Overall, I think it is incredibly clear that the theme that brings this week’s readings together is that hip-hop has had a tremendous influence on modern music and culture. It represents a type of freedom to create any kind of music you want beginning in an era of rockist views that believed that music must be a certain way. It has been a genre that has been able to push forward a type of feminism by many artists because hip-hop has always been political. And it has also played a large part in the growth of a culture in cities like Seattle as well as others which no genre had been able to duplicate for decades.
Even though many people throughout hip-hop’s existence have not viewed it this way, women have always made and incredible impact and continue to today. Though it can be very difficult for women to break through in the industry when just like other genres there is often sexism embedded into many artists music and personas. One of the most important aspects of hip-hop feminism is that women are able to use the genre in order to own their own sexuality when for much of history black women were seen as not beautiful. However even still artists that do embrace their sexuality are still often brought down by our patriarchal culture which Durham, Cooper, and Morris explore in their essay. “Frequent and hostile speculation about the sexuality of female rappers such as Queen Latifah and Minaj amounts to a kind of policing that suggests the culture is still not hospitable to queer-presenting black women” (725). However, many female artists are still able to break through and create music and a culture that is very progressive for women. An artist that I believe is carrying on that torch today is Lizzo. I think that she is an important part of modern hip-hop feminism because she is very outspoken about LGBT rights and body positivity which I think is crucial in order to move towards a more woman positive music culture.
And hip-hop is spreading through communities like Seattle and other cities thanks to its progressive and free qualities. Seattle faced changes in the music scenery come the turn of the century that were also present all over the country. “Just as the early 1990s brought us an explosion of searing and scarred Gen-X rock, the beginning of our young millennium has produced a sea change in the music of the Emerald City” (Fleck). While I am not from Seattle and I was not incredible aware of it hip-hop seen until now, I see similarities between it and the hip-hop community of my home town of St. Louis, Missouri. One artist that rose to fame around the same time as many of the Seattle artists Fleck mentions is Nelly. It is very interesting to have our discussion of the intersection of feminism and hip-hop because Nelly has had his fair problems with sexism including sexual assault. It can be very difficult to find how to feel about an artist that is very important to the hip-hop industry and has these problems which just shows the importance of feminism in the hip-hop industry
Sources:
Aisha Durham, Brittney C. Cooper, and Susana M. Morris, “The Stage Hip-Hop Feminism Built: A New Directions Essay,” Signs, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Spring 2013)
Kyle Fleck, “The Rise of Seattle Hip Hop: An Incomplete Timeline of How Rap Replaced Rock as Seattle's Dominant Musical Force.” The Stranger, January 26, 2016 https://www.thestranger.com/music/feature/2016/01/27/23480690/the-rise-of-seattle-hiphop
Lizzo- “Truth Hurts”
Nelly- “Just A Dream”
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