ENGL 1101 - Fall 2020 - Hip-Hop Reader - PEASE

Queen Latifah, one of the first female hip-hop artists, used her platform and powerful voice to sing about issues that females, escpecially black women, go through and paved the way for more female artists to take over the hip-hop industry.  Latifah was one of the first artists to normalize women in hip-hop, even after “strong social sanctions against their participation” (Rose 23). “Ladies First”, released in the late 1980s, features themes that reflect feminism, and it is shown throughout the music video.

The video for “Ladies First” opens with multiple pictures of Harriet Tubman and Frances Harper, very influential women in history. Different photos of them appear throughout the remainder of the video. This pattern supports Latifah’s themes of feminism and the message that women are strong and can fight for what they want. Tubman wanted rights for everyone, and Latifah’s views mirror Tubman’s. Latifah wanted women to be equally represented in hip-hop music, and show they are just as capable as men. The use of Tubman’s image also relates to the issues that black women went through. Tubman supported so many slaves, and Latifah also was a big activist in supporting people of color through her music. Latifah and two other women appear in front of the picture of Frances Harper. She was the first African American women to publish a short story. She was also a big supporter for women’s rights and abolition. Latifah is comparing herself to Harper, by showing she is a strong woman and she stands up for what she believes in. Also, Queen Latifah is one of the first female hip-hop artists, similar to Harper, the first published female poet. The photo of Harper is shown in black and white, and Latifah and the other women contrast against her, allowing Latifah to stand out more.  

              Throughout the music video, Latifah is shown looking over a map of Africa with large pawns on it. She moves them around and seems to be in control of them. This is another aspect that shows that Latifah, a woman, can be powerful and be heard. The pawns on the map are in the shape of fists pointing up, and at the end of the music video, Latifah is surrounded by men holding their fists up. This shows that the pawns represent men, and that Latifah can be equal to, and even more capable than men, by controlling the pawns on the map. In the rap industry, “women in general are not encouraged in and often actively discouraged from learning about and using mechanical equipment” (Rose 23). Latifah is conveying the message that women are capable of doing things that men normally do. Latifah wants to normalize women working in the music industry.

             Queen Latifah highlights many struggles that people of color go through. Throughout the music video, black and white pictures of African American people are shown. They portray people protesting and people lying on the ground after they were shot for standing up for what they believe in. There is a lot of contrast between these photos and Latifah confidently singing about issues dealing with equality. Latifah shows the lengths at which people are willing to go to get equality. Latifah is conveying the message that people of color have fought so hard for what they believe in, and they deserve to be equally represented. As a woman escpecially, Latifah is portraying herself as a strong confident woman, and she is proud of where she came from. 

              The music video, "Ladies First", paves the way for people of color and women, by highlighting how hard it was to get representation and the fact that they will continue to fight for what they believe in, and sometimes, no matter the cost. Queen Latifah used many patterns and contrasts in her video, and set an example for many more successful women in hip-hop. 

Lucie Rutkowski

Figurative Language in “Congratulations”

Post Malone, a well-known American rapper, includes figurative language to enhance his lyrics and create deeper messages for his audience. The use of figurative language is important in music to give more meaning to lyrics and make listeners think more about the overall message of the song. Through his use of repetition, metaphors and similes, and allusions, Post Malone portrays his theme of hard work and dedication in his song, “Congratulations”.

Post Malone uses many instances of repetition throughout his song “Congratulations”. He repeats the phrase “we made it” after each chorus. The repetition of this phrase ties into the theme of the song, working hard and earning rewards and praise. Post Malone dreamed of being successful since he was a child. He never stopped working until he achieved his goal. He repeats this phrase to show people that he “made it” and to motivate people to work towards their goals. Ultimately, he wants to show people that hard work pays off and you can make it if you try, and he uses himself as an example of this idea throughout the whole song. One of Post Malone’s main focuses in his song is money. He uses the repetition of many money references as an example of his success. For example, he says “For the money, I’m a savage”. He refers to himself as a savage, meaning he would do almost anything for money. This shows how motivated Post Malone is to become successful and work as hard as he can for wealth. He is comparing himself to a savage, which also relates to the type of person Post Malone portrays himself to be in this song. He is very hardworking and dedicated, but also greedy and materialistic, hence the repetition of money. Another example of Post Malone’s repetition of money is the lyric, “I got millions on my mind”. He is always thinking about money and he seems to be promoting the mindset of always keeping your eyes on the prize. He wants to show that working hard will always lead you to success as long as you keep your goals in mind.

              Similes and metaphors are used repeatedly to describe Post Malone’s life, fame, and wealth. For example, he says “My life is like a ball game”. In any ball game, there is always competition. Since Post Malone has made a very big name for himself in the music industry, he has a lot of competition with other artists to be the best. He must work to be on top and “win” the game. This song as a whole can portray what happens when you win. You get praise from your audience, and you become more successful and wealthier. Post Malone also uses the metaphor, “Pot so big, call it Super Bowl”.  He says his fame and money is as big as the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the championship football game. You must be dedicated and work very hard to make it to the Super Bowl. Post Malone wants to be the best of the best and become that successful.

              Post Malone makes allusions to a few people throughout his song, “Congratulations”. He alludes to Ben Franklin when he sings, “Never old, been Ben Franklin”. Ben Franklin is pictured on the one-hundred-dollar bill. He is referring to his big money bills that he has earned. Post Malone is also very similar to Ben Franklin. Franklin started his life very poor, however with his hard work in starting businesses and writing books, he became very wealthy. Post Malone also started with nothing and grew with his hard work and success. Ben Franklin wrote a book called “The Way to Wealth”. This book can be compared to Post Malone’s song, “Congratulations”. In a similar way to Ben Franklin’s book, Post Malone sings about working hard and earning praise, fame, and wealth. He teaches what hard work can get you. Post Malone also alludes to Houdini in his song. Houdini was a very famous illusionist and magician. He was able to escape from jails and water-filled tanks. Post Malone can be compared to Houdini. He wanted to escape his old life and build a new one, just like Houdini escaped from hard places. He leaves behind his old life and is dedicated to creating success for himself and live out his dreams.

              In the song “Congratulations”, Post Malone includes repetition, metaphors and similes, and allusions, to help convey the overall message of his song. Post Malone is able to truly connect with his listeners and motivate them to work hard. On the other hand, with the help of figurative language, he also shows the type of person he is, very hard working, but also worldly and money-oriented. This allows the audience to connect more with him, and ultimately with his music as a whole.

Lucie Rutkowski

Figurative Language in “Congratulations”

Post Malone, a well-known American rapper, includes figurative language to enhance his lyrics and create deeper messages for his audience. The use of figurative language is important in music to give more meaning to lyrics and make listeners think more about the overall message of the song. Through his use of metaphors, similes, and allusions, Post Malone portrays his theme of hard work and dedication in his song, “Congratulations”.

Post Malone uses figurative language, such as metaphors, throughout his song to show that hard work will give you money and success. One of his main focuses in the song is money. For example, he includes the metaphor, “For the money, I’m a savage”. He refers to himself as a savage, meaning he would do almost anything for money. This shows how motivated Post Malone is to become successful and work as hard as he can for wealth. His focus on money also relates to the type of person Post Malone portrays himself to be in this song. He is very hardworking and dedicated, but also greedy and materialistic. He includes the lyric, “I got millions on my mind”, showing that he is always thinking about the money that he could earn. He promotes the mindset of always keeping your eyes on the prize. He wants to show that working hard will always lead you to success as long as you keep your goals in mind. Through Post Malone’s use of figurative language, he teaches this lesson, while also showing his audience who he is. By revealing his motivated and hardworking, yet money-oriented personality, he offers his listeners a chance to get to know him and feel more connected to his music.

              Similes and metaphors are used repeatedly to describe Post Malone’s life, fame, and wealth. For example, he says “My life is like a ball game”. In any ball game, there is always competition. Since Post Malone has made a very big name for himself in the music industry, he has a lot of competition with other artists to be the best. He must work to be on top and “win” the game. This song can portray what happens when you win, you get praise from your audience, and you become more successful and wealthier. The metaphor “Pot so big, call it super bowl” is used by Post Malone to further describe his fame and money. He says these things are as big as the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the championship football game, and you must be dedicated and work very hard to make it there. Post Malone describes how hard he worked to make it to the top of the music industry (the Super Bowl).

              Post Malone makes allusions to well-known figures throughout his song to show how far hard work gets you in life, and how you are much more than your past. He alludes to Ben Franklin when he sings, “Never old, been Ben Franklin”. On the surface, this allusion can be related to the money Post Malone has made. Franklin is pictured on the one-hundred-dollar bill, and Post Malone is referring to the big money bills, such as one-hundred-dollar bills, that he has earned with his dedication. On a deeper level, Post Malone is comparing himself to Ben Franklin. Similar to Post Malone, Franklin started his life poor. Afterall, with his hard work in starting businesses and writing books, such as “The Way to Wealth”, he became very wealthy. In a similar way to Ben Franklin’s book, Post Malone sings about how he “worked so hard, forgot how to vacation”, and how that earned him praise, fame, and wealth. He teaches what hard work can get you. However, when you think of Ben Franklin, you think of much more than him starting businesses and writing books, because he is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Post Malone wants to be known for who he is now, a very well-known artist in the music industry, rather than who he was in his past. Post Malone had to work very hard and stay motivated to make a name for himself and get his music out there. People do not think of Ben Franklin’s upbringing and past, rather his most successful times, and Post Malone does not want people to focus on his struggles, but more his hard work and the success he created for himself.

              In the song “Congratulations”, Post Malone includes metaphors, similes, and allusions, to help convey the overall message of his song. Post Malone is able to truly connect with his listeners and motivate them to work hard. On the other hand, with the help of figurative language, he also shows the type of person he is, very hard working, but also worldly and money-oriented. This allows the audience to connect more with him, and ultimately with his music as a whole.

Lucie Rutkowski 

A lot about hip hop music has changed over time, including lyrics, music videos, and more. The music videos over time have become a lot better quality, and the subjects and focuses have changed a lot, escpecially because of how technology has grown. For example, “Hey Ladies” by the Beastie Boys, is obviously a song about women. The music video though is not all focused on women and their appearance. The camerawork does not do close ups of women’s bodies and the quality is not as good. This music video includes a lot of comical aspects, like scuba diving into a pool and a sriracha band.

Now, music videos have become a lot more explicit and revealing, thanks to modern day technology and fashion. A video that contrasts the Beastie Boys video, is “Please Me” by Cardi B and Bruno Mars. In this video, there is a lot of camerawork to create many different angles. The camera often does closeups on Cardi B and her revealing outfit and dance moves. The camera quality is also much better, which allows viewers to see everything much clearer. These advances in technology have started to normalize the objectification of women.

Lucie Rutkowski

Since the beginning of hip-hop music, the objectification of women in music and videos has been an issue. However, overtime, as advances in technology have been made, this objectification has started to increase and become normalized. These advances include better video quality, the ability to have clear close-up shots, better camera angles, etc. They allow for women and their appearances to become the subject and focus of the music videos. The close-ups on just a women's body make it seem like that is all the women are used for. Artists like Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, etc., tend to focus their music videos on women and their bodies, since they have the ability to use such advanced technology. Because these artists do this so much, their audience is so used to seeing the objectification of women, and they don’t see any problems with it. In contrast, artists like Salt-N-Peppa, LL Cool J, 50 Cent, etc., still portrayed the objectification of women, just not as much through their music videos. They did not have the amazing video quality that artists do now. Not as many artists were able to do very clear close-ups and smooth camera pans, which allow women and their appearance to be more clearly seen. In these older videos, the artists did not have the camerawork to rely on, so it was harder to objectify women. 

Since the beginning of hip-hop music, the objectification of women in music and videos has been an issue. However, overtime, as advances in technology have been made, this objectification has started to increase and become normalized. These advances include better video quality, the ability to have clear close-up shots, better camera angles, etc. They allow for women and their appearances to become the subject and focus of the music videos. The close-ups on just a women's body make it seem like that is all the women are used for. Artists like Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, etc., tend to focus their music videos on women and their bodies, since they have the ability to use such advanced technology. Because these artists do this so much, their audience is so used to seeing the objectification of women, and they don’t see any problems with it. In contrast, artists like Salt-N-Peppa, LL Cool J, 50 Cent, etc., still portrayed the objectification of women, just not as much through their music videos. They did not have the amazing video quality that artists do now. Not as many artists were able to do very clear close-ups and smooth camera pans, which allow women and their appearance to be more clearly seen. In these older videos, the artists did not have the camerawork to rely on, so it was harder to objectify women.

The camera, defined as a device for recording visual images in the form of photographs, film, or video signals, is the one thing needed to capture any moment. Since the camera was first invented in 1816, many developments have been made. The camera has opened the door to many jobs, creative outlets, and more. A main job in the photography industry is modeling. In 1923, the first modeling agency opened, as more and more women wanted to become models. Because of this, modeling became very competitive over the years. Not every woman who wanted to become a model could, so the criteria for certain agencies and jobs became stricter. This is when photographers and agents started to focus more on women and their bodies with their cameras. They looked for the smallest waists, larger hips, tall height, good bone structure, etc. This creates a very unrealistic beauty standard for women in society. People now think that the prettiest and most desirable women have only these features, because photographers in this industry tend to lean more towards choosing these women for their shoots. When choosing models for photoshoots or music videos, the models’ bodies are normally the first thing that is looked at. This allows women to be objectified, as they are only being used for their long legs, tiny waists, and flat stomachs. These standards for the “perfect body” have only gotten worse over the years, escpecially in the media, with the evolution of camera quality and new technologies.

Although the objectification of women has been a problem for many years, older artists did not have the most developed camera work and intense video shoots that artists do today. For example, 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” is clearly an objectifying song about a woman. Listeners can just listen to the lyrics (“When you show me you could work it, baby, no problem”) and figure this out. However, the music video is not as focused on women and their bodies. When the camera is pointed towards the female roles, it does not zoom up on their bodies. Their outfits also do not show off their features. In this video, when 50 Cent is seen with the female lead, the camera just quickly pans over them standing next to each other. There is not much provocative dancing or focus on the women’s body.

With a more advanced media, newer hip-hop artists increase their use of the objectification of women. Now that the modeling and photography industry has created such an unrealistic standard of beauty and a women’s body, and with the help of better-quality technology, this objectification has only gotten worse. For example, Cardi B’s “WAP” music video basically only focuses on women and their bodies. This music video does many close ups and different types of camera pans to further accentuate features and dance moves. Cardi B’s outfits are very revealing, showing off her “best features” like her wide hips and thin waist. Even as a woman, Cardi B promotes the objectification of women by only including these provocative dance moves and close-ups on the dancer’s bodies. Without these camera angles and close-up shots, these females in music videos would not be shown off for their bodies.

Instead of learning to stray away from the objectification of women that is so popular in hip-hop, it has only gotten worse thanks to technology and advanced photography. Although earlier artists did not have the help of the updated technology, they still play a big role in this continuous problem. A study was done on the lyrics of 160 songs, and "an average of 16 percent contained sexually degrading lyrics. That number rose to 70 percent in some specific genres, such as rap" ("Objectification of Women in the Media"). Because these artists still were able to portray the objectification, even though it was not through their music videos as much, this still created a precedent for newer artists. This data only focuses on lyrics, so with the opportunity to use photography and videography to visually capture this objectification, these numbers will only go up. The new hip-hop artists seem to get inspiration from older artists ideas and continue to include this issue in their music. Because the photography industry has created such a standard for what a “model body” is and what women are worthy of being shown off, audiences are so used to seeing this unrealistic standard. Researcher Francesca Guizzo, conducted a study to see how people feel about the rising objectification of women in media. She "found that people who regularly watch media in which women are objectified were less likely to realize it’s not okay to objectify a woman’s body or even to react to this objectification" ("Objectification of Women in Media"). Obviously, because people are so used to seeing this, they give attention to artists and their music videos. However, because photography and the media can change so much, this change in technology and the media can help to solve this problem of the overuse of objectifying women. If photos were to feature women who don’t exactly fit today’s beauty standard, it could show that women are not just used for their bodies in photos and the media.

Lucie Rutkowski

Technology’s Role in the Objectification of Women in Hip Hop

Since the beginning of hip-hop music, the objectification of women in music and videos has been an issue. However, overtime, as advances in technology have been made, this objectification has started to increase and become normalized. These advances include better video quality, the ability to have clear close-up shots, better camera angles, etc. They allow for women and their appearances to become the subject and focus of the music videos. The close-ups on just a women's body make it seem like that is all the women are used for. Artists like Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, etc., tend to focus their music videos on women and their bodies, since they have the ability to use such advanced technology. Because these artists do this so much, their audience is so used to seeing the objectification of women, and they don’t see any problems with it. In contrast, artists like Salt-N-Peppa, LL Cool J, 50 Cent, etc., still portrayed the objectification of women, just not as much through their music videos. They did not have the amazing video quality that artists do now. Not as many artists were able to do very clear close-ups and smooth camera pans, which allow women and their appearance to be more clearly seen. In these older videos, the artists did not have the camerawork to rely on, so it was harder to objectify women.

The camera, a device for creating visuals in the form of pictures or videos, is the one thing needed to capture any moment. Since the camera was first invented, many developments have been made. The camera has opened the door to many jobs, creative outlets, and more. A main job in the photography industry is modeling. When the first modeling agency opened, more and more women wanted to become models. Because of this, modeling became very competitive over the years. Not every woman who wanted to become a model could, so the criteria for certain agencies and jobs became stricter. This is when photographers and agents started to focus more on women and their bodies. They looked for the smallest waists, larger hips, tall height, good bone structure, etc., that do not necessarily represent all women; “these representations can be retouched and reflect more of a fantasy of what could be than the reality of the lived body” (Wissinger).  This creates a very unrealistic beauty standard for women in society. People now think that the prettiest and most desirable women have only these features, because photographers in this industry tend to lean more towards choosing these women for their shoots. When choosing models for photoshoots or music videos, the models’ bodies are normally the first thing that is looked at. This allows women to be objectified, as they are only being used for their long legs, tiny waists, and flat stomachs. These standards for the “perfect body” have only gotten worse over the years, escpecially in the media, with the evolution of camera quality and new technologies.

Although the objectification of women has been a problem for many years, older artists did not have the most developed camera work and intense video shoots that artists do today. For example, 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” is clearly an objectifying song about a woman. Listeners can just listen to the lyrics (“When you show me you could work it, baby, no problem”) and figure this out. However, the music video is not as focused on women and their bodies. When the camera is pointed towards the female roles, it does not zoom up on their bodies. Their outfits also do not show off their features. In this video, when 50 Cent is seen with the female lead, the camera just quickly pans over them standing next to each other. There is not much provocative dancing or focus on the women’s body.

With a more advanced media, newer hip-hop artists increase their use of the objectification of women. Now that the modeling and photography industry has created such an unrealistic standard of beauty and a women’s body, and with the help of better-quality technology and new styles of using the camera, this objectification has only gotten worse. The music video for “Broccoli” by DRAM and Lil Yachty includes this increasing objectification. The video has some similar settings to 50 cent’s video. However, because of the clearer quality and focus, it seems much more objectifying. The first shot included shows the rapper and a female, just like in 50 Cent’s video. Except now, the focus appears to be just on the woman. The camera is focusing right on her, and kind of blurs out the rest of the people, even the singer. Her outfit is much more revealing, and the better camera quality and more close-up shot allows for her body to be the focus. This video also uses modern technology to include different pictures and camera pans to show off the female leads. Whenever a photo is overlaid in this video, the camera does quick close-ups and slow-motion pans to make each picture the focus of the video. Each picture also seems to focus on a woman’s body. The second picture is an example of how new technology can allow for these new features in music videos. The women are obviously being used to show their bodies. Without the better camera quality and the new advances in technology to be able to add these different features to videos, then this objectification of women would not be as prevalent.

The objectification of women in music videos has become so normalized that not just male rappers take part in it. Even as a woman, Cardi B promotes the objectification of women by only including provocative dance moves and close-ups on the dancer’s bodies in her music videos. For example, Cardi B’s “WAP” music video basically only focuses on women and their bodies. This music video does many close ups and different types of camera pans to further accentuate features and dance moves. Cardi B’s outfits are very revealing, showing off her “best features” like her wide hips and thin waist. Without these camera angles and close-up shots, these females in music videos would not be shown off for their bodies.

Instead of learning to stray away from the objectification of women that is so popular in hip-hop, it has only gotten worse thanks to technology and advanced photography. Although earlier artists did not have the help of the updated technology, they still play a big role in this continuous problem. A study was done on the lyrics of 160 songs, and "an average of 16 percent contained sexually degrading lyrics. That number rose to 70 percent in some specific genres, such as rap" (Evans). Because these artists still were able to portray the objectification, even though it was not through their music videos as much, this still created a precedent for newer artists. This data only focuses on lyrics, so with the opportunity to use photography and videography to visually capture this objectification, these numbers will only go up. The new hip-hop artists seem to get inspiration from older artists ideas and continue to include this issue in their music. Because the photography industry has created such a standard for what a “model body” is and what women are worthy of being shown off, audiences are so used to seeing this unrealistic standard. Researcher Francesca Guizzo conducted a study to see how people feel about the rising objectification of women in media. She "found that people who regularly watch media in which women are objectified were less likely to realize it’s not okay to objectify a woman’s body or even to react to this objectification" (Evans). Obviously, because people are so used to seeing this, they give attention to artists and their music videos.

However, because photography and the media can change so much, this change in technology and the media can help to solve this problem of the overuse of objectifying women. If photos were to feature women who don’t exactly fit today’s beauty standard, it could show that women are not just used for their bodies in photos and the media. Artists do not need to focus on women and their bodies in order to have a successful video. 50 Cent is a very successful rap artist, even though he didn’t include too much objectification in his videos. Modern and advanced technology can be put more towards creating successful and intriguing music videos without this focus on women. Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.” music video includes the use of advanced technology and camera angles without objectifying women. He was able to incorporate cool panned out views, as seen in the first picture. The second picture depicts a female, but in a different way than all the other videos. It is not focused on her body, and she is completely natural with no photoshop, makeup, etc. The camera is not zoomed up on her body and she is not revealing herself. This music video is an example of how artists can use modern technology to enhance their videos without objectifying women.

The objectification of women has been a problem for many years, especially present in the media. In hip hop music, artists started with using objectifying lyrics. However, as technology and the camera advanced, they started to use music videos instead. Camera quality got better, and more camera angles and features became possible. This new technology mixed with the photography industry’s unrealistic beauty standards has normalized the increased use of the objectification of women. Hopefully, artists will realize that modern technology can be used for so much more in hip hop videos. It can create successful and intriguing music videos, without including this objectification.

Works Cited

Elizabeth Wissinger. This Year’s Model : Fashion, Media, and the Making of Glamour. NYU Press, 2015. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=e000xna&AN=1020814. Accessed 29 Nov. 2020.

Evans, Christine. Objectification of Women in the Media. ReferencePoint Press, 2019. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=e862xna&AN=1942158. Accessed 16 Nov. 2020.