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.