Yesterday, I had to clean my room; so naturally I played my “room-cleaning” playlist. This playlist is full of rap/hip hop songs my friends and I would dance to at middle school gatherings. I may love polka dots and playing my ukulele, but I also thoroughly enjoy some Ying Yang Twins— until I actually listened to the lyrics. Listening to these songs again eight years later, I could not believe this music was the backdrop to my 12-year-old life. I could not believe how degrading these lyrics were toward women and how simply disgusting they were.
This new discovery made me realize why young adults around my age seem so desensitized to such sexist types of language. It’s no wonder why there are so many campaigns like “It’s On Us” to help combat and undo the sexist vocabulary we were hearing at such a young age. We had no problem with the words when we were younger because we sang along without attaching a meaning to them. We couldn’t attach a meaning to them because we simply did not know what they meant.
We grew up with these degrading phrases in the back of our minds, without anybody telling us that they were completely wrong and uncalled for. Of course, if anybody heard these phrases used in normal conversation, they would be appalled (hopefully), but for some reason the same phrases used in a song get brushed off.
When I looked up the lyrics, I was even more appalled. I couldn’t help but read all of the lyrics with an open mouth and wide eyes. Welcome to decoding degrading rap-speak 101.
“I diss ‘em fo I kiss ‘em I pack ‘em fo I stack ‘em,” is said by Ying Yang Twins in “Shake.”
Basically, the Ying Yang Twins are saying that they are mean to their sexual partners before they engage in sexual encounters with them, and I imagine that ‘stack ‘em’ means they are bragging about having multiple sexual partners. It is okay to have multiple sexual partners, but it is not okay to be degrading toward them.
From the same song, the Twins say “Don’t tolerate that talkin’, B**** you can get to walkin’.” This is the worst lyric out of them all. The Twins are telling women that they will not hear them speak, or will not allow them to “talk back”. They add that if the women do not like having a voice, they can leave.
Another artist, Juelz Santana, also contributes to the degradation with this his phrase “Shorty look good and I’m thinkin’ bout gettin’ at her (okay) time to whistle at her,” in his song “There It Go (The Whistle Song)”.
So in his world, he thinks catcalling is okay.
“I once was a breast man now it seems ever since I had the pleasure of getting you together, your chest is just whatever I found the buried treasure,” is in “Ms. New Booty” by Ying Yang Twins.
To the Ying Yang Twins, a woman’s true treasure is her body, what a dream.
For the final phrase, I will highlight the fact that Bubba Sparxxx thinks that women are dependent entities who need men.
“Girl I don’t need you, but you need me,” Bubba Sparxxx, Ms. New Booty.
If that doesn’t scream a need for gender equality, I have no idea what will.
In all seriousness though, this music is not and should not be okay. Young teens look up to famous musicians and at such a tender age in development, the musicians they idolize can sway them in the wrong direction. If middle-schoolers grow up rapping about how women should not be able to speak up, some will carry that same mentality as a boyfriend, husband, girlfriend or wife.
