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Sexism In Rap Music Essay

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Rap music has transformed over time to represent different art forms and moments of history. The genre is often criticized in the media for its sometimes controversial themes. Hip hop has seen great transformations since the formation in the 1970s with different waves of styles and themes laced with both praise of progression and great negative criticisms. A recent controversy dealt with Beyoncé Knowles’ Super Bowl 50 Halftime show for her new song “Formation”. The single highlights the “Black Lives Matter” movement. Her all female dancers wore all black berets giving a homage to the Black Panthers Party. One point they held a fist in the air alluding to the movement against police brutality and shootings on black individuals. The media quickly …show more content…

Sexism and misogynistic themes are seen in pop, punk, rock, country, and heavy metal music. It is seen in the lyrics and more in the music videos objectifying women. Hip hop being more popular and mainstream makes it an easier target for people to criticize, which is also why it is often seen as a negative influence in the media. What people forget is that the sexism and misogynistic views seen in hip hop music is a reflection of the sexism we have in society. The sexism we have in society is what artists try to inform listeners about. Artists like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole rap about themes and issues prevalent in our current society and tend to stay away from misogynistic lyrics. Yet we still have lyrics like “Don’t save her, she don’t want to be saved” in J. Coles song No Role Modelz. He compares women to those in reality shows to those in 90’s tv shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to describe relationships today. Without having role models, young people would just prioritize sex in their relationship. It is also a reference to Project Pat’s single “Don’t Save Her” which means to imply that the man would be saving the woman from being used by other men. J. Cole’s influential music is still praised because what he raps about is what he wants others to realize what is happening in society, similar to what other artists try to do especially female artists trying to show their

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