Constant attacks on homosexuals and women show the battle between cultural differences in many of gangsta rappers. Gangsta rap is often known for its sexist lewd imagery. Weather its foul language or showing of guns in videos gangsta rap reflects a vicious lifestyle. It also portrays black relationships as nothing more than mere pleasure. Gangsta rappers refer to women as ho's and bitches often belittling black women to show how much they aren't needed in society.
They are often the subjects of the material presented in the song. Although rap is usually viewed as an urban male culture it wouldn’t be what it is without the influence of women. These women show mastery in rap and combine their lyrical skills with displays of physical and sexual expression that disrupt dominant notions of feminism. The women in rap are fighting for more dignified images of black women and their struggle with race as well as patriarchy. Feminism was founded under the belief that all women were treated as second-class citizens and according to the male dominated world their existence was configured as less important and thus under appreciated.
"Our expectations have gotten too low." Beyond the media, Daniels argues, "ghetto" is a staple of many youth subcultures. What troubles certain onlookers is when youthful fans not only listen to the urban sound of hip-hop but also borrow from certain rappers' attitudes and lyrics, freely using dirty slang words. The lyrics tend to downgrade women and society has adapted to this behavior. She describes women are not treated how women should be
Women in those songs are mostly placed in a sexual context and called offensive words such as bitch, whore, and slut. Lil’ Wayne is a very popular rapper of today’s society. One of his many popular songs is called “Mrs. Officer”. One of the verses says “she got me thinkin’ I can date a cop ‘cause her uniform pants are so tight.” To Lil’ Wayne, he only has an interest in women if they’re wearing something tight and attractive.
American society traditionally describes a man to be aggressive, competitive, and dominant over women; simply being male does not suffice. Interestingly enough, all of these traits are characteristic of rap music and the ideologies promoted by the genre. Gender socialization plays an important role in this, as it involves the learning of gender roles through social agents such as families or the media; not only does gender socialization define how a man should be, but it also affects how men wish to be perceived in society. Being that hip hop was created – and is still dominated – by African American men, these masculine traits are emphasized and displayed in a variety of ways. Today, it is done by promoting sexist and misogynist ideals, emphasizing the importance material possessions, glorifying violence, and denouncing homophobia.
However, there are conscious messages in some gangsta rap. Such as Tupac Shakur, in the beginning of his career he released numerous songs with messages that were sorrowful yet powerful. Dear Mama was one song that spoke on black single mothers on welfare and he thanks them for being strong and able to take care of business, even through hard times. (“2pac”). He also came out with a few others like, Keep Ya Head Up, Trapped, and Holler If You Hear Me, these songs
Let me be clear -- I'm on the front lines of any effort to get the men in hip-hop to rethink their pornographic uses of women's bodies and performance of lyrics that more often than not express, at best, a deep ambivalence about and fear of women (perfectly captured 14 years ago with the Bell Biv Devoe quip "never trust a big butt and a smile") and, at worst, outright hatred. But as we make demands of these artists, it's important that we understand the demands of the peculiar space they occupy within pop culture. Without doubt, the performance of black masculinity continues to be hip-hop's dominant creative force. Yet over the last decade or so sales figures have consistently shown that young white men are the primary consumers of the various performances of black masculinity and the pornographic images
The violent and often degrading lyrics of gangster rap have now become main-stream and is highly romanticized by young black and white youths, alike. To be able to analyze the death of Tupac Shakur, it is also important to address rap music and its influence on America’s culture. Hip Hop has become a multi-billion dollar industry that has come to dominate television, film and fashion, as well as radio. Many inner-city and urban residents are drawn to hip hop and are distrustful of many institutions, therefore, they look elsewhere for guidance and knowledge. This all too often comes in the form of rap idols and gangs.
And, in most cases they are seen as property and mere objects to men. The article “Where My Girls At? : Negotiating Black Womanhood in Music Videos” by Rana Emerson focuses on the present-day issue that many black woman are facing in the music industry. Her center of attention was to prove and “identify how music videos exhibit and reproduce the stereotypical notions of black womanhood faced by you black females,” and in addition she “discusses the ways that black woman performers use music videos” for sexist philosophy. Emerson proves her argument by composing her own study with the use of theoretical sampling.
One of the major factors of the violent lyrics and music videos is that many rappers are actually ex-cons, in gangs, or have committed the crimes they speak about. They rap about being the average hustler on the streets of their hometown. This relates with their audience of young males, primarily African American, trying to achieve what the rappers have. This is a good way to relate to an audience, but can be detrimental to aspiring young males. Some artists may use this tactic to explain that their upbringing was tough; saying to avoid the paths they took, but the listeners just here the violence.