Gettin’ Down With the Gangstas

It is undeniable: lyrics from today’s sorry state of hip-hop are atrocious and embarrassing to listen to, and they harness unneeded and negative emotions.

Take the socially-aware hip-hop artist Will.I.Am—a member of the Black Eyed Peas—and the Pussycat Dolls, a girl band that is advertised as a paragon of the advancement of women, but is perhaps better known for scantily-clad dress and provocative dance movements. In their currently popular song “Beep,” Will.I.Am says, “It’s funny how a man only thinks about the… You got a real big heart, but I’m looking at your…You got real big brains, but I’m looking at your…Girl, there ain’t no pain in me looking at your…” To which these female singers respond in breathless acquiescence, “I don’t give a…Keep looking at my…”

Note the omission of references to breasts. How thoughtful, how considerate.

These are, to put it simply, the symptoms of an ailing culture. The men aspire to be “pimps” and “thugs,” while the women are portrayed as being men’s “bitches” and “hoes.” Their offspring, I suppose, would naturally be “bastards.” And I mean that in both senses of the word.

This is most harmful because it promotes the crude objectification of women. And this is only one example where a hip-hop artist is dispensing harmful lyrics. The always self-consciously provocative gangsta rappers 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg provide us with another good example. After seeing their music videos and hearing them talk about their multitude of “bitches,” it is no wonder that violence against women continues to be one of the biggest contributors to domestic violence.

Gangsta rap is one of the most popular forms of hip-hop today. Songs in this specific genre are nothing but a negative externality on society’s well-being and improvement. Certainly, there are a few outlier groups that contain positive and proactive messages. However, these outliers tend to be out of the mainstream and thus harder to find.

One could argue that hip-hop’s supporters may also be at fault—perhaps the market is simply providing fans with the material that they are most willing to purchase. Even if this is true, it is important to note that many hip-hop devotees like the genre simply for its entertainment value and not because they support the rappers’ activities.

The lyrics become lethal when the listeners fail to see a difference between fiction and reality. When this occurs, it is the hip-hop artists, and not the fans, who should be held responsible. Simply put, the artists are accountable because they are the ones who actively glorify breaking the law in their lyrics and then promote such criminality with their actual behavior. For instance, Snoop Dogg’s notable extracurricular activities include being arrested on charges of being a murder accomplice, being arrested for possession of cocaine, and contributing to the infamous Girls Gone Wild Videos.

Clearly, we have an overachiever on our hands.

Fear not, however: these artists must be deeper than just talking about their lawless activities and taking pride in mistreating their “hoes.” Indeed, they are. They are also sure to promote a materialistic lifestyle rife with conspicuous consumption. After all, what could be more important than getting some nice gold grills (slang for gold teeth) and putting some 22’s (referring to the length of rims, also known as hubcaps) on your new Escalade?

And hey, if you still think today’s hip-hop lyrics and artists do contribute something positive to society, maybe we should all try to emulate hip-hop artists T-Pain and Mike Jones and try our best to fall “in love with a stripper.”



Brett L. Laffel ’06, a Crimson editorial editor, is a psychology concentrator in Eliot House.