1. The subject of my paper is hip-hop and mainstream rap and their themes of masculinity and degrading women.
2. I wanted to write about this subject because I know a lot of people listen to music with these themes, and yet, they don't care if rappers are constantly degrading women. It reminded me of a comedian who said that when women listen to these types of songs, all they do is say "HE ain't talking about ME". Therfore women don't believe that rappers are directing their negativeness towards them.
3. My audience is just the people in this class.
4. The question I wanted my research paper to answer is why rappers degrade women, and why do we listen to it.
5. I think I used the compare and contrast strategy the most.


In 750 words minimum, discuss the evidence Hurt presents in the film and whether or not you agree with his premise that commercial rap is misogynistic, violent, and promotes a negative stereotype of manhood.


If you turn on the radio you might hear Lupe Fiasco singing “Superstar” with lyrics about struggling to become a popular music artist, or you might just hear Ludacris singing “Money Maker”, telling women to “shake their money makers”. (Money Maker) Not all songs are degrading women, and proving rappers masculinity, but why are they made and why do we decide to listen to them? The making of rap music today is controversial. Some people say that the music industry is forcing these starving artists to create this type of music, and that it’s the only way it will be played. Others believe that no one will want to listen to a rapper about the presidential election, talk about their past, or what’s really going on in the world today. Some people might even listen to degrading commercial rap because it has a good beat, or say that rappers aren’t reffereing to them as their “bitch” or “hoe”. Whatever the case, there is still meaningful music out there in the music industry from people like Lupe Fiasco and Atmosphere, which gives people a choice of what they would like to hear. There’s a difference between hip-hop and commercial rap, and that line is crossed when the subject of the song becomes something negative like degrading women, homophobia, or talking about killing people. When we look back at the history of our society, more times than not men have been the dominant figures. Women usually did all of the house work, while men went out to earn money for the family. The first woman allowed to vote wasn’t until 1893, in the state of Colorado. (Women’s Rights) I definitely agree with the idea that commercial rap and hip-hop promotes a negative stereotype of manhood. I also believe that degrading women and masculinity go hand in hand. Through lyrics and videos, everyone can hear and see how the rappers creating this music, show how a man should act and be. They feel as though the general public wouldn’t want to listen about how someone could have changed their way of life and become a doctor or a police man, and instead they start to rap about shooting and raping people. (Hip-Hop) They feel as though they should be seen as real men. They probably do feel insecure about themseleves because they have so many women in their videos, when they can't hold on to one. They feel the need to have as many as possible to show people that this is what their life is really like, with multiple women and loads of money, and that they obviously no longer live on the street. Some rappers definitely do believe that the general public doesn’t want to listen to other topics besides the hood, gangs, shootouts, and degrading women. In Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, the creator of the film Bryon Hurt, states that “media and corporations define hip-hop.” (A Lover of Rap) So is it actually the media that believes listeners will want to hear these types of songs? There are also a lot of hip-hop artists today that are making great music that people love, and steer away from all of the mainstream themes. Some people seem to believe that they need to sing about these types of things so that their music will get played on the radio, but this isn't the case at all. Take Lupe Fisaco for example, and his song "Superstar". It’s the complete opposite from the normal macho music that we hear on the radio. There are hip-hop rappers out there making music that’s meaningful to them, showing the public who they really are, even though they might not be making the most money. In the end, the theme of mainstream music goes back to the artists, and the companies producing them. If rappers are so keen about representing themselves, being true to music and the life they live, then they shouldn’t succum to what the media wants.



Works Cited“Women’s Rights Movement” InfoPlease 29 September 2008http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html“Money Maker” Ludacris AZlyrics 29 September 2008http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/ludacris/moneymaker.htmlHip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes 23 September 2008Bryon Hurt; film“A Lover of Rap” The Brown Daily Harold 28 September 2008http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2008/03/07/CampusNews/A.Lover.Of.Rap.Scrutinizes.the.Masculinity.Of.HipHop-3258711.shtml