Presentation

Unladylike Divas: Language, Gender, and Female Gansta Rappers

 

            The article focuses on the introduction of female rappers who have gained social power by creating femininities in a male dominated genre know as gansta rap.  These women stray away from traditional "ladylike" behavior and have created their own alternate femininities through their music and lyrics that are counterhegemonic. The author explains the difference between rap and gansta rap being that gansta rap uses narrative lyrics associated with the rapper's real life or experiences. The term "unladylike" was coined by rapper Mia x, one of the three rappers author Haugen discusses in his article. The other two female gansta rappers include Lady of Rage and Lil Kim. Mia X renounces herself from the expectations of how women are interpreted to be lady like and creates her own female identity an "Unladylike Diva."

             Lady of Rage differs from Mia X as she views herself as a lady, but not in the traditional sense and has redefined the term and asserting she is part of a new category for female gansta rappers.  Lil Kim as well as Mia X uses their sexuality as a means of control and power over men. In one of Lil Kim's songs, she expresses that she won't have sex with a man unless he gives her oral sex first. In one of Mia X's songs she expresses how her abilities in bed can take a man away from his significant other while making him "pussy-wipped" and having him do things for her that he wouldn't do for his significant other.

            Not only have the used their sexuality to gain power over men, but also have taken power from men by redefining degrading terms such as bitch and hoe. Lil Kim even has a song titled, "Queen Bitch." Lady of Rage uses her lyric, the tone, and pitch of her voice to assert her power over men. She claims she can lyrically murder her male competition and changes the pitch of her voice to mimetically mock them. In conclusion, the article expresses how the three female gansta rappers have created their own female identities with their lyrics to assert power to themselves and over male rappers and also gain social power as well.

 

Sing a Song of Drug Use-Abuse: Four Decades of Drug Lyrics in Popular Music – From the sixties through the nineties.

 

            This article focuses on statistical material of drug related lyrics and how attitudes towards drugs have change over time based on these lyrics.  The author Market first starts explaining how the uses of nonromantic themes in music are based different periods of time. For example, unemployment was a theme reflecting the great depression, the shifting attitudes that changed from the first and second war to the Vietnam War. Drugs have the same affect on music as well and the attitudes towards different drugs have also shifted through time.

            After explaining how drug related songs are collected, ruled out, and place in categories based on time periods, he starts with the statistical information about heroin. Neil Young wrote the lyrics, "I hit the city and lost my band, I watched the needle take another man, Gone the damage done," in "The Needle and the Damage Done." These songs began to emerge years after the emergence of heroin, with many artists denouncing the drug after seeing its effects on people over the years. There was a correlation between songs in which lyrics disapproved of the drug and its young audience who statistically stood away from the drug.

            Market discussed the use of Cocaine next after heroin. Just as it was with heroin, songs about cocaine were also negative. Songs in the sixties and seventies used ambiguous language about cocaine. It was considered the drug of choice for affluent society members. It wasn't until the eighties when song lyrics about cocaine leaned towards a negative aspect, especially when the use of crack cocaine became problematic.  

            The uses of hallucinogens were specifically tailored towards the sixties during the hippie era for mind-expanding experiences. It too was perceived as negative in lyrics based on its potency to create "bad trips" where the user would have an extreme negative reaction.

            Marijuana is the only drug that has a constant level of acceptance from the sixties to the nineties. Studies have shown the young audience are influenced and do occasionally use marijuana, but not at a dangerous level such as the other drugs mentioned. It is viewed as a gateway drug however, but the statistical study has shown that most of the young audience view using the drug on a regular basis as negative.