Blog #10

Kayla Leland 

EN-003 

Professor Santos 

Blog entry #10 

April 7, 2016 

Queen Latifah 

 

 

This week in class we have read a few readings that talked about the Dixie Chicks and Queen Latifah. Out of these readings the one that really stood out was the readings on Queen Latifah that dealt with feminism in rap and hip hop. I find it interesting that women have been a big part in the evolution of rap music and even hip hop culture itself. It was not until after reading these articles did I realize the key role women played as artists, writers, and performers. Since the beginning "women have influenced rap style and technique" which as a result set the standards for men and women. I think this is interesting to think about because back then there were a lot of female rappers as women have been rapping since 1976. Today there are rarely any female rappers as most are men. As Queen Latifah said "now people see rap as a formula for making lots of money, it's become all about money." Another interesting thing Queen Latifah discussed was how one of the main problems is self esteem and how we need to stop beating ourselves up for every little thing. Latifah later said that whatever you want to do you have to go out there and ignore everyone and just do it. In a way that is just what Queen Latifah did with her music. In her song U.N.I.T.Y. she was calling out women to unite and stand up against one another in solidarity.  These songs of female empowerment attempted to "provide direct messages of support to each other for the many disempowering messages women receive in the dominant discourse." That’s just what Latifah did in her song as she talked about domestic abuse and concerns to men along with providing a forum for discussion. One last purpose of women's rap is to educate women and to motivate or inspire them to be successful with their problems they may face in life.