Jay-Z – Bitch, please!
Upon the news that Jay-Z‘s ‘bitch’ (sorry, wife), Beyoncé Knowles has given birth to Blue Ivy Carter, the new father was rumoured to have under gone an emotional transformation: an epiphany, if you like (if they have those in The Illuminati). He was, apparently, dropping the word upon which the hip -hop genre has relied on as a poetic synonym for women, for at least the last ten years, since the term has been accepted into mainstream culture and everyday life. After the smug sense of satisfaction at my brilliantly well-judged and astute foresight, that with his paternal responsibilities, Shawn Carter would work to ensure ‘Daddy’s little girl’ was protected from the harmful image of women which R’n'B has come to advertises, it turns out not to be the case. Last week, Harvey Levin, founder of onlinegossip magazine, TMZ.com, quoted a source from Jay-Z‘s crew on Twitter, describing these outrageous rumours as, ‘B.S.’. As eloquent and poetic an expression as the genre has become well-known for sharing. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to deduce Jay-Z‘s attitude to such speculation.
Beyonce Knowles and husband Jay-Z have recently had a baby, but will this change the sexist language of hip-hop?
But if the poem, allegedly written by Jay-Z (real name, Sean Carter), and obtained by ‘W.E.N.N‘, was legitimate, would it really have been that great a cause for celebration among us liberal, pansies who wince at any suggestion of rampant male sexuality in the media? Twenty years ago maybe. But as Tricia Rose of The Guardian points points out, Hip-Hop is a veritable ‘treasure trove of sexist ideas and images’. The feminine role of ‘bitch’ being just one.
The definition of the term varies depending on who you ask: Delve into the infinitely informative realms of Urban Dictionary, with it’s witty and insightful (some more than others) definitions of contemporary English language, and you will find 48, (yes, 48!) pages dedicated to the semiotic dissection of the term ”bitch”. They range from the traditional noun, designating a ‘female dog’, to the more crass:
‘A woman that:
A) Will have sex with everybody, but you.
B) Won’t do (what you in your feeble mind) want her to.
C) You work for, that tells you what to do, and you don’t like it.
D) A successful woman.
E) A down right drama queen that makes yours, and everyone’s lives around her miserable.
F) A control freak that always thinks she is right, and constantly corrects everyone. ‘ [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bitch ]
Needless to say the one unifying aspect of them all is the not too flattering invocation of the feminine. Those wordsters at the OED have it pretty accurately when they describe such meanings as abusive, and ‘not now in decent use’ [http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/19524?rskey=qRcqkX&result=1#eid]. The accurate implication being that it is still in indecent use. With such broad and equally derogative definitions, the connotations of ”bitch” and its meanings are still found throughout hip hop, saturating the genre without the need to use that specific word any more. Even if Jay -Z had sworn off the B-word, then, its meanings have become so well-entrenched in popular culture, that any ‘feminine’ word, no matter how sugary-sweet its previous meaning, can replace it. Take, for example, Ludacris‘s ‘My Chick Bad’, the video and language of which perfectly embodies the ‘hyper sexism’ which Rose describes. What was previously a brainless and fluffy, juvenile and ineffective human embodiment of infant poultry, has now come to signify a raging monster, demonstrating certain psychopathy in the form of Nicki Minaj.
An apparently feminist icon who represents the ground breaking notion of female sexual agency in hip-hop, being physically restrained, or that she uses such overtly offensive language to turn on other women who I’m guessing are supposed to be some kind of sexual threat. I’m all for being assertive and open about your sexuality, but seriously?! Bursting onto the male dominated hip-hop scene with songs like ‘Super Bass‘, self-assuredly declaring an active sexuality, only to become some kind of sadist sex-addict is a little disappointing In all songs about sex and attraction there will always be the divide between the desiring subject and the watched object of “affection”. I get that. The difference between Nicki Minaj‘s display of sexuality in ‘Super Bass’, and that of any male rapper is that she does not use abusive or demeaning language in describing the object of her affections. Instead, as in Jay-Z and Ludacris’ beautifully eloquent and expressive style, she turns it on other women – sorry, ‘hoes’ – who dare to look at her man, whilst simultaneously being defined in equally derogative terms in ‘My Chick Bad’. Heeeelll, she so bad, the ‘whole crew wanna bone her’.
Perhaps Nicki M needs to take a leaf out of “The matriarch of Blues”s songbook, Etta James whose death last week has sparked many heart warming tributes. One of which included Adele‘s, who described seeing James, ‘at the age of 71, singing ‘I want to ta ta you, baby’ – almost groping herself, as if the meaning wasn’t clear enough already. She just has so much attitude.’ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jan/24/etta-james-adele ] Etta James’ attitude came from her behaviour and her physical presence. She didn’t need strong, disparaging language to express her desire. She let her body display her sexuality and desire in a far more expressive and meaningful way than either Nicki Minaj or her male counterparts.
The token dropping of a single world by one man, however influential he may be, would have meant very little in changing the attitudes engrained in R’n'B. Bitch, hoe, chick, ‘muttafucka’, slut, slag, honey… there’s an endless array of terms in the hip hop thesaurus. They are all synonymously interrelated with multiple, sexualised, and derogatory meanings, and continue to be used against women (and effeminate men) in the everyday life to which this popular music is the backing track.
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