Articles on Males in Hip Hop music videos

Rap and Hip Hop music is usually consumed by teens and young adults. It is thought to be a more urban genre due to its content, which often describes living in poverty, gang activity, violence, drug use, and often also refers to rising above these things and achieving financial power and respect. The energy and power associated with these types of music is very attractive to American youth culture, and the rap industry is thriving and highly influential. This music is opposed by older generations for its offensive content, favorable positioning of violent conflict resolution, and blatant references to sex. African Americans may also oppose this type of music because it paints a very single minded, often derogatory picture of Black culture.
Eric K. Watts, in “An exploration of spectacular consumption: Gangsta rap as cultural commodity,” questioned why rap music is able to be marketed in this country despite its content, which is often deemed inappropriate. He notes that Gangsta rap narratives often discuss African American male identity and their social experience. These narratives talk about living in urban America and making ends meet. The demographic that identifies with this music is primarily urban, black youth. They relate with the references to ‘street’ as well as ‘indecent’ behaviors and understand the circumstances which drove their favorite artist to take part in the confrontations, illegal activities, and uplift material possessions. The idea of making ends meet is a desired theme of rap music fans and valued because it shows opportunity for everyone. Wearing similar jewelry and clothing, as well as owning  CD’s from their favorite rapper, makes urban youth feel that they are one step closer to success and power and this group creates a huge market for cultural products of the rap industry.
Somehow this genre, which most would guess was alienating to a majority of the country, has gained mass appeal. When observed through a critical lens, one starts to notice that the issues discussed in rap narratives often coincide with larger American culture values such as consumerism and the love of material wealth. Young people in any demographic group are able to latch on to the common thread of materialism and rebellion and are then able to relate to rap music and its content. According to Watts, young people “can share in an artist’s attempt to ‘live large’ by replicating and consuming the imagery”.  Those who live a life style similar to that which is referenced in rap music relate to the idea of the rapper being a product of the ‘street;’ but White American youth, as well as other demographics, are able to relate to this genre’s general principals, because rap songs have powerful messages that draw a mass audience in.
  Watts refers to a term called spectacular consumption, which he claims leads Americans to “over-value, and sell the ‘street’ orientation”. Even though many young people may not live an urban lifestyle, the popularity of this culture causes youth to value it anyway. Rap music has achieved enough popularity and power to be considered ‘cool’ and sell. Watt argues that “hard-core rap artistry participates in a complex and fluid set of economic exchange relations among the lived experiences of artists, the operations of a consumer culture, and the dictates of rap music industry.” He also notes that racially provocative material sells and that black cultural artifacts are currently considered ‘trendy.’ Overall, the mass production of rap and hip hop music and the promotion of its products, coinciding with the values and messages of its artists, lead this genre to be one of the most consumed in American pop culture today

Rap music values masculinity and dominance. The masculinity expressed in and valued by rap music come from several sources. Antonia Randolph states that masculinity is,  “shaped not only by dominant culture, but by the repression that characterizes society’s treatment of non-normative sexuality and gender.” The tendency of American culture to value heterosexuality and reject sensitive male behavior is highlighted within this type of music. Rap’s lyrics strongly discourage homosexual behavior; but by repressing and rejecting this behavior, this type of music often instigates conversation about alternative life styles. This ties in with the ideas of Foucault (1978) . Such strict boundary policing by this type of music has allowed artists to express non-normative expressions of masculinity as long as they continue to state the obvious values of heteronormativity and powerful male roles. In this way, the genre doesn’t totally alienate people with alternative views of masculinity. These ideas are expressed by Randolph in her article, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful: Black masculinity and alternative embodiment in rap music.” It seems that black youths tend to assimilate to the rap culture’s definition of Black masculinity if they begin to associate themselves with the artists and their struggles.  Overall, the rap culture seems to be fairly pluralistic in nature. It tends to be Afro-centric and express pride in being African American while rejecting those African Americans that do not identify with the rap culture. This alienates potential fans of this music who are not African American. However, the spectacle of the genre, trendiness of Black culture, and the power and rebellion expressed in the lyrics of many songs gives white youth cause to continue to listen to this music. Often, this genre dispels women, because there is a strong male dominance within this music and often women are seen as objects. In music videos for this genre women are usually props and in the lyrics of these songs women are over sexualized and easily won over by money and gifts.
Overall,  a rich niche group exists that relates to the content of this music, which tends to value African Americans as a group. On the other hand, the genre has experienced great popularity and pull with many young people who may not relate as easily because the culture valued by rap artists and their lyrics has been deemed cool and therefore being a rap fan is cool. Hip Hop still has a great impact on society even though it’s lyrics often contain content that applies more to those who live an urban lifestyle. It is so commonly played on pop radio stations that its influence is widespread and its appeal goes across many races and socioeconomic groups. Because the artists rap about going from having nothing to having money and power these desires in listeners draw them into this type of music.

Just a few years ago, the world was introduced to the music sensation that was Eminem.  Not only were people shocked to see a white man attempting to succeed in a genre of music that was generally reserved as a place for African-American success, but people were also appalled by the violent, anti-female content of many of his songs.  However, as Gilbert Rodman outlines in his article “Race…and Other Four Letter Words: Eminem and the Cultural Politics of Authenticity,” the outrage that was directed specifically at Eminem was particularly contentious because what the rapper was seeking to do was essentially blurring the racial lines that exist within popular music
   As Rodman points out, we typically like to think of types and genres of music along strict racial lines.  Certain types of music are classified as “black” types of music and other types of music are thought to be “white” types of music.  For example, country music is thought to be the domain of white artists, while rap and hip hop is typically believed to be dominated by black music artists.  However, this approach to music neglects to take into account music’s diverse history.  As Rodman states, “[j]azz, for instance, commonly gets pegged as ‘Black music’ despite the fact that early jazz drew heavily on the instrumental structures of European military marching bands.  Similarly, rock has come to be widely understood as ‘White music’ despite the central roles that the blues, R&B, and Black gospel all played in its birth” (Rodman, 2006).  What got people so up in arms about Eminem was the fact that he was a white man who was actually achieving success in a traditionally black field and challenging our long held beliefs about race.  Eminem was attempting (and somewhat succeeding at) to break down the hegemonic structure of racial politics currently at play, and that made us rather uncomfortable.
            Performing in a musical genre whose racial identity did not match his own also placed Eminem at another decided disadvantage.  It seems as though the general public is much quicker to get upset at offensive lyrics if they come from a rap (and typically black) artist.  For instance, people have no qualms with a song by Eric Clapton that proclaims how “I Shot the Sheriff,” but Ice-T rapping about being a “Cop Killer” is all of a sudden attacked as being a signifier of the downfall of American society as we know it.  For this very reason, many of Eminem’s songs have been critically derided for the messages that they contain.  Not only is Eminem burdened by the fact that his musical performance already causes discomfort on the basis of his breaking free of hegemony, but he is also performing in a music genre that is routinely bombarded by critics, more so than any other.  Despite all of these disadvantages though, Eminem has been able to achieve a good deal of success with his music, but his career is still a prime example of critical race theory at work in today’s culture.
   Although the height of Eminem’s popularity could probably be pinpointed to a few years ago, these racial politics are still very much present in the year 2009.  Granted, the music world is occasionally witness to genre (and consequently, racial) crossovers, such as the recent success of the single “Whatcha Say” by Jason Derulo and Imogen Heap or the highly anticipated single featuring Beyonce and Lady Gaga, but this is still far from the norm.  We are still apt to view musical acts to only be eligible to perform within certain genres depending on the color of their skin.  Perhaps in the future, race will play as big of a role in the music industry, but for now, who would be able to imagine Kanye West singing country music?

Is reality becoming more real? The rise and rise of UGC

Citizen Journalist is when the audience are able to use new media technologies such as laptops, phones etc so people can catch live and exclusive footage on the news.


One of the first examples of news being generated by 'ordinary people' was through the use of video cameras in 1991. After being captured by the police following a high speed chase, Rodney King, an African-American was surrounded by police officers, who tasered him and beat him with clubs. The event was filmed by George Holliday, an onlooker from his apartment window. The home-video footage made prime-time news and became an international media sensation, and a focus for complaints about police racism towards African-Americans.


Message boards
Chat rooms,


Q&A, polls,


Have your says


Blogs with comments enabled (allow audience feedback and responses to news stories)


Social media sites (Bebo, MySpace, YouTube and Facebook).


UGC sites to access news: Wikipedia news, Google news and YouTube score highly in terms of where people go to get their news




A gatekeeper is a news organisation that decides which content provided by citizen journalists can be shown whether its appropriate or not.. in other words they're job is to filter the content for publication.


The role of the gatekeeper has changed as people who didn't have a voice before now do..such as youths, low income groups and other minorities.




one of the main concerns is the in the future future there will be fewer and fewer permanent trained staff at news organisations, leaving a smaller core staff who will manage and process UGC from citizen journalists, sometimes known as ‘crowd sourcing.’ Some believe that the mediators and moderators might eventually disappear too, leaving a world where the media is, finally, unmediated.

Alternative Representation of Women in Hip Hop

This music video by beyonce above shows an alternative representation of women as beyonce is the main centre of attention and it seems to be she is in control of everything and she seems to have all the power for example on 1 minute 30 seconds in the video you can clearly see that she has a fan made of money which signifies her high status and position which is shown throughout the music video. The lyrics also had a major importance as it states 'a diva is a female version of a hustler', which could indicate women are now getting to the same level as men in the hip hop industry because many rappers refer to themselves as hustlers. In addition the women in the music video are at times shown to be sex objects however it is in there control as beyonce has decided not to reveal everything which once again shows her power.

Also referring to the clothing you can see in the video that at one point beyonce is dressed as a manly figure and the other two girls behind her are shown to dressed as sexy glamourous women which once again shows that she is in control of what she wants to wear and perhaps that she doesn't need male attention. Close up shots are used when beyonce is singing/rapping which illustrates her once again to be in power, Also the fact that beyonce decides to rap in the video is a major key factor because she normally sings and never raps, so to show her rapping once again shows that she has the authority to do whatever she wants and nobody can stop her. In addition throughout the whole music video you can see in the mise en scence not once you can see a male in the video which is very rare to find in hip hop videos as they are always dominated by men, which shows that it is men who are now the inferior.

The choreographing of the music video contradics the typical female dance routine as in this music video beyonce shows alot of attitude alot of the time shows the typical male attitude by the way she moves her hands and it seems to be very rough and masuline, you can also see from her facial expressions that not once she smiles which also occurs in male hip hop videos so you can see that beyonce has made an identical typical male hip hop video which shows another side to females.

Beyonce and the other two female dancers have dressed in a very powerful way as in the beginning of the video you can see that beyonce is wearing golden glasses which connotes her richness and power as the colour gold is seen to be very expensive, also the colour gold comes up again when she is surrounded by gold statues which once again connotes power and wealth, however this statues could also have another meaning such as they could be men in her eyes, and because they're all statues could indicate that she is in control because the 'men' cannot move or do anything about the fact that she is in control.

The other two dancers you can see are dressed in black in white throughout the whole video which could indicate many things as the colour white could be representing women as peaceful heavenly like human beings, however the fact that they are also wearing black could connote that they have a dark side and that women are not as innocent and quiet and that they can now voice their opinions. However even though the two dancers are seen to be wearing revealing themselves a little, also shows once again that they also control how much they reveal.

Some would argue that the females in the music video are trying to take up a males role by coming across as forceful and aggressive but I feel that they are just taking up an alternative representation in the hip-hop/rap industry and they are choosing not to be subordinated and treated like sex objects as they subverts the stereotype attached to females in the hip-hop/ rap industry as being just decoration that stand in the background looking pretty dancing away. They have chosen to not show too much flesh and use close up shots to emphasise their legs or chest and be objectified.

Overall in the hip hop industry for many years it has been dominated by males and the only place for females was to be sex objects or nothing else. However in todays society it has all changed as videos such as Beyonces Diva show that the patriarchy that use to take place has demolished and even artists now like Nikki Minaj has followed in beyonces footsteps and made music videos which shows her and women are now in power

Bianca's Essay

The representation of women can be positive: challenging the roles and expectations of women or negative: reinforcing a patriarchal society. This essay questions how and why these representations are constructed in an advert for Gucci Guilty Perfume and Stella Artois beer.

Firstly the Gucci advert is in widescreen which connotes a dramatic cinematic experience to engage its audience. More attention is gained by the female character first seen in the text and her protagonist is signified through this. The protagonist has female dominance which is signified through the use of colour- everything is in black and white while her hair is gold/blonde. This colour connotes gold, power and divinity signifying her importance in the text.

The use of intertextuality in this text will appeal to a particular audience. The film references a great deal to the neo film noir Sin City, with the use of colour and the female dominant femme fatale character. Sin City appeals to a male audience due to the action genre, this trailer could also appeal to the same audience due to the intertextuality. In terms of the Uses and Gratifications theory, a female audience might realise and accept the protagonist in the text is a form of escapism and also a male gaze, by theorist Mulvey, and therefore might aspire, from Young and Rubicam's 4Cs, to be the object of male gaze too.

Though the protagonist is an object of male gaze, it could be suggested that she sexually objectifies herself to tease the audience. The protagonist puts her leg into the frame of the shot. As she puts into the frame, it signifies self objectification, allowing the audience to fetishise her body. Another shot, a high angle, of their sexual activities signifies CCTV and spying which is voyeuristic. The fact she is on top signifies her control of the situation for both the male character and the audience.

Not only does the protagonist exert her feminity through self objectification she also presents herself as an anarchic character signified by adopting male stereotypes. The advert begins with a long shot of an unknown character speeding down the motorway, which stereotypically would be expected to be a male character. However, the audience's expectations are challenged when a medium shot of the driver shows to be a female.

In contrast, women are negatively represented in the Stella Artois text. The most obvious editing technique used in the advert is the split screen: one side shows the female getting dressed and the other side is of the beer getting "prepared". This use of split screen signifies that neither the beer nor the woman know they have been placed side by side. This puts the audience in position of control as they can voyeur the woman, in a socially acceptable way. Audiences may identify this control as patriarchy, and also identify with the unknown male character whose presence is felt within the text. This text then reinforces the idea of a patriarchal society and that women are subordinated by men.

Not only does the female share the screen with the beer, but the screen is split equally between the two "objects" which connotes the woman is equally objectified to the status of beer. It is suggested the audience is male due to the female and beer subject. Though the advert is targeted at men, it also negatively stereotypes men as people who have little respect for women which however is a dominant representation.

A range of close up shots of the female are used to fetishise her body. There is a close up shot of the female's leg slowly and elegantly rising from the bath tub. On one hand this could signify femininity and her control over it which is the oppositional reading. However, the more dominant reading is that her legs are an important part of the female body and connotes a male audience who can voyeur her body.

The text near the beginning of the trailer says "the preparation" which is an enigma code as the audience question "what event is the preparation for?". It is signified through the shots that the woman and beer preparation is for the male through the use of action codes. Action codes of both the preparation of the woman and the glass of beer are the same.

Women are represented as people who prioritise their looks and appearance, and this ad reinforces this ideology. Action codes including close ups of her: brushing her hair, doing her make up and putting on heels strongly represent women as image conscious. It could be said that the advert reinforces this representation, which is always seen in the media. Funnily enough, it could also be said that the media itself is the cause of this representation as this ideal, perfect woman is always represented in the media, and women feel they have to aspire to it.

In conclusion, both texts females are the protagonists and are sexually objectified for male audiences to fetishise and vouyer their bodies. However, while Gucci’s advert’s protagonist controls her sexuality through self objectification, the Stella Artois’ protagonist is objectified by an unknown but present male character.

In the Gucci’s ad, there are many examples in the text that signify the protagonist’s female dominance, but it is arguable whether this could be seen as a positive representation. The dominant reading is that the protagonist exerts her female dominance over the male challenging the historical patriarchal society and even subordinating males as easily manipulated and easily tempted by women and sex and this would favour feminism. However the oppositional reading which would favour the ideologies of the Stella Artois advert, might be that females can control their sexuality, but it is still for the male gaze and male dominant society.

Contemporary and Historical adverts

This advert illustrates the "female gaze" and how the man is objectified which shows a dramatic change in society compared to historical adverts. However the close up of the womens faces and the fact that they are all attractive still shows the idea that women are to be looked at despite the actual contents of the advert which supports Laura Mulvey's theory of the "male gaze" in the audience



This advert heavily challenges the conventions of the historical adverts as the men are shown to be pleasing the women. The idea of men doing housework is something which could never be imagines back in the 70s. Despite being presented as "the new man" the main character still holds masculine attributes such as watching football.



Women are presented as housewives and "gossips" whose main aims are to keep the house clean, please their husbands and their children. Their facial expressions reveal aspects of "false consciousness" as they are happy yet unaware that they are somewhat being exploited by society and thus conform to the roles designated to them.






The advert portrays the woman as sexually provocative, due to her dark clothing and seductive facial expression. The galaxy chocolate can be considered as a phallic symbol which supports the theory that women's main job is to please men. The woman is a victim to the male gaze due to her attractive looks and the way in which she removes items of clothing and thus is perceived to be a "whore". The fact that she is receiving pleasure by eating the chocolate challenges stereotypes during the time which as women should not be able to give into temptation and indulge in things which pleasure them.

Media Guardian 100

What is the Guardian 100 and who are the panellists that create it?• Guardian 100 is the annual guide to the most powerful people in industry. Candidates are judged on three criteria - their cultural, economic and political influence in the UK. The list takes in all sectors of the media, including broadcasting, publishing, new media, advertising, marketing and PR. The panellists who created the Guardian 100 are, Peter Barron, Peter Bennett-Jones, Brent Hoberman, Tessa Jowell, Siobhan Kenny, Andrew Neil, Trevor Phillips, Chris Powell, Janine Gibson, Jane Martinson

How many women are in the top 100? What percentage of the list are women?
There are 21 women in the Guardian 100
What companies do these women work for and in what roles?
The women are listed below and I have included what number they were ranked at and what roles under what company they play.
• 10. Jane Tranter
Job: controller of fiction, BBC
Industry: broadcasting
New entry
• 18. Jay Hunt
Job: controller, BBC1
Industry: broadcasting
New entry
• 19. Lesley Douglas
Job: controller, BBC Radio 2 and 6Music, BBC popular music
Industry: broadcasting
2007 ranking: 9
• 21. Jana Bennett
Job: director of vision, BBC
Industry: broadcasting
2007 ranking: 11

• 23. Helen Boaden
Job: director, BBC news
Industry: broadcasting
2007 ranking: 29
• 25. James Corden and Ruth JonesJob: writers, actors
Age: 30, 41
Industry: broadcasting
New entry
• 26. Dame Marjorie ScardinoJob: chief executive, Pearson
Industry: publishing, digital media
2007 ranking: 41
• 27. Elisabeth Murdoch
Job: chairman and chief executive, Shine Group
Industry: broadcasting
2007 ranking: 54
• 30. Rebekah WadeJob: editor, the Sun
Industry: publishing
2007 ranking: 23
• 35. Carolyn McCall
Job: chief executive, Guardian Media Group
Industry: publishing, broadcasting, digital media
2007 ranking: 46
• 36. Gail Rebuck
Job: chairman and chief executive, Random House UK
Industry: publishing
New entry
• 38. Sly Bailey
Job: chief executive, Trinity Mirror
Industry: publishing
2007 ranking: 36
• 47. Arianna Huffington
Job: founder, editor-in-chief, Huffington Post
Industry: digital media
New entry
• 50. Dawn Airey
ob: chair and chief executive elect, Channel Five
Industry: broadcasting
2007 ranking: 50
• 52. Veronica Wadley
Job: editor, London Evening Standard
Industry: publishing
New entry
• 56. Jane Bruton
Job: editor, Grazia
Industry: publishing
2007 ranking: 71
• 66. Joanna ShieldsJob: AOL executive vice-president and president of People Networks
Industry: digital media
New entry
• 73. Caroline Michel
Job: chief executive, PFD
Industry: literary and talent management
New entry
• 83. Katie Price
Job: reality TV star, author
Industry: broadcasting, publishing
New entry
• 97. Eileen GallagherJob: chief executive, Shed Media
Industry: broadcasting
New entry
• 98. Emily Bell
Job: director of digital content, Guardian News & Media
Industry: digital media
2007 ranking: 97

How would you assess the balance of power in this list and why do you think it is this way?The balance of power is evidently in the benefit of men as the percentage of women is 1/5 compared to men. Also, the women that have been included in this list are all ‘top notch’as they are not average women who are being praised for their editing work. However there is still a glass ceiling visible from this list of women and their occupation we can see that they are still not as high up as men within the working world