Can Feminists Enjoy Rap Music?

I have identified as a feminist since I was about 15 years old. Women and men deserve the same respect, treatment, and equal opportunities... pretty simple, right?

But ethical theory, and interaction with everyday culture, are two different things.

At age 21, I find myself listening to a lot of rap music. Most days, I feel empowered when I listen to Drake or Fetty Wap. The beat is lively and the lyrics are powerful and intense. But at times, I feel guilty, like I'm cheating on my feminist morals, when I bust a move to lyrics like "I love bad bitches, that's my fuckin' problem."

I find myself questioning the ethics of such lyrics: as if all women who are rebellious, are bitches? Also, why are they your problem, ASAP Rocky?, I ask.

But regardless of my ethical uncertainties, I truly love listening to rap music and enjoy the genre of hip-hop.

How can this be? Does this make me a hypocrite?

In an essay by author Roxanne Gay titled, Blurred Lines, Indeed, Gay touches on these questions.

She discusses her hatred of many of Kanye West's misogynistic lyrics in his album Yeesus. But, Gay admits to liking one song, "Blood on the Leaves," which she proclaims is "so outstanding you can't possibly dismiss the album entirely."

"We are constantly faced by this uncomfortable balance between brilliance and bad behaviour," writes Gay.

I certainly agree with Gay here. There is a sense in which feminists are told to 'lighten up' if we can't enjoy a sexist tune with a good beat. But I also believe there is something else to be said for the genre of hip-hop specifically.

Hip-hop is, and historically has been, a male dominated industry. Today, most popular North American rap music revolves around themes of power, and self indulgence. Exploitative language is also a huge theme.

I can’t decide if listening to graphic lyrics about a woman’s ass is a celebration or a cause for me to curl up in a ball and cry.

I’d like to argue that as a feminist, it is okay to listen to rap music, and enjoy it. Thankfully, female rap artists like Nicki Minaj are making this easier every day. Minaj helps people who love breaking it down to aggressive language and a good beat feel okay about what they are doing.

In an article for the New York Times Magazine titled ‘The Passion of Nicki Minaj’, writer Vanessa Grigoriadis analyzes Minaj’s presence as a feminist in the world of hip-hop.

“In another era, Minaj’s sexuality, expressed semi-paradoxically — pretending she’s a Barbie doll; glorifying women dressed as prostitutes and set in red-light-district windows — might have given feminists pause. But in the 2010s, we have entered a different world in pop culture, one in which sexual repression is perceived as burdensome and perhaps even an inability to holistically integrate the body and self. Young people are identifying and exploring formerly unknown, or at least unlabeled, frontiers of sexuality and gender.”

I think what Grigoriadis alludes to here, in part, is that in this age we are moving towards a place where we can be in charge of our own exploitation in an intelligent, informed way. Sex and power will likely always be themes in hip hop. Does this mean that people who identify as feminists should disregard the genre entirely? If we enjoy it, is that wrong?

I don’t think that choosing to listen to rap undermines my morals or ethics as a feminist. I find it empowering. To ignore that is counter-productive. What is productive, I think, is to engage with the things that we like, even if they are somewhat problematic. I want to move forward with a perspective like Minaj has. I want to engage, as a woman, with traditionally male themes of power and sexual language. As Grigoriadis suggests, Minaj is in charge of her own objectification. I think with this in mind, a non-contradictory enjoyment of rap music is possible for me.