Confidence and Identity Represented by Black Women in Hip-Hop

Introduction

Hip-hop and rap are both seen as one of the most popular genres of music today. Artists

in this genre of music have all impacted society with their lyrics and videos. The cadence and

rhythm can carry thought-provoking messages said through lyrics that appeal to their audience.

However, if a music video is released, the chosen artifacts within it can change the meaning of

the words and how the song is perceived. Today’s most influential rap artists--such as Childish

Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole--are all known for their use of lyrical and visual rhetoric

that influence the perception of their life experiences and how black culture is perceived to

society.

When it comes to hip-hop and rap, black male artists seem to be depicted differently than

women, even though they’re from the same industry and represent the same community. As

stated in the previous paragraph, men’s lyricism and visual rhetoric typically revolve around

society’s views of their community and their own life story, with some exceptional examples

being Childish Gambino’s “This is America”, J. Cole’s “Fire Squad”, and Kendrick Lamar’s

“Alright”.

However, black women in hip-hop are depicted more sexually, emphasizing their bodies

and dancing provocatively in music videos. Popular female artists tend to make their lyrics

coincide with their video, promoting their own confidence and sexuality. Halliday and Brown

claim that artists express themselves in such a manner to encourage other black women to love

themselves and their appearances, especially considering discussions that still take place like

anti-blackness and misogyny. McNally agrees, saying that “[b]lack female musicians have

developed a variety of rhetorical and performative strategies...to counter ‘widely held

assumptions of black female inferiority’”. Halliday and Brown further this by going into depth

with the analysis of the music video Feeling Myself by Nicki Minaj and Beyonce. They find that

there are three key points highlighted in the music video: self-confidence, political messages, and

women’s empowerment. Likewise, McNally’s analysis of Azaelia Banks’ song “212” focuses on

how the rhetoric of the artist’s provocative lyrics highlight Banks’ star quality, however this is

done through the political lens and not through the lens of self-confidence and womanhood.

Both articles acknowledge the rhetoric being used in their chosen artists’ videos, but only

Halliday and Brown went into depth with how the video and lyrical rhetoric was perceived by

the targeted audience. As highlighted by the three main components of the music video

mentioned by their study, this research paper is meant to extend that ideology and reflect it onto

the artist themself. How does the rhetoric of music videos and lyrics highlight the artists’ self-

confidence to create the identity of black female hip-hop/rap musicians?

Methodology

In order to answer how black female rappers' express identity through their visual and

lyrical rhetoric, I will be analyzing music videos and lyrics from artists who are known to flaunt

their confidence with no restraint: Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B. More specifically, I’ll be

analyzing Megan Thee Stallion’s Body and Cardi B’s Money.

For the music video itself, I’ll count the amount of times the camera pans to them and

emphasizes their body or shows them alluding to sexual acts. More specifically, when zooming

in, slowly panning upward, change of angle that’s directed at any erogenous zone. This will be

repeated five times to ensure nothing is missed. Afterward, I’ll be analyzing the color theme in
the main scenes and the clothing chosen. These elements combine to create how the artist

expresses their physical confidence.

Lyrically, I’ll be analyzing the metaphors used, any play on words, and how it pertains to

the artist now or in their past. The lyrics will gather an insight into the artists’ mindset and pride

based on experiences mentioned in lyrics. Overall, the goal is to find self-confidence and

empowerment throughout the video and lyrics that impact the artist’s identity.

Results

In Body, there is a mode of twenty six times the attention was towards an erogenous zone

or an alluding sex act. In Money, there is a mode of thirty two times.

 Discussion

Megan Thee Stallion’s “Body”

In the video itself, there’s a part where she has multiple women of all shapes and sizes,

on a runway (Figure 1 and 2). They’re posing, moving their hands along their bodies, expressing

an air of confidence when they look into the camera. Later in the video, they are all highlighted

separately, having their own section to do whatever they want. They all danced, smiled, and even

laughed. This shows that Megan promotes womanhood in general, not glorifying a specific body

type. This speaks on her identity as well, showing that she’s not one to classify who should and

should not be confident.

Figure 1
 Figure 2

The main chorus of the song goes: “body crazy, curvy, wavy, big titties, little waist.” This

is not only her appreciating her own features, but it’s also her naming different body types as a

way of appreciating and highlighting their aspects. She continues, saying “yeah you look good

but they still wanna know where Megan at.” She refers to herself, still holding herself higher

than others due to confidence, however she does not put the other person down.

Later in this song, she coins the phrase “saucy like a barbeque but you won’t get your

baby back”, a clever play on words. She’s taken their “baby” or partner, while referring to

herself as “saucy”, a slang term that means to be bold and overly forward. This raises the

assumption that she is not focusing on her body in these lyrics, but her personality as a whole.

Further, when she says “I’m present when I’m absent, speaking when I’m not there,” it shows

that her presence is constantly in conversation.

 When analyzing lyrics and visuals, many of her lyrics coincide with her choreography.

When she repeats the chorus, the choreography has the girls running their hands along their own

body, which creates a sense of self-love and appreciation for being in their own skin. This is

powerful and uplifting not just to Megan’s own view of her body, but for other women as well.

Cardi B’s “Money”

Visually, there’s multiple symbols of her past life as a stripper. In the beginning of the

video, there’s a woman dancing on a pole to the middle of the video, where she enters a room

and starts dancing. She is the last thing we see from the video as well, with the doors closing on

her, representing an end to Cardi’s previous career.

The video continues and we see Cardi in the middle of what appears to be a museum or

an auction room with other expensive looking items [Figure #]. People stare at her in awe while

others try to shield their eyes or look away with a shocked expression. This not only reflects how

she views herself as expensive, worthy and priceless, but may also be a reference to how people

view her now.

Then, the room becomes white, she’s suddenly nude while sitting on a white bench in

front of a white piano, looking away from the camera. This reflects a sense of purity, a

humanness that she expresses that is raw. White is the color of innocence and purity, so the fact

that she is surrounded by it while wearing nothing to conceal herself shows that she’s being open

and revealing her true self. She is transparent.

Lyrically, we will be highlighting those that emphasize her identity and confidence in

her career. Her chorus is particularly littered with references to her previous career and how she
is still confident in herself now, highlighted by the phrase “shake a little ass, get a little bag…

shake it a lil fast, you get a lil more”.

“I heard that Cardi went pop, yeah I did go pop, that’s me busting their bubble”. In these

lyrics, she’s referring to the people who didn’t believe in her. This confronts her haters and brags

at her newfound stardom.

Conclusion

After doing research on both artists and their chosen songs, it is clear that the self

empowerment and confidence that impact their identity may be expressed in a sensual context,

but that only helps to build their identity as a strong, confident woman. The main drawback,

however, was that only two specific songs were chosen out of the multitude of female rappers in

the industry. This study does not reflect the entirety of black women in hip hop, however it does

highlight a more popular genre within it. Alongside that, the definition of sexual in terms of

videos and words is more subjective than concrete. I went with the most common definition,

however this can change slightly depending on the person.

Works Cited

B, Cardi. “Money.”
Brown, Nadia E. & Halliday, Aria S. “The Power of Black Girl Magic Anthems: Nicki Minaj,

Beyoncé, and “Feeling Myself” as Political Empowerment”, Souls, 20:2, 222-238, 2018,

DOI: 10.1080/10999949.2018.1520067

McNally, James. “Azealia Banks’s ‘212’: Black Female Identity and the White Gaze in

Contemporary Hip-Hop.” Journal of the Society for American Music, vol. 10, no. 1,

Cambridge University Press, 2016, pp. 54–81,

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752196315000541.

Thee Stallion, Megan. “Body.” Good News. 300 Entertainment, 2020,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PBYGu4Az8s