Starting Six: On Your Bitch

After reading Imani Perry and Rana Emerson’s pieces on womanhood in hip-hop, I immediately thought back to a music video that was produced by a group of kids I knew in high school: Starting Six. The group is comprised of (you guessed it) six members all two years my senior. Their lyrical content usually revolves around alcohol, sex without a condom on, and general partying. The initial video that I wanted to discuss was one called “Thirsty” (see below), a party song that focuses on the members all trying to get the same woman’s number with the chorus “your bitch is thirstaaay.” Thirsty, as Starting Six uses it, has a dual meaning of 1) thirsty for alcohol and drinks, and 2) a desperation for sex/the men of starting six. I thought I had plenty of material to use, what with the spraying of alcohol on the video girls, specific angle shots of a the main woman in a shower, etc. Though, when I was looking for the video I came across their most recent production, aptly named: SOD (Sit up On a Dick).

To begin, the camera follows Aliky’s (the female guest star) behind as she walks up to Nic Nac’s house and knocks on his door. The opening dialogue goes as follows:

Aliky: Nic you invited me over here there’s nowhere to sit. You have no furniture…

Nic Nac: Yeah, uh, about that. You could sit on this dick?

Aliky: Ok

The rest of the video, as Nic Nac, Goose, Bread, and Big Steve rap, shows scenes of women in thongs, being covered in alcohol, being shot with toy guns, being violently spanked, sucking and playing with dick-shaped lollipops and dildos, miming use of said dildos; biting of women's underwear, mock humping of sex doll--the list goes on and on...

  This video seems to me like the very epitome of the heterosexual male gaze—rivaling Nelly’s “Tip Drill.” The female behind is the largest central focus in the camera’s gaze.

As Imani Perry states: “Even the manner in which the women dance is a signal of cultural destruction…The women who appear in [this video] are usualy dancing in a two-dimensional fashion… more reminiscent of symbols of pornographic male sexual fantasy than of the ritual, conversation, and sexual traditions of black dance” (137). The women in this video exist for one purpose only: to act as visual representations of asses of which the male viewer can imagine to “sit up on his dick.”

What’s interesting about “SOD,” though, is that most of the women exhibiting these seductive and two-dimensional dance moves are in fact not black women. In fact, the “blackest” woman in the video (in strictly terms of pigmentation), would be Aliky herself, who’s arguably showing the least amount of skin the 3 minute shoot. Aliky starts off her verse with: “I’m a bad bitch/ you a bad boy/ got a fat ass/ I’m like your play toy.” Aliky is not only complicit in the oppressive narrative being constructed, she is one of the main actors in creating it! “The video is an apt metaphor for her self-commodification…” and is a explicit form of internalized sexism.

If you're interested in more, here's "Thirsty."

Enjoy....

two little black boys sitting in a closet...O-U-T, I-N-G?

Deep Dickcollective. The focus of most writer’s discussion on the gay rapper scene have proven to be most open, willing, and conscious of the topic.

Please see the video by Tim’m West (a member of Deep Dickcollective) and Anye Elite.

*note how they are in the category of “Gay Rapper” in the video.

He is open about being gay, with one of the lines dealing with “two little black boys sitting in the tree – K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” He is open and blatant about his sexuality. This is not what is “right” in Hip-Hop culture; which is why it is categorized as “Homohop” (Chang, 198), unless, you know, you stay in the closet due to your “fear of being outed – [and not being] a ‘StrongBlackMan’” (Hill, 388).

What does this help when you are who you are, no matter what; I am guessing Hip-Hop is a place where one can not be themselves to fit in. This is how Hip-Hop is relatable to the earth and HomoHop is “LaLa Land” – as our teachers and elders explain us being in our “own world.” Unfortunately, this “Homohop” world is considered to be a “consequence of spiritual malevolence” (385). This doesn’t fit.

Chang edits in his article interviewing Tim’m West and Juba Kalamka of DeepDickCollective that Hip-Hop is “stubborn” (Chang, 200), we are not aware of our history, and we are “lazy think[ers]” (201). ---peep that cover title: "sissies"--> 

-       To begin, those who keep and are “glue” for <--- Hip-Hop (i.e. fashion designers, video directors) have been seen as homosexual, and that has never been a problem. But you only hear about them some of the time; or when they’re straight. It’s funny how when a homosexual person is identified by their name, it is followed by “the gay one” or some slur of that sort.

o   Women have also been the heads of companies that push this acceptable heteronormative music (i.e. Debra Lee of BET) (insert picture).

§  So why is it so hard for a man to display feminine qualities and still sell records? Is there a problem with our women as well?

Another interesting point that should be addressed is that these people known as: “queers, faggots, dikes, and lesbians” are also used as tokens in the media. These words are the go-to for insults with rappers. Even today, you have rappers like Tyler, The Creator, who I am a fan of; said faggot 213 times in his songs. (http://www.towleroad.com/2011/08/tylerthecreator.html)

There are 213,000 other words to say. Hip-Hop relies on faggots and dikes. It’s distasteful how the base of the connotation of a faggot or dike (being homosexual) is so popular, yet so hated; but loved at the same time?

Tell me what you think!

To get back on the subject, this game (Hip-Hop) is all about how a person is seen in the media anyway, right? That is why being in the closet (“outing”) is seen as a “performance move” (394). It is to protect your cover, but when your cover isn’t you; how are you comfortable with it? Why does a “gay man [have to be] in denial?” (395). Fuck Hip-Hop if you can’t be you. Fuck “Homohop” as well. If Hip-Hop really is what it is: “a revolution [with] discontents and all” (Chang, 208).

-       This brings me back to the point of Hip-Hop being confused and proves our lazy thinking.

Times have proved to change, however. Look at Frank Ocean and his story!

o   He came out as bisexual, then dropped an album the next day ("Channel Orange")

§  The album sold over 100,000 copies in its first week. 

·      #REVOLUTION

 (http://music-mix.ew.com/2012/07/18/album-sales-frank-ocean-zac-brown-band/)

In saying this, there is help, however groups like Deep DickCollective had it rough. I respect them more than ever, with the fact that they stuck with what they love. They kept it real, as rappers should. As HUMANS should. Public Enemy & Busta Rhymes problems with these homosexuals and saying that they do not belong within the umbrella of Hip-Hop to me deals with fear, as well as the fact that they were pro-Black – they realize “gay” relates to being white (Chang, 202), and white doesn’t correlate with Hip-Hop.

(but Lil' Wayne is Hip-Hop?)

I believe the “Homohopper’s” kept it just as real as P.E. or Busta & the Leaders of the New School. It’s a weird topic. Please respond on here, hit my email (malik_coburn@redlands.edu) or call me: 773.807.9223 to ask more or let me know what I left out.

This topic is crazy. 

Also, it seems as if shows need a gay dude. Omar from the Wire! one of the hardest guys on the show....

See clip below. #rolesarechanging / #therealhomothug

Serena Williams, Gangsta' 

This is a video clip from the 2012 Summer Olympics after Serena Williams won a Gold medal in singles tennis. After Serena wins she celebrates by doing a brief version of the Crip Walk. 

The Crip Walk is a dance that originated from the Los Angeles based gang the Crips. Originally the dance was used as a method of intimidation, and a way to "bang" on other rival gang members, or non gang members that crossed paths with members of the Crips. The modern day Crip walk has become more of a dance than an aesthetic form of gang banging, but it still has ties to the Crips and the gangbanging lifestyle. I chose to post this clip because Serena Williams was in the national spotlight when she did this dance, and because it is interesting to think about an athlete that is known around the world doing a dance that is directly tied to the gang life.

Questions:

*What do you think about Serena Williams doing the crip walk?

*What impact does the crip walk have on the formation of her black identity?

*Is this a controversial celebration, or an appropriate one? 

DJ Post- Commercialized = Sexualized

 In modern commercial hip hop music videos black women are portrayed and represented as objects instead of subjects. These videos present idealized images of black women; big boobs, big butts, straight hair, pretty faces, and thin waists. These images create standards of beauty that are specific for black women, and create a dynamic in which black women think they must meet the standards set by these videos. By meeting these standards they will be appealing to men who have power, wealth, and status. These images continue to be undesirable to American mainstream standards of beauty. On one hand these images create a space for black women to exist in, but at the same time the women in these commercialized videos are more often than not shells.

Bodies As Objects.

 Ayy ladies is a video that captures the idea that women are objects and nothing else. Woman are simply just danced on or around and used to compliment the male roles. The men in the video are the center of the video; the camera is fixated on them, and only them. Women are only seen dancing in the background.

In this video you see examples of wealth, and the stance that “I come from money”. This flashy setting gives way to the idea that women are seen as spoils that come along with the big house or the nice car. They are also seen as objects of status. They are representations of wealth. One thing to point out in this video is that, the faces of these women are briefly shown; they do not focus on who they are. It seems that their physical bodies play a more prominent role in the video, which is degrading. The camera shows the brevity of their appearance to the masculine environment.

Undesirable Bodies. 

The video Baby Got Back opens with a dialogue taking place between two white woman who are reprimanding a black woman. They make no comment to the fact that she is dancing on top of a pedestal and that that is equally damaging to all women. Instead the two women comment about the body of the woman, attacking her body and sexuality as a whole. They comment about her having a “big ass”, and make other comments that allude to her being a “one of those rap guys girlfriend”. This is significant because it is a prime example of how mainstream American culture views black female bodies. In this case, the black women’s body is undesirable. 

                                   

Confusion, What/How Should I Be.

Bitch Bad shows the confusion that both men and women have as a result of the images shown in these types of commercialized videos. In this video there are two distinct instances of confusion that take place. There is the confusion that stems from a black woman who is trying to define her identity and claim a space and role in society. Then the video displays the confusion that children have when trying to interpret and make sense of the images that they see. Specifically in the music video there is a juxtaposition shown between a little girl and a video girl. At first the little girl is just listening to the song and watching the video girl, but she eventually ends up mimicking the actions of the half naked video girl. This is a strong example of what happens to children who try to live up to the images they see.

                                     

Questions to consider:

* How is the image of black women as either objects or trophies detrimental to the development of black female identities?

* What value do video girls have, and how do they contribute to masculinity?
* What steps can be taken to quell the confusion that is caused by these images?
* Should BET be destroyed?