about how she was ending her relationship with hip hop because it had done her wrong way too many times. This concept sort of struck me because I had always heard hip hop music but I never really took it seriously. This poem really had me thinking that I should bring this issue to other people’s attention. This is not an unknown issue, of hip hop changing and objectifying women, but the argument of hip hop losing it’s original purpose, is constantly being updated with the new music coming out and the new points of view on hip hop. Therefore, I found two other poems that I would intertwine within the first poem to sort of tell a story of three different women and their relationship to hip hop. The other two poems were, “ Hip Hop Cheerleader,” by Jessica Care Moore, and, “Falling out of Love with Hip Hop,” by Heather Day. “Hip Hop Cheerleader,” was fully supporting hip hop and, “Falling out of Love with Hip Hop,” was about this woman’s abusive relationship with hip hop and how she would always go back to him even though he treated her so badly.
This is where I did a little research on hip hop and it’s history. Throughout the poems, the women would reference different lyrics from hip hop artists and it made me contemplate, how hip hop has evolved. In order to truly understand what each character in the three poems were feeling I listened to the songs they were referencing. I listened to some old school hip hop from Lauryn Hill. The first song that came to mind from Lauryn Hill was, “That Thing.” It wasn’t until I actually actively listened to her song that I even realized what it was about. Lauryn Hill’s, “ Doo Wop (That Thing).” The song explained how hip hop and women give up their morals and standards all to get a man’s attention. Then I like how she breaks it down for the men and says men don’t take responsibility for their life. They act, “gangsta,” because it keeps them popular among the public but no woman who respects herself would ever be with them. Lauryn Hill says at the end of the second verse, “ how you gonna win, when you ain’t right within.” That line spoke to me because she is calling everyone out who is fake and who goes against their standards and morals just to maintain a, “cool,” image. I loved this song instantly, I love the beat, I love her voice, I love that her song actually stands for something and has a message with meaning behind it. This is what I thought a great owner was and her lyrics were poetry and what hip hop was meant to be from the beginning with no scratches and driving it around classy parts of town.
After listening to this song, I realized that hip hop has had a diverse group of, “car owners.” The hip hop music I really enjoyed and respected was from Lauryn Hill and others with a decent message and purpose. However, when it came to going to the club and dancing I was all about owners like Kanye West singing, “Gold Digger.”The owners of a car that everyone wanted to drive, but couldn’t afford it. The title speaks for itself, it is showing only one type of women to the mainstream. The lyrics sometimes get so ridiculous, like, “if you ain’t no punk holla we want prenup,” just implying that you have to watch out for women because if you are not careful, they will take you for all you have. It’s music that is entertaining to hear, because the beat keeps me alert and the lyrics are easy to catch on to, however the owner doesn’t really offer anything meaningful or take very good care of it.
image from: http://vizagemag.com/2010/11/29/10-ways-to-tell-shes-a-golddigger/
I currently identify with all three poets from my poetry piece and have such mixed feelings and emotions about which owner of hip hop I trust to let drive. The first poem, “Letter to Hip Hop,” fits closely to my emotions because a lot of the time it is shameful and embarrassing to be driving around in hip hop, the songs just have no true meaning and degrade women and I almost feel two faced having it. I feel this way because I say that I have respect for myself and as a woman and yet I sing along to such nasty horrible things about sexually pleasing a man and objectifying me as a woman. In terms of the second poem, “Hip Hop Cheerleader,” I identify with this poem because there is still some good owners of hip hop out there, Common, Lupe Fiasco, underground music, the list goes on but, there is still hip hop out there with meaning behind it. Then there is the last poem, “For the Love of Hip Hop,” I relate to this most of the time because I feel like I am in an abusive relationship with hip hop and it’s owners. It represents the nastiest and most dehumanizing things about women and yet I love to dance to the beat and I like to sing along with the catchy lyrics. Hip hop will constantly be rotating owners, it just determines how well that they take care of it and how they use it that will determine the lifespan of the engine and whether or not it stays the car that people want to drive.
image from: http://8tracks.com/solutions-mcghee/hip-hop-poetry-real-talk
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