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Big Pimpin’: Hip Hop and its effect on relationships between men and women
Demetrius M Benjamin

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University

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Abstract

In this literature review what will be discussed is Hip Hop and its impact on the perception of

men on women as well as the perception of men on women.  These perceptions began in the mid

to late 80’s when rap music started to gain traction. Artists like N.W.A, Snoop Dogg, and some

others were putting out music containing lyrics that were considered degrading towards women. 

These trends have continued to today’s music scene. Hip Hop is one of, if not, the most

progressive and influential cultures in the world and as a result, these lyrics that are seen as

degrading to women are believed to have become a part of men’s mindset and behavior when it

comes to women.  On the other side of that same spectrum, today in Hip Hop women have

countered that mindset with a similar set of values themselves, seeing men as objects the same

way they have been seen for years. This paper will discuss the influence that this music and

culture has on the way the opposite genders have on each other.   
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Big Pimpin’: Hip Hop and its effect on relationships between men and women

Hip Hop has played an important role in each gender to look at each other with a

mindset and certain values that align with the lyrics that are in these songs.  Women see

themselves as more than what is perceived, men believe they only serve one purpose. This has

caused each gender to look at each other with a mindset and certain values that align with the

lyrics that are in these songs.  Through the research obtained primarily through the F.D. Bluford

Library, various articles, books, and also other literature reviews, what will be discussed is Hip

Hop and its impact on the perception of men on women as well as the perception of men on

women.  

Origin

Rap music started in the Bronx in the 1970’s with the attitude of fun and a goal of unity

in a culture that was all inclusive.  Anyone can be a part of the culture, it’s all about the love of

the art. As a result of the exponential growth of the genre, there were many different avenues of

innovation that opened up in order to aid in the progress of the genre.  Some artists walked the

path of music revolving around the fun that started the culture. However, others found a form of

expression that was their own version of fun. As early as the late 80’s, there is evidence of rap

lyrics that can be perceived as degrading towards women.  Artists like Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg,

and many others participated in this new style of hip hop that may be seen as fun for one group,

but borderline dangerous for another. Hip Hop has played an important role in men to look at

women with a mindset and certain values that align with the lyrics that are in these songs. 

Women see themselves as more than what is perceived, men believe they only serve one

purpose. This has caused each gender to look at each other with a mindset and certain values
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that align with the lyrics that are in these songs. Whatever role a woman is labeled as, the

common denominator is typically sex, most times too keep a certain relationship or status. 

Stephens and Few identified multiple different labels given to women, largely in part due to the

hip hop community. For example, a woman who has had a child by a man and is no longer with

them has been assigned the Baby Mama role; she has sex to maintain some form of relationship

with the man whether it be emotional or financial, through the child (Stephens & Few 2007).  

Matriculation

Men see women as having a specific purpose to benefit the man, primarily sex. The

“Freak”, the “gold digger”, the “baby mama” etc., all serve different social purposes, but all have

sex in common.  For example, Dr. Dre has a track on his classic album The Chronic titled

“Bitches ain’t shit” alluding to those previously stated beliefs where the chorus states “Bitches

ain’t shit but hoes and tricks”.  Eminem in his early years, had a history of extremely

controversial lyrics that are degrading to women on multiple occasions. Eminem has a song on

his second studio album The Marshall Mathers LP titled “Kill You”, where he alludes to raping

his own mother. “Shut up slut you causin’ too much chaos, just bend over and take it like a slut,

okay Ma?!”. If those lyrics were to be released on a song today, it would be met with a torrent of

backlash and criticism towards the entire hip hop landscape, however, at that time, he received

little to no criticism because lyrics like that were just “a part of the art”.  Hip Hop is one of, if

not, the most progressive and influential cultures in the world and as a result, these lyrics that are

seen as degrading to women have become a part of men’s mindset and behavior when it comes
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to their relationships with women. This generation of young men has been conditioned for hip

hop to shape our values and priorities, so much so that in retaliation to these principles men in

hip hop have advocated, respecting women has become the new phenomenon.   

Retaliation

Most male rappers use their energy and platform trying to either keep women quiet or

shut them up completely, the rest of their energy is spent trying to get them into bed, or even in

some cases boast about sexual assault which silences women to the same effect (Rebollo-Gil and

Moras, 2012). From the time that women entered hip hop, they have had an attitude of proving

that what a man can do, a woman can do just as well.  They tried to reciprocate similar beliefs

that men had in place for them through the music, however it took some time for women to gain

traction in the culture because of said beliefs.  Women have been degraded and seen as lesser

beings in hip hop for decades, however, it was once they gained a prominent role in the culture

that they seemed to have turned the tables. Artists like Adina Howard and Trina came along and

embraced the sexual beings that they were labeled to be, whether it be for profit or for pleasure. 

This is important because the aforementioned labels that were placed on women by the hip hop

community are often times misinterpreted and used as a guide for the way young girls should

conduct themselves in their relationships with men (Coleman, Butler, Long, & Fisher, 2016).

Women who came shortly after them took their blueprint and used the vices of the men in hip

hop against them to put themselves in a position of the beneficiaries. For example, Missy Elliott

was among some of the first female artists to demonstrate sexuality as power. Her sexual

presence was so abundant that people began to question her sexual orientation, speculating that
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she was lesbian after her smash collaboration Oops (Oh My) with another female artist, Tweet

(White 2013). Women took the negative labels that were given by the men, and gave them a

positive connotation, where women were seen as objects for sex, men are seen as objects, mostly

for financial benefit.   For example, Megan Thee Stallion has a hit record titled “Cash Shit”

where her lyrics align with the belief that she is the beneficiary because of the sexual being she

portrays herself to be. Even if the sexual display by female artists aligns with the standards of

beauty set by the hip hop community, it still displays women’s bodies as objects, which is the

exact ideology that feminists are trying to deconstruct (Eberhardt 2016).    

Counterclaims

Hip Hop music has played an important role in young men living by a certain set of
values deemed as acceptable among the hip hop community. Some of those values including
being involved with multiple women at a time and getting what you want out of them, which has
led to years of emotional distress put on some women. Misogyny has been evident in the media
before Hip Hop. In music and television, there was and still is a strong focus on women as sexual
objects (Onanuaga 2017). It can be seen as racist to put most of the blame on the genre that was
created and consists of mostly African Americans for the mass amounts of misogynistic beliefs
and behaviors around the world. However, today’s generation of young men have made
themselves aware of the past behaviors and are learning how to change their beliefs and
behaviors in order to coincide with the beliefs and behaviors of women. Women adopted certain
behaviors in order to combat the behaviors of young men, and those women began to impact the
young men that did not live by the same beliefs of those who considered themselves a part of the
hip hop community. However, women have used these beliefs in order to become comfortable
with themselves as sexual beings or any of the labels that were placed on them by men in the hip
hop community. The impact that this has had on young women has similarities to the
matriculation of young men in the hip hop culture. It is also argued that most women do not try
to benefit from their sexuality, this perception is just a result of what the media chooses to
portray. For instance, Rah Digga is one of the female rap artist who relies on her lyrical ability
and delivery to gain people’s attention. She refers to herself as “The Harriet Tubman of rap”
because of how she sees herself as a visionary leading a new wave of female MC’s. Digga’
engaged with the extensive history of black women to solidify herself as a pioneer of women in
hip hop (Mullins 2013).   
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Outro

The relationship between men and women has always played a vital part in the
progression of hip hop and vice versa, whether it is seen as positive or negative. However, hip
hop being such an influential and progressive culture that it is, can find intuitive ways to keep the
same quality music while looking at all people as human beings that are impacted by the
behaviors and beliefs of others. 
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References

Coleman, M. N., Butler, E. O., Long, A. M., & Fisher, F. D. (2016). In and out of love with hip-

hop: saliency of sexual scripts for young adult African American women in hip-hop and Black-

oriented television. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 18(10), 1165–1179.

Dr. Dre (Ft. Tha Dogg Pound, Jewell & Snoop Dogg) – Bitches Ain't Shit. (1992, December 15).

Retrieved from https://genius.com/Dr-dre-bitches-aint-shit-lyrics.

Eberhardt, M. (2014). Subjects and objects: linguistic performances of sexuality in the lyrics of

black female hip-hop artists. Gender and Language, 10(1), 21–47.

Eminem – Kill You. (2000, May 23). Retrieved from https://genius.com/Eminem-kill-you-lyrics.

Megan Thee Stallion (Ft. DaBaby) – Cash Shit. (2019, May 17). Retrieved from

https://genius.com/Megan-thee-stallion-cash-shit-lyrics.

Mullins, K. L. (2013). Black Female Identity and Challenges to Masculine Discourse in Rah

DiggasDirty Harriet. Popular Music and Society, 36(4), 425–443.

Onanuga, P. A. (2017). Of Commodities and Objects: Women and Their Representations in

Nigerian Hip-Hop. Muziki, 14(2), 81–108.

Rebollo-Gil, G., & Moras, A. (2012). Black Women and Black Men in Hip Hop Music:

Misogyny, Violence and the Negotiation of (White-Owned) Space. The Journal of Popular

Culture, 45(1), 118–132.

Stephens, D. P., & Few, A. L. (2007). The Effects of Images of African American Women in

Hip Hop on Early Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Physical Attractiveness and Interpersonal

Relationships. Sex Roles, 56(3-4), 251–264.

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White, T. R. (2013). Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott and Nicki Minaj. Journal of Black

Studies, 44(6), 607–626.