So, after that last episode about Nicki Minaj, I wanted to find something a little more, uhh… female positive… *show Nicki's video* Yeah, say what you like about this video showing a woman as having agency in her sexuality, but for me, it was WAY too pandering to the tastes of thirsty men to be taken seriously. I wanted to find a popular rap song that more directly catered to what WOMEN want
"My neck, my back, lick my pussy AND my crack"
Uh… in addition to my former statement, I wanted to review a song that could possibly be GOOD that got popular and directly catered to what women want. And to my surprise, to find a rap song from a woman's perspective, that was good while still breaking through to the mainstream, I only had to go back about one or two… decades…
Yeah, going back through Hiphop, the early 90's was actually the most visible time for female rappers. Cats like MC Lyte, Yo-yo, and Queen Latifah were out there really puttin' it down for the ladies, but I feel like the most successful AND female positive rappers of the time were Salt n Pepa, and while they had success first in the 80's with "Push It", and people seem to remember that song the most out of their catalogue, I myself was never really into it lyrically. I mean, what are they honestly saying here that flipped people's wigs?
"Don't you hear the music pumping hard, like I wish you would"
What, this line? All she's saying is that she wants you to hear the music playing… or wait, maybe in addition to telling a guy to listen to the pumping of the music, she's demanding that HE should be pumping as hard as the… oh, wow, how did I JUST get that…
Well, either way, I don't think they REALLY started coming into their own until the 90's when they refined their personalities as female rappers who were clearly sexually active, yet they were obviously smart about it. With them, I always got the feeling that they were writing lyrics that intelligent girls wanted to hear. I mean, they made a song called:
"Let's talk about sex baby, let's talk about you and me"
But, whereas one could take the easy route and just rap hypersexualized lyrics, they went another route
"Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be"
They were encouraging people to talk about the whole spectrum of sex, telling people that we should be open about talking about what makes us feel good, but also, all the risks that come with sex, telling us to communicate with each other about our problems and insecurities. Perfect timing, too, as Salt n Pepa put this music out right before the era where gangsta rap ruled supreme, and if you wanted to be on top as a female rapper, you had to unabashedly exploit your sexuality, but you guys know where that whole story goes. However, I wanted to focus on their highest charting song, because, in contrast to Nicki's tales about guys, I wanted to review a song where these ladies talked about guys. So, let's take a look at "Whatta Man" by Salt N Pepa
What a man, what a man, what a man
What a mighty good man
Now, I know what you're thinking… I ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING… but in this particular instance, you may be saying, "hey, they're blatantly sampling another song, aren't they?" And you'd be right
"My neck, my back, lick my pussy AND my crack"
Uh… in addition to my former statement, I wanted to review a song that could possibly be GOOD that got popular and directly catered to what women want. And to my surprise, to find a rap song from a woman's perspective, that was good while still breaking through to the mainstream, I only had to go back about one or two… decades…
Yeah, going back through Hiphop, the early 90's was actually the most visible time for female rappers. Cats like MC Lyte, Yo-yo, and Queen Latifah were out there really puttin' it down for the ladies, but I feel like the most successful AND female positive rappers of the time were Salt n Pepa, and while they had success first in the 80's with "Push It", and people seem to remember that song the most out of their catalogue, I myself was never really into it lyrically. I mean, what are they honestly saying here that flipped people's wigs?
"Don't you hear the music pumping hard, like I wish you would"
What, this line? All she's saying is that she wants you to hear the music playing… or wait, maybe in addition to telling a guy to listen to the pumping of the music, she's demanding that HE should be pumping as hard as the… oh, wow, how did I JUST get that…
Well, either way, I don't think they REALLY started coming into their own until the 90's when they refined their personalities as female rappers who were clearly sexually active, yet they were obviously smart about it. With them, I always got the feeling that they were writing lyrics that intelligent girls wanted to hear. I mean, they made a song called:
"Let's talk about sex baby, let's talk about you and me"
But, whereas one could take the easy route and just rap hypersexualized lyrics, they went another route
"Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be"
They were encouraging people to talk about the whole spectrum of sex, telling people that we should be open about talking about what makes us feel good, but also, all the risks that come with sex, telling us to communicate with each other about our problems and insecurities. Perfect timing, too, as Salt n Pepa put this music out right before the era where gangsta rap ruled supreme, and if you wanted to be on top as a female rapper, you had to unabashedly exploit your sexuality, but you guys know where that whole story goes. However, I wanted to focus on their highest charting song, because, in contrast to Nicki's tales about guys, I wanted to review a song where these ladies talked about guys. So, let's take a look at "Whatta Man" by Salt N Pepa
What a man, what a man, what a man
What a mighty good man
Now, I know what you're thinking… I ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING… but in this particular instance, you may be saying, "hey, they're blatantly sampling another song, aren't they?" And you'd be right
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