Final Essay: Response to "The History of Women in Hip Hop: Post Feminism or Sell Out

I feel that every presenter this semester had made an interesting point during their presentations.  However, one presentation that really caught my eye was Mia Washington’s topic on the “The History of Women in Hip Hop: Post Feminism or Sell Out.”  I feel that one of the star moments was when she played the entire class an interview of rapper Nicki Minaj.  In my opinion, many classmates were not very well pleased with Nicki Minaj’s communication skills.  She couldn’t say a sentence without cursing.  However, we did enjoy listening to the interview, because we found it to be very funny in a weird sort of way.  My other favorite moment was when Mia compared Queen Latifah’s lyrics to Lil Kim’s lyrics.  She actually asked us “What two female rappers are the owners of these verses?”  People were automatically able to distinguish between the two verses.  Pretty much everyone was aware that the first verse belonged to Queen Latifah.  There are not too many female rap artists who are willing to stand up for their sex.  This particular artist demanded respect from the opposite sex.  Lil Kim on the other hand didn’t mind being called out of her name or promoting her sex life.  This showed us how the movement of female rappers has changed over the years.  In the early 90’s, female rappers were more likely to be considered either conscious or hardcore artists.  They used their talents and voices as a tool to inspire and lift up the spirits of other young women.  Nowadays, female rappers are more likely to talk about sex and money than speak about the struggle or empowerment of both men and women. I believe someone asked Mia who her favorite female rap artist was, but she appears to be a fan of legendary female rappers such as Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, and Lauryn Hill.  Some people miss the days when music wasn’t all about creating a hit for the radio or simply used a tool to place money in their pockets.  Hip Hop was viewed as an art form.  I don’t believe that there is anything that I would have changed to this presentation.  I would have liked to hear more of her own opinion on the state of women and hip hop, but I still feel that she had done a tremendous job.  I don’t remember seeing many people surfing the net during her presentation.  She did a great job at capturing our attention. 

Final Written Paper

During the beginning of my presentation, my intention was to pay respect to the deejays that helped pave the way for what we call hip hop today.  This tribute was very important, because there was a point in time when deejays received more respect and accolades than the rappers.  That explains why DJ Jazzy Jeff’s name was mentioned before Will Smith’s on their first album.  All of these deejays may not be multi-millionaires, but they are hugely responsible for a music industry that is deeply influenced and dominated by hip hop today.  It’s difficult to locate any genre of music that has not been positively affected by hip hop.  Nowadays, it’s very common to hear Gospel and Rock music that shares similarities with rap music. 

Although I am a huge fan of music, I was unaware of the sudden change to digital turntables.  I noticed DJ Jazzy Jeff and Kid Capri using laptops during their showcases and performances, but I had no idea that these new turntables made it a lot easier for the modern day Deejay.  They no longer had to carry around crates of records anymore.  However, many well-known deejays still carry around a few records to wow or impress the crowd.  This informs their audience that they are still capable of doing a phenomenal job on the turntables.  No respectful deejay or artist would like for their fans to notice that they’ve lost a step or two.  The real pioneers would like to show their fans that they’ve still got it, and that their competitive edge has not disappeared.

The average record company that was making millions of dollars during the 90’s and early 2000 era may be struggling to make that same amount of income today, because not as many records are being sold as they were in the past.  Fans are more likely to purchase a song online than buy a physical copy in the store.  It’s not very common to find someone walking with a CD player in public anymore.  This situation has forced the record companies to recoup their money in other areas.  One of them includes the 360 deal, the music industry company provides financial support to the artist, including direct advances and funds for things like marketing, touring and merchandising.  However, in return the artist must agree to give the company a percentage of everything they are involved with, including revenue from album/ track sales, ticket sales, merchandising.  After I had given my audience a definition and a video of an artist explaining the 360 deal, I realized, a few of them were still unclear of what term meant to artists and musicians.  The reason why I had shown them an artist giving them his take on the 360 deal was so that they would have the chance to listen to someone who they found to be of importance in the music industry.  I didn’t want to show them a video of someone who was both unknown and boring.  This was a win/lose situation because I struggled to gain the amount of the attention that I expected.

Next, I spoke on the importance of a mixtape, a collection of songs that an artist uses to generate a buzz in hopes of acquiring a record deal or a release date for their upcoming album.  Many successful artists have used the mixtape to garner the overdue attention they needed to improve their situation.  Not every artist is blessed to be able to send their demo to a record label or A&R. and then receive an offer for a record deal.  The average artist today has to create a buzz in his/her own hometown in order to be noticed and discovered by a well respected record company.  The purpose of the mixtape is gain a following that is hopefully going to support you when it’s time for your album to come out.  Although artists and record labels aren’t selling many records today, there are still fans out there that are buying CD’s and purchasing tickets to their favorite singer or rapper’s shows.

There has always been a connection between communication and music.  Many artists and songwriters are creating songs that are relatable to individuals that are dealing with simialr issues in their daily lives.  A lot of Tupac’s music consisted of songs that were not based on his own life.  He told the stories of his friends and associates who were going through those exact situations at that time.  He had never been in jail or even arrested when he created the song “Holler If You Hear Me” which gave his take on law enforcement and police harassment.  He felt that it was necessary to release a song out to the public that the average person could connect with.  One of the main reasons for becoming an artist is to find a voice in hopes of locating the audience that you can reach and inspire.  Your voice is what’s going to separate you from every other artist that exists out there.

            One question that came up during my presentation was “How do artists make money when they’re giving away their music for free?  That is a question that has many answers depending on the popularity or status of the artist.  The average rapper is also a songwriter for your favorite hip hop artist or R&B singer.  I’m not sayng that they are making hundreds of thousands of dollars for their services, but this is making them enough income to keep their lights on when they do not have an official album out yet.  Every artist must become business minded, but not all of them have the luxury of co-owning restaurants or investing in real estate.  They must work with the skills that they currently have.  There are some musicians that produce records while they’re working on their upcoming albums.  Every artist is given an advance from their label unless it’s a newly formed independent label that may not be able to give advances to their artists.  Not all artists are blessed with a million dollar record deal much like a Drake or 50 Cent.  So there’s no easy way to answer that question.  They just have to find a way to make money.

            Every audience member in the classroom had a different opinion concerning my presentation, but all of their comments were positive.  I should have focused more on my classmates than the projector while i was speaking to them.  It’s always best to make eye contact with the individuals who you are trying to make a point with.  There’s no use of doing a presentation if you not able to successfully gain their attention.  I preferred for the computers to be on, because I enjoyed the thought of a challenge.  I came up playing sports so I always bring that competitive nature with me no matter what I’m doing at that time.  I wouldn’t ever want to force anyone to listen to anything that they have no interest in.  I’m just glad that I did not bore anyone.  That was one of the reasons for me playing those videos.  Sometimes it can become boring when someone is just talking the whole time without allowing their audience to share their own point of views.  In my case, everyone’s opinion is important as long as they can prove their case and make it believable or respectable to everyone else.  Although I was nervous during the course of the presentation, I have no regrets. I’m just glad that I was able to do research on a topic that I am still passionate about.