If you consider yourself a fan of rap music, you've probably screamed A$AP or Kanye or Drake lyrics in the car, but have you ever realized exactly what you're saying when you do that? Much of the appeal of rap music is that its lyrics focus on very real controversial topics such as sex, violence, gangs, poverty, and other socioeconomic issues. But it has a reputation for being sexist, so I wanted to know if that was a justifiable statement to make. Is rap music sexist? To answer this question I will look at four different sources who all have different opinions on whether or not rap (including lyrics and music videos) is misogynistic. Even though there are lyrics, artists and music videos that are very humiliating and degrading towards women, other music genres are equally guilty and the consumer or even society can be equally accused of encouraging this misogynistic culture. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Rap is a fairly new musical genre, exploding in the United States in the 1980s after The Sugarhill Gang released their hit "Rapper's Delight." I consider rap one of the fastest evolving genres. It developed from African rhymes and songs used to tell stories to gangsta rap to old school trapping in just a few decades. Over the decades he has been roundly criticized for his frank lyrics regarding race, religion, gangs, rape, murder, sex, drugs and violence. When NWA released their iconic first album "Straight Outta Compton", they were labeled gangstas, criminals and the most dangerous hip-hop group, especially since they rapped about what they grew up around. Sexism has also been strongly linked to rap music since its inception. With women being used as props in music videos and as objects in lyrics, everyone has formed their own opinions on gender. My first source is a content analysis of representations of violence against women in rap music, focusing on rap between 1987 and 1993, when gangsta rap was on the rise. It's called Gangsta Misogyny and was written in 2001 by Edward G. Armstrong of Murray State University. Armstrong is a professor of sociology and has published his analysis through the Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture. To conduct his analysis, he collected 490 songs from 13 different artists during the previously mentioned time period. His focus was on artists who provided the “core repertoire” of gangsta rap music. He focused on four common themes that can be heard throughout the rap genre. These topics were assault, rape, murder, rape, and murder. Armstrong concludes that gangsta rap music continues to teach, promote, and glamorize violence and misogyny. He shows his fear that the lyrics of this music will increase by referring to a previous article written by the New York Daily News, which states that gangsta rap has caused a decline in American values. Armstrong says song lyrics written after this article was published are much worse and will only become more violent and sexist. My next source is also a content analysis conducted by Ronald Weitzer and Charis E. Kubrin in 2009. This article is titled Misogyny in Rap Music: A Content Analysis of Prevalence and Meanings. Weitzer is a professor of sociology and criminology at George Washington University and has also written many books about police brutality and the sex trade industry. Kubrin is a professor of criminology at the University of California, Irvine and has taught aTED talk on whether rap music is a threat to society. In their analysis they also focused on specific themes that can be identified in many songs of the genre. They said common themes are derogatory naming and shaming of women, sexual objectification against women, distrust of women, legitimization of violence against women, and celebration of prostitution and exploitation. They concluded that misogynistic lyrics are influenced by broader gender relations, the music industry, and local neighborhood conditions. They suggest that changing the content of rap music requires changing the conditions under which it is created, including: socioeconomic disadvantage and associated gender relations in local communities, the material interests of the recording industry, and the broader cultural objectification of women and the associated norms of hegemonic masculinity. .My third source comes from famous rapper, actor and former NWA member, O'Shea Jackson aka Ice Cube. His quote was given to Rolling Stone in 2015 during an interview with former band member Dr. Dre. Both Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were promoting the release of the movie "Straight Outta Compton," which is a biography of their lives growing up in Compton and how they became celebrities. Ice Cube has released ten studio albums, four group albums, starred in over 40 TV shows and films, and is credited with numerous awards. In Ice Cube's quote he defends his lyrics and those of his former bandmates by suggesting that their lyrics are not directed at all women but at specific groups of women or individuals. My latest source was written in the form of a blog post titled “The reasons why I am not offended by sexist rap lyrics as a feminist”. It was written in 2016 by Riley Von Niessen, writer and editor of the website trendhunter .com. Niessen, reasoning along the same lines as Ice Cube, argues that listening to graphic music that uses misogynistic language does not support violence against women. He says that rap is just another art form and that lyrics are not should be taken personally. He states: “phonetically speaking, bitch is a great word. It's easy to rhyme and I don't consider it gender specific after being completely desensitized to whatever offensive meaning it is supposed to have heart these lyrics is irrational. He compares the accusation of Marilyn Manson for the Columbine shooting to the accusation of rap music for violent and sexist behavior. Finally he points out that the radio's censorship of derogatory terms aimed at women can sometimes be more offensive. For example, using "chick" instead of "bitch". Now, looking back at my first source, Edward G. Armstrong's analysis of gangsta rap, it's clear where he stands. He thinks rap lyrics are out of control and that the genre in general is bad. While he is a credible source and has a great deal of information and references in his analysis, he fails to consider that these artists are not just rapping for profit, but that many of them are rapping about how they grew up and how they grew up. different perspectives. He also puts all the blame on the industry and artists, but a song doesn't make the charts without the listener. Unlike my first source, the second source I mentioned places a fair amount of blame on the consumer and society's misogynistic views. This source is also very credible and does a good job of explaining the results of their analysis and how it was conducted. They use examples of sexist lyrics from Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott, Dr. Dre, 2Pac, Notorious BIG and others. I agree with their position on the matter..