The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

    Let’s talk about hoes and hip-hop

    What has happened to women in the hip-hop community? How did we go from hearing ladies sing about “Ladies First,” to now watching women openly and willfully exploit their own minds and bodies?

    However, if you ask any hip-hop producers, executives or artists, the images that are shown are strictly for entertainment. Does the need for that entertainment make it OK for us to sell ourselves out just to make a few dollars?

    It’s become entertaining to allow a man to pour champagne on a 17-year-old girl in front of thousands of people.

    It’s entertaining to constantly watch a girl’s backside but never see her face in a music video.

    It’s appealing to see a girl who is wearing a business suit strip down to her underwear for a man with a nice car and a fat bank account.

    It’s all about entertaining these days right?

    However, when does this entertainment stop being entertaining, and become real? Although we may pretend as if this only happens in Hollywood, these things have undeniably found their way into everyday life for people all over the country.

    From the hood to college, girls are exploiting themselves and for some reason we are simply calling this “entertainment and fun.” Just ask the industry’s top female artist.

    Nicki Minaj is very quickly moving her way to the top. With songs such as the “Five Star Chick ” remix and “I Get Crazy,” her popularity is growing faster and faster.

    She’s been putting female rappers back on the map and for some reason everyone is applauding her.

    There’s a saying: “With great power comes great responsibility.” We pretend that just because she is a rapper, she is exempt from having responsibility like everyone else.

    If Maya Angelou were to come out and behave the way Nicki Minaj does, the entire world would be in an uproar. However, although we may tell our kids one thing, the TV shows our kids another.

    The image of the black Barbie is what many young girls have strived for. However, what about this ideology makes us think that being the black Barbie is a good thing?

    Stars such as Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton are all examples of stars that live what we classify as the “Barbie Lifestyle.” And all of these women have done multiple things to change their image and public appeal.

    A true sense of self-respect and self-love is not the first thing that comes to mind when the topic of Barbie comes up. So with that being said, what is appealing about this theory of being the black Barbie?

    Perhaps I am alone in this, but I would be highly upset if my daughter decided that her life goal was to grow up and be like Nicki “the black Barbie” Minaj. Yes, she is a talented rapper. But whatever happened to standards? What happened to bare minimums?

    Does our society really feel that it is OK for a young black woman who is making money to behave anyway she feels just because we do not want to be classified as haters?

    Every black woman that reaches a certain level of popularity should not receive the same level of respect as Oprah Winfrey. Yet some black women feel that the words of Nicki Minaj are more relevant to their life than the words of true legends such as Angela Davis.

    For if Nicki Minaj is the savior of females in the hip-hop industry, then this is just the beginning of the end for our beloved culture and music.

    Do you think Missy Elliot, Queen Latifah, and MC Lyte gained the title of three of the best lyricists of all time by exploiting their minds and bodies? Black women have gone from being disrespected in the background of videos to now openly disrespecting themselves.

    If you’re one of those females that rushed on stage to let Nicki Minaj sign your chest during homecoming then you should be ashamed of yourself. It’s sad to see a female curse out a guy for calling her a dirty name, and then turn around and let her best friend call her the same exact thing.

    When will we realize that there is money to be made in convincing black women that respectable black women do not relate to them: Because if a TRUE WOMAN realized her value she wouldn’t allow anyone to call her the “baddest b****h.”

    It’s becoming more and more obvious that if you take away a girl’s self-confidence then she will believe that getting lower than anyone else on the dance floor is an accomplishment.

    Society places a lot of the responsibility for the exploitation of women onto the shoulders of black men.

    We openly state that Tiger Woods was wrong for cheating on his wife, Chris Brown was wrong for beating up his girlfriend, and that many black men are no good, dirty dogs.

    But when black women behave like Lil’ Kim, Trina and Nicki Minaj, we are told that these women are simply doing “self expression.” We pretend as if they are exempt from responsibility just because they’re females.

    This article is not saying that black men do not play a role in the exploitation of black women.

    However, when did females feel it was OK to allow men to think that this should be the norm? Whatever happened to taking ownership of your own body?

    Women can no longer wait and expect for a man to treat them with class and respect if they continue to disrespect themselves.

    If you feel that you always have to be the “baddest” girl in the club, or the girl who is rarely visible in class, yet always seen at the best parties, then maybe this article is for you.

    I’m not saying all black women are trashy, I’m simply saying that the general public of black females is becoming more and more ignorant to their own destruction.

    Many black women say it is hard to find a good black man. However, at the rate we are going, I will say with confidence that it is just as hard for a black man to find a good and classy black woman.

    And for any females who disagree with what I have said, then I gladly challenge you to prove me wrong.

    • TRUMAINE MCCASKILL