Did you know that nowadays women in hip-hop and rap have been seen as hard core? Is it possibly because they have street smarts and are not afraid to speak their minds? Most people probably think that men rappers are only seen with power and as hard core and masculine, but it’s not true. Women who are rappers or hip-hop singers tend to have power also and are aware of the differences between men and women but don’t let it stop them from doing what they do best which is make music. They also represent symbols for women. Some of them demand ultimate respect and express their dominance and not submissiveness to others. Most of these ideas are associated with black women.
Of course these women are seen negatively too by critics and other people who observe them as well as themselves. Some women rappers tend to refer to themselves as bitches (a derogatory term used to refer to women). Why? One reason is because they are aware of what they are possibly seen as by others. Lil Kim, for instance, refers to herself as a bitch because she grew up on the streets and that is what men and others have referred to her as. She says in one of her most famous songs “I’m a bitch!” She even calls herself the sexy “Queen Bitch”. She uses the word bitch to represent her empowerment and her sexual femininity. Whereas most people reject the term bitch as a name for a woman, Lil Kim, like many other female rappers accept and welcome the term bitch. Lil Kim is fiesty and bold. She is also rebellious. She rejects the negative implications of the words and thinks of them as positive and therefore embraces them. Lil Kim like some other rappers such as Foxy Brown, Rah Digga, and Lauren Hill, teach their audience that men are not always dominant and women should not always be submissive. Through their music they also teach their audience to respect them and that power is in the hands of those who believe it whether male or female.
