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14 [RTF
WHO(SE) AM I?
The Identity and Image of
Women in Hip-Hop
Imani Perry
136
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Who(se) Am I 137
clear that young women watch them as aligned with class and women are
well. The messages such videos send to created (i.e., through weaves, pale
young women are instructions on how to makeup, and camera filters) and valued by
be sexy and how to look in order to capture how many fantasy elements have been
the attention of men with wealth and pieced together in their bodies.
charisma. Magazines geared toward young
women have given such instructions on
how women should participate in their own The Impact of the Image
objectification for decades. However, never
before has a genre completely centralized
black women in this process.1 Although one might argue that the celebra-
The beauty ideal for black women pre- tion of the rotund behind signals an appre-
sented in these videos is as impossible to ciation of black womens bodies, the image
achieve as the waif-thin models in Vogue taken as a whole indicates how difficult a
magazine are for white women. There beauty ideal this is to attain for anyone.
is a preference for lighter-complexioned A small percentage of women, even
women of color, with long and straight or black women, have such Jessica Rabbit
loosely curled hair. Hair that hangs slick (the voluptuous cartoon character from
against the head when wet as the model the 1990s film Who Framed Roger
emerges out of a swimming pool (a com- Rabbit?) proportions. As journalist Tomika
mon video image) is at a premium too. Anderson wrote for Essence magazine, In
Neither natural tightly curled hair nor most movies, rap songs and on television, were
coarse relaxed hair becomes slick, shining, told that the attractive, desirable and sexy
and smooth when wet. It is a beauty ideal ladies are the ones with junk in their
that contrasts sharply to the real hair of trunks. And even though this might seem
most black women. When brown-skinned ridiculous, some of us actually listen to (and
or dark-skinned women appear in the care about) these obviously misogynistic
videos, they always have hair that falls well subliminal messagesjust as we are
below shoulder length, despite the fact that affected by racialized issues like hair texture
the average length of black womens nat- and skin tone.3
ural hair in the United States today is 4 to Americans have reacted with surprise to
6 inches, according to renowned black hair- abundant social scientific data that show
stylist John Atchison. that black girls are the social group who
The types of bodies that the camera score highest on self-esteem assessments
shots linger on are specific. The videos have and tend to have much better body images
assimilated the African American ideal of than white girls. Although these differences
a large rotund behind, but the video ideal in esteem and body image are to a large
also features a very small waist, large extent attributable to cultural differences,
breasts, and slim shapely legs and arms. with black girls having been socialized
Often while the camera features the faces of to see beauty in strong personality charac-
lighter-complexioned women it will linger teristics and grooming rather than in parti-
on the behinds of darker women, implying cular body types, I believe the media play a
the same thing as the early 1990s refrain role as well. White girls are inundated with
from Sir Mix a Lots Baby Got Back that images of beauty that are impossible for
lauded the face of a woman from Los most to attain: sheets of blond hair, waif-
Angeles and the behind of a woman from thin bodies, large breasts, no cellulite, small
Oakland. That is, the ideal is a high-status but round features, high cheekbones. Over
face combined with a highly sexualized the years, black women have been relatively
body (which is often coded as the body of a absent from public images of beauty, an
poor or working-class woman).2 Color is exclusion that may have saved black girls
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Who(se) Am I 139
from aspiring to impossible ideals. But with and stylish image but never is presented
the recent explosion of objectified and in an objectifying manner. She uses
highly idealized images of black women in bizarreness to entice rather than being a
music videos, it is quite possible that the sexpot (appearing in one video in an outfit
body images and even self-esteem of black that resembled a silver balloon before a fun-
girls will begin to drop, particularly as they house mirror). Although Missy Elliot may
move into adolescence and their bodies not be distinctive for brilliant rhyming, she
come under scrutiny. Many of the music has a noteworthy acumen for making hit
videos feature neighborhood scenes, which songs as a producer and rapper, and she
include children. In them, little black girls consistently maintains her personal dignity.
are beautiful. They laugh, smile, play Alicia Keys, one of the crop of new
Double Dutch, and more. They are full of singer songwriters who fit into the hip-hop
personality, and they are a cultural celebra- nation, also presents an image that con-
tion. Their hair is plaited, twisted or curled, trasts sharply with the video models. The
and adorned with colorful ribbons that classically trained pianist, who has claimed
match their outfits in characteristic black Biggie Smalls and Jay Z among her music
girl grooming style. And yet the adult influences, appeared in her first music video
women are generally two dimensional and for the song Fallin in a manner that was
robbed of personality. Is this what puberty stylish and sexy but decidedly not self-
is supposed to hold for these girls? exploiting. Her hair in cornrows, wearing
a leather jacket and fedora, she sings with
visible bluesy emotion. She describes
A Feminist Response? repeatedly falling in love with a man who is
not good for her. In the music video, Keys
travels by bus to visit the man in prison.
In such troubling moments, we should all This element is an important signifier of
look for a gender critical voice, in the hip-hop sensibilities, as it is the one art form
world, in ourselves. Where do we find a that consistently engages with the crisis of
response to this phenomenon that will black imprisonment and considers impris-
compellingly argue against such characteri- oned people as part of its community. As
zations of black women, a hip-hop femi- she rides in the bus, she gazes at women
nism? There has been a feminist presence in prisoners working in a field outside the
hip-hop since the 1980s. From Salt n Pepa window. They sing the refrain to the song,
to Queen Latifah to MC Lyte and others, I keep on fallin in and out, of love with
there is a feminist legacy in hip-hop and you. I never loved someone the way I love
hip-hop feminism continues to exist despite you.4 The women on the bus riding to visit
the widespread objectification of black men in prison mirror the women outside of
female bodies. We can find numerous exam- the bus, who are prison laborers. This
ples of feminist and antisexist songs in hip- visual duality is a commentary on the prob-
hop and hip-hop soul. Mary J. Blige, lem of black female imprisonment, a prob-
Lauryn Hill, Destinys Child, Missy Elliot, lem that is often overlooked in discussions
Erykah Badu, and others all have their indi- about the rise of American imprisonment
vidual manners of representing black and black imprisonment in particular. It
female identity and self-definition. makes reference both to the fact that many
Missy transgresses gender categories black women are the mates of men who are
with her man-tailored suits and her fre- imprisoned and to the reality that many
quent presence as narrator of the action in black women wind up in prison because of
the music videos of male hip-hop artists, an being unwittingly or naively involved with
extremely rare location for a woman. Missy men who participate in illegal activities.5
is a large woman who presents a glamorous These social ills are poignantly alluded to in
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Who(se) Am I 141
The space a musical artist occupies in and seductive with blond hair and blue eyes.
popular culture is multitextual. Lyrics, To be a doll is to be perfect, and as many
interviews, music, and videos together cre- times she is replicated, that many male fan-
ate a collage, often finely planned, out of tasies will be satisfied. Over several years,
which we are supposed to form impres- Kim has become defined more by her par-
sions. But the texts may be in conflict with ticipation in codes of pornographic descrip-
one another. Lil Kim, the much discussed, tions of woman than by her challenge of
critiqued, and condemned nasty-talking concepts of respectability or her explicit
bad girl of hip-hop, is a master of shock sexuality.
appeal. Her outfits often expose her It is a delicate balance, but it is important
breasts, her nipples covered by sequined to distinguish between sexual explicitness
pasties that are color coordinated with the and internalized sexism. Although many
rest of her attire. Despite Kims visual and who have debated the image of female
lyrical vulgarity, many of her critics admit sexuality have put explicit and self-
to finding her endearing. She is known by objectifying on one side, and respectable
her interviewers to be sweet-natured and and covered-up on the other, that is a
generous. But Lil Kim is a contradiction flawed means of categorization. The nature
because although she interviews as vulner- of sexual explicitness is important to con-
able and sweet, she raps with a hardness sider, and will be increasingly important as
adored by her fans. She has an impressive more nuanced images will present them-
aggressive sexual presence, and she has selves. There is a creative possibility for
often articulated through words a sexual explicitness to be liberatory because it may
subjectivity along with an in-your-face expand the confines of what women are
camera presence. However, as Kim has allowed to say and do. We just need to refer
developed as an entertainer it is clear that to the history of blues music, which is full of
her image is complicit in the oppressive lan- raunchy, irreverent, and transgressive
guage of American cinematography with women artists, for examples. However, the
regards to womens sexuality. She has overwhelming prevalence of the Madonna/
adopted a Pamela Anderson in brown whore dichotomy in American culture
skin aesthetic, calling on pornographic means that any woman who uses explicit
tropes, but losing the subversiveness that language or images in her creative expres-
was sometimes apparent in her early career. sion is in danger of being symbolically cast
Andre Leon Talley of Vogue magazine into the role of whore regardless of what
noted her transformation from an around- liberatory intentions she may have, particu-
the-way girl with a flat chest, big behind, larly if she doesnt have complete control
and jet black (or green, or blue) hair weave, over her image.
to the celebrity Kim who shows off breast Let us turn to other examples to further
implants and shakes her long blond hair. In explore the tensions between text and
her videos, the camera angles exploit her visual image in womens hip-hop. Eve is
sexuality. In the video for the song How one of the strongest feminist voices in hip-
Many Licks, she appears as a Barbie-type hop today. She rhymes against domestic
doll, her body parts welded together in a violence and for womens self-definition
factory. The video is an apt metaphor for and self-reliance. She encourages women
her self-commodification and use of white to hold men in their lives accountable
female beauty ideals. The video closes off for behavior that is disrespectful or less
its own possibilities. The doll factory image than loving. Yet the politics of Eves
might have operated as a tongue-in-cheek image are conflicted. She has appeared in
criticism of image making or white female music videos for songs on which she has
beauty standards, but instead it is a serious collaborated with male hip-hop artists.
vehicle for Kim to be constructed as beautiful Those videos are filled with the stock
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Who(se) Am I 143
Farrah Fawcett. The hybrid cover is analogous kinds of tensions that might exist between a
to the diverse elements used in the creation feminist content in hip-hop lyrics and the
of the new in hip-hop. Nevertheless, it is visual image of that artist. To further illus-
important to note that Lauryn became trate this point, let us now turn to a com-
widely attractive when her silhouette, thin parison that offers a dramatic example of
body and big hair, matched that of main- the relationship between visual images and
stream beauty. So even as Lauryn has been the message of musical texts.
treated as the symbol of black womens dig-
nity and intelligence in hip-hop (and right-
fully so given her brilliant lyricism), she too Comparative Readings of
was pulled into the sexist world of image the Creole Prostitute
making. Although she has made some pub-
lic appearances since cutting off her long
hair, getting rid of the make-up, and return- In 2001, a remake of the 1975 LaBelle
ing to baggy clothes, publicity about her classic Lady Marmalade hit the airwaves.
has noticeably dropped.10 Twenty-six years after it was first recorded,
In contrast to the image making it once again became a hit. The 2001 ver-
of Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu has been sion was performed by a quartet of success-
unapologetically committed to the drama of ful young female artists, pop sensation
her neo-Afrocentric stylings and therefore Christina Aguilera, R&B singers Pink and
has been able to achieve only limited main- Mya, and rapper Lil Kim. Recorded for the
stream beauty acceptance. After she shaved soundtrack of the movie Moulin Rouge, a
her head and doffed her enormous head postmodern rendering of the famous
wrap, and wore a dress that was shaped like Parisian cabaret circa 1899, the song served
a ballgown (although in reality it was a as a fantastic commercial for the film. And
deconstructed, rough textured warrior with all those popular songstresses, it was a
princess, as she referred to it, work of art), surefire moneymaker. The cultural impact
Joan Rivers named her the best dressed at of the most recent version of Lady
the 2000 Grammys. However she also said, Marmalade, however, was quite distinct
and I paraphrase, that this was the best from that of the original.
Badu had ever looked and that Erykah Badu The original version of the song was
was such a beautiful woman (rather than sung by a trio of young black women who
complimenting the dress or her style). It had recently shed their super sweet name
seemed then to be an insinuation that she The Bluebells, a fourth member, their
was getting the recognition for coming bouffant hairdos, and their chiffon gowns
closer to looking as beautiful as she really for a more radical image as LaBelle. Patti
is, not for truly being the best dressed. In a LaBelle sang the lead on the song penned by
2001 Vogue magazine, Badu was discussed Kenny Nolan and produced by Allen Tous-
in an article about how ugliness could be saint. She told a fable about a Creole pros-
beautiful and the fine line between the two, titute in New Orleans, Lady Marmalade.
making reference to her unusual attire, again Through the rhythm of her voice, Patti was
a sign of how disturbing the beauty industry able to transmit Lady Marmalades strut
finds her unwillingness to fit into standard and attitude. Marmalade turned her con-
paradigms of female presentation, even as servative johns world upside down, and
her large hazel eyes and high cheekbones are thereby robbed her exploiter of some of his
undeniably appealing to individuals in that power. The song, with the racy lyrics
indus try. Voulez vous couchez avec moi, ce soir?
I used the examples of Lil Kim, Eve, was provocative and yet melancholy. And
Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu, all very despite the fact that LaBelles members
distinct artists, to draw attention to the purportedly didnt know the meaning of the
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French lyrics when they recorded the song, singer, and Lil Kim, the brown-skinned
the song had a feminist sensibility about it. rapper with the blond wig and blue contact
This was due to Pattis vocal interpretation lenses. Their hybridity is used for no more
and the visual presentation of all of LaBelle. interesting purpose than the reification of
They were telling a story of the past in the well-worn and generations-old image of
which a woman found a little subversive the whore at the racial crossroads, the las-
power, but the storytellers themselves were civious and tragic mulatto who is defined
contemporary women, futuristic even. by her sexuality. Lil Kim is the one of
Bizarrely adorned, wearing silver lame the group who ultimately reveals that
space suits and studded breastplates they these women are embodiments of Lady
signaled the death of the traditional three Marmalade. She raps the story in the first
girl three gown group.11 LaBelle were rock person rather than the third. She tells
glam stars and they stood outside of stan- listeners that she and her sisters are
dard paradigms of female sexuality and about the business of using their sexualities
objectification. They were somehow in exchange for material goods from men.
womens movement women, black power The racial and gender politics of the video
women, and transgressive women at once. are supportive of historic racist imagery of
Patti brought the listener of the song to a women of color. Moulin Rouge is filled with
corner in Storyville, the historic sex district white stars, yet Lady Marmalade, the
in New Orleans. She told the story of a song that introduces the movie, is racialized
sister there, and made that listener feel the as black, being a hip-hop and R&B cre-
energy and melancholy of the Creole pros- ation. The song advertises the film but its
titute, sympathize with her, recognize her blackness is not central to the films imagi-
power. Yet Patti escaped being cast into nation. While the singers reflect the status
Marmalades position herself. In 2001, the of the movies star as a courtesan, dancer,
singers of the song Lady Marmalade did and singer, the politics of race and sex
not tell Marmalades legendary story automatically locate them in a lower-
rather, they became her. That process of status position than that of the star of the
embodying the Creole prostitute occurred film. The degradation of black female space
largely through the visual representation of simultaneously with the use of black dis-
the song in the music video, which received courses to define mainstream sexuality is
a huge amount of airplay on MTV and nothing new in American culture. The film
BET, and one live performance. is not alone in playing that game. But that
In the video, the four women are attired this version hearkens so closely to the fate
in vintage style elaborate lingerie and dance of the Creole woman in relationship to
about in rooms that look like the images of white women in Louisiana history, socially
bordello boudoirs we have seen in film defined as prostitute rather than lady,
before. This embodiment had no subversive through everything from antimiscegenation
elements but instead was a glamorization of laws and quadroon balls to cultures of con-
a turn-of-the-century image of prostitution. cubinage, is particularly troubling. It claims to
Moreover, the diversity and hybridity of the be, and symbolically is, 1899 all over again.
artists are exploited for the sake of the sex- Ironically, the earlier version of the song
ual fantasy. There is Christina, blond and was produced by a man, and the later
blue eyed, Latina and Irish, who sings version was produced by a black woman,
with the trills and moans of black gospel hip-hop phenom Missy Elliot, discussed
tradition. There is Mya, whose caf au lait earlier. Despite her own feminist presenta-
skin and long curling hair remind us of the tion, she participates in this subjugating
songs description of Lady Marmalades image, in a manner analogous to the way in
appearance. There is Pink, a white woman which Eve participates in the subjugation
with the whiskey voice of a black blues of other women in music videos in which
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Who(se) Am I 145
she appears. Elliots image in the video as entertainment and normalizes its
narrator/madam in the video is free from hegemony with the term convention,
objectification, but supports the objectifica- that is to say the cinematic practicesof
tion of her fellow artists. Moreover, Elliots editing, particular uses of narrative
own arguably feminist presence is trumped structure, the development of genres, the
by the subjugated presence of the others. language of spatial relationships, parti-
cular performatory styles of actingare
called conventions because they are rep-
resented somehow to be transcendent or
The Colonizer universal, when in fact these practices
and Colonized are based on a history of imperialism
and violence.13
Novelist and cultural critic Toni Cade Bambara is speaking specifically of movies,
Bambara had great insight into the race and but her observation about the normalization
gender politics of American media. She and universalization of conventions that
reminded us in her essay Language and guide interpretation and that are part of
the Writer that sexist and racist hegemonic structures is
applicable to this discussion. Often, lan-
the creative imagination has been colo- guage, even aggressive liberatory language,
nized. The global screen has been colo- becomes nearly powerless in the face of the
nized. And the audiencereaders and powerful discourse of the visual within the
viewersis in bondage to an industry. texts of music videos.
It has the money, the will, the muscle, So then we ask, How should we read
and the propaganda machine oiled up to these artists who have feminist voices and
keep us all locked up in a delusional sexist images? If they are linguistic propo-
systemas to even what America is.12 nents of womens power, subjectivity, and
black feminism, why do they participate
Musical artists are cultural actors, but in creating such conflicting visual textual
those backed by record labels are hardly representations? First, it is important to
independent actors. In music videos and acknowledge that in a society with such
photo layouts they exist within what Bam- strong hegemonies of race, class, gender,
bara has described as colonized space, par- and sexuality, virtually all of us, regardless
ticularly around race and gender. In a of how committed we are to social justice
context in which a short tight dress, and a and critical thinking, are conflicted beings.
camera rolling up the body, lingering on We want to be considered attractive even
behinds and breasts, has particular very though we understand how attractiveness is
charged meanings with regard to gender and racialized, gendered, and classed in our
personal value, we must ask, How powerful society, and how the designation often
are words that intend to contradict such affirms structures of power and domina-
objectification? How subversive are revolu- tion. Separating out healthy desires to be
tionary words in a colonized visual world deemed attractive from those desires for
full of traditional gender messages? attractiveness that are complicit in our
In the same essay, Bambara directs us to oppression is challenging. Similarly, we want
consider the use of metaphors, themes, and to be successful, but success is often tied to
other ritualized structures to create mean- race, class, gender, and body politics that
ing in American film. She writes: implicitly affirm the oppression of others.
We support the status quo in order to
There is the conventional cinema that succeed within it, despite our better
masks its ideological imperatives as judgment.
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These tensions exist within the artist as without corporate involvement. They are
much as within the average citizen, and we cultural workers and artists in the organic
should therefore be cautious in our judgment sense, and proprietors of their own images.
of the artists. However, even if we were Analogous to independent filmmakers,
insensitive to these internal conflicts as they local underground artists are a good source
might exist in famous hip-hop artists, the when we seek feminist and other politically
artists still should not be considered solely progressive messages in hip-hop. However,
responsible for the tensions between their most of the contemporary hip-hop audience
words and image. The reality is that the real- has little access to underground artists. It is
ness in popular hip-hop and R&B stars is as now overwhelmingly, albeit not exclu-
much an illusion as it is real. Their public sively, a recorded art form. Therefore, as
images are constructed by teams more often cultural readers we should consider what
than by themselves. The conflicted images the scope of power is for artists who are
we see from some feminist talking, sexpot signed to record labels.
walking hip-hop artists may be as much a One clear location of authorial power
sign of a conflict between their agendas and exists in their ownership of their copy-
those of the record companies, stylists, righted lyrics. The owned lyrics are an
video directors, and so forth, as a sign of asserted property right that competes with
internal conflict. Each artist is a corporate the concept that the artist herself is a
creationpun intended.14 property.15 For women artists who have
written and copyrighted their own lyrics,
the lyrics might be one of their only areas of
Property and control, and it may be where we can best
Subversive Potential find their intended political messages.
Looking to the distinction between the
copyrighted material owned by artists and
As a college student, I met the black woman the music videos owned by the record com-
filmmaker Julie Dash. I had recently seen panies, we have some indication of what
her short film Illusions and her landmark particular political tensions face a given
feature Daughters of the Dust. Excited by artist.
her work and thrilled to meet her, I gushed
about how I wanted to do what she did.
She warned me that if I wrote a screenplay Conclusion:
Id better direct the movie myself if I Possibilities for Dissent
wanted the substance to be intact once it
was completed. In giving me this warning
she was testifying as to the degrees of own- We know that the politics of the artist are
ership of art, the interaction between words often neutralized by the image made by the
and image, and the importance of black record company. Although a famous per-
female self-articulation in a colonized son has a legally cognizable property inter-
media. est in his or her public image as a whole,
Despite the powerful hand of corporate when she consents to making a music
interests in hip-hop, it is a music that has video, she grants the record company the
sustained a revolutionary current with use of her image. She allows for the creation
respect to consumer culture, albeit one that of a product that features her as a product
is increasingly fragile. This revolutionary and that in turn encourages the sale of her
current exists in the underground commu- words and music. Perhaps there is a clue
nities of unsigned artists (rappers, or MCs, in that web to how artists might regain sub-
as well as poets or spoken word artists) versive power through language. If their
who push forward creative development words were not simply liberatory and
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Who(se) Am I 147
progressive but also critically engaged, 2. There are a many hip-hop lyrics that
mocked, or challenged the very images that identify the voluptuous body with women who
made the artist into a celebrity, the words live in housing projects or from the hood. As well,
of the artist might not be dwarfed by the the assumption of lighter-complexioned black
image. Instead they might latch onto the women being of higher socioeconomic status or
image, shift its meaning, and bring it closer greater sexual desirability is a longstanding aspect
to being owned by the artist. Imagine an of black American culture. Although this cultural
artist looking lustily into the camera while phenomenon was challenged in the late civil rights
critiquing the gaze she is giving you, or dis- era, it flourishes in the images that appear in many
cussing the sexism implicit in the sexy dress television shows, movies, and books and in the
she is wearing. Although this strategy might tendency of black male movie stars musicians and
simply give rise to further conflicted images, athletes to choose very light complexioned spouses
there is the possibility that it would force if they marry black women.
the listener to critically read the image. Cer- 3. Tomika Anderson, Nothing Butt the
tainly, in earlier periods of hip-hop groups Truth Essence, November 2001, 116.
such as a Tribe Called Quest and De La 4. Words and music by Alicia Keys. 2001
Soul often embedded in their music EMI April Music Inc. and Lellow Productions.
strong critiques of the music industry to All rights controlled and administered by EMI
which they understood themselves to be April Music Inc. All rights reserved. International
enslaved as commodities. Such critiques copyright secured. Used by permission.
played a role in their success at being popu- 5. President Clinton pardoned Kendra
lar, political, and authentic groups, and they Smith, the most famous representative of this
provide a useful model for a feminist voice population, who spent years in prison as a result
in hip-hop. of the crimes of her boyfriend.
There are surely a number of other 6. India.Arie interview, http://www.mtv.com.
strategies as well that might be employed by 7. India.Arie interview, http://www.mtv.com.
women hip-hop artists who seek innovative 8. Eve, Gotta Man, Ruffryders Inter-
modes of feminist articulation and self- scope Records (2000).
definition in an arena dominated by corpo- 9. Sanjiv, Queen of the Hill: Lauryn Fugee
rate interests and sexism. Hip-hop is an art Finds Her Voice, British GQ, October 1998,
form that has consistently been engaged in 188.
innovation, improvisation, and reinterpre- 10. At the time of the publication of this
tation. It is therefore neither unreasonable chapter, I have found no interviews or articles
nor naive to anticipate a new generation of that address the reason for Lauryn Hills
feminist voices in hip-hop that will respond second transformation but it will be interesting
in increasingly sophisticated and complex to see if she understands it as a rejection of the
ways to a sexist and racist society. way in which she was styled in order to be palat-
able to a widespread audience.
11. The Music Portfolio, Vanity Fair,
Notes November 2001, 299.
12. Toni Cade Bambara. Language and the
Writer, Deep Sightings and Rescue Missions:
1. The most prominent black womens Fiction, Essays and Conversations, ed. by Toni
magazines, Essence and Honey, as well as Girl, Morrison (New York: Pantheon, 1996), 140.
which is geared toward a multicultural audience 13. Toni Cade Bambara. Language and the
of adolescent girls, all have an explicitly feminist Writer, in Deep Sightings and Rescue Missions:
agenda. Readers of these magazines are not Fiction, Essays and Conversations ed. By Toni
offered articles about how to seduce men or Morrison. (New York: Pantheon, 1996) 140.
appear sexy, which frequently appear in publica- 14. Although there are some artists who are
tions such as Cosmopolitan, YM, and Glamour. able to maintain a good deal of creative control
Dines14.qxd 8/6/02 1:16 PM Page 148
(often those labeled alternative), record 15. The description of recording artists as
companies are even aware of the extent to which products in the music industry articulates the
there is a consumer market for the alternative sense in which they (as public images) are seen as
and iconoclast so they will allow for that a kind of property to be purchased by consumers.
space to exist to some extent within the bound-
aries of their control.