ursula rucker on the 'ho-erisation' of hip-hop

this was in the london music paper the stool pigeon. ive taken only the quotes out (it was a short piece anyway) cos i dont have time to type the whole thing out but it makes a change to see someone saying something about this stuff in print.....

"I think theres something wrong with ludacris being surrounded by women on all fours in g strings having their asses slapped. People say im standing on my soap box but hey, im tired of seeing this bullshit. Little girls are growing up thinking its an achievement to be a video ho or a stripper."

"Another thing they say is im player hating. Some of my friends are social workers and they’ve worked with prostitutes who can unroll a condom and apply it with their tongue. That’s a skill, im impressed, but when did sex become this unloving act of submission and objectification? And when did it become all a woman has to offer?"

"There is such a lack of intellectual thought, on any level, being expressed in hip hop. In magazines, there are articles dedicated to birdman from the cash money crew talking about the time he had a threesome and the girl passed gas. Its so boring. And everyone panders to these stereotypes – thug, player, pimp, baddest bitch. Is that all we aspire to be? Rappers talking about how they got ice and respect on the street are niggas in the woodpile. The yes master, no master guys. They think theyre in positions of power but theyre not. Theyre the ones being pimped and they cant even see it."

ludacris is one of the best rappers out there and i dont think he was the best example rucker could have picked, but i dont think shes humourless. she just picked him as a representation of what is basically the norm of MTV base hip hop. she could have named anyone. some serious commentary on modern hip hop makes a change to be honest, shes tired of seeing women take on submissive, compliant roles as nothing more than eye candy and accessories for rappers (next to cars, houses, limos, etc etc etc) in videos. i see nothing wrong with her point (even though i enjoy seeing womens arses as much as the next man).

who cares about ursula making some of the most boring music imaginable (its not really fair to compare her music to trina though, ursulas a spoken word artist, not a rapper), what shes saying here is on the fucking money.

yeah, she keeps banging on about it tirelessly, but thats because nothing has changed! you could say she needs to find something new to talk about (i.e talk about something that isnt so oppositional, that actually comes from within her, rather than just as a reaction to everyone else), and maybe she does, i dont know, i find it impossible to listen to her material, even the stuff with 4hero; but shes one of very few people actually saying something about whats happening re: representation in hip hop. i think thats to be commended. shes not a big headed artist, shes not saying shes 'the alternative' or the saviour, shes just trying to point out that while most people are willing to let rappers off the hook so easily to avoid ruffling any feathers, she isnt. she actually cares that the stuff being promoted on mtv or hot 97 or wherever is morally bankrupt (or at least, pretty braindead, cliched, and done to death). and that makes a nice change, to be honest.

i dont really care if ursula rucker doesnt 'show us how it should be done' cos shes never been a part of hip hop, shes always been on the fringes and part of the spoken word scene, not the hip hop one. shes never been an MC. same thing with saul williams, he says similar stuff to her, and id say his last album DID show how it should be done (well, to a degree) but again, hes not a rapper, so its not really going to be taken on board in quite the same way. but so what, just cos hes not a rapper, doesnt mean im not gonna listen.