Lupe Fiasco Deconstructs the “Bad Bitch”

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Hip-Hop music has traditionally been credited for providing systematic misogyny in American culture with a soundtrack. Hip-Hop takes many different shapes and forms, but what mainstream America usually receives through the radio is a generic brand of female degradation and excessive machismo. Nevertheless, every once in a while consumers of the brand are treated to something a little different.

Along comes Lupe Fiasco, getting ready to release a follow-up to his classic debut Food & Liquor this Fall. The second single to his new project is entitled “Bitch Bad” and provides an interesting analysis on a term many women (and men) have found positivity through.

I could bore you with a personal take and line-by-line analysis on the song but I feel as though that’s a cop out for you, the reader of this blog post. Take a few minutes to listen to Lupe’s new single and then contemplate how you feel about the possibility of pro-feminism having a presence in Hip-Hop and whether or not attempts to reclaim particular words have brought us to a place where we can all stand unscathed and unharmed.

(Song Link):

http://www.rap-up.com/2012/06/25/new-music-lupe-fiasco-bitch-bad/

p.s. In case you’re not familiar with Lupe Fiasco or his music, please keep in mind that Lupe has had a long history of tension and displeasure concerning his relationship with his label, Atlantic Records. In 2010, Atlantic actually refused to provide its artist with a release date for his LP Lasers, leading Lupe to believe his label didn’t care about him. With songs like these and other lyrics that provide an antithetical perspective in contemporary Hip-Hop, I can’t imagine why Atlantic would refuse to support something that breaks from the mold… hmmm.

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