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“Whouza Ho?” Has Hip Hop Gone Too Far?

Vida Guerra

Contributed by by Chris Gaerig on 6/15/07

Until about a week ago, Don Imus was simply another stuffy radio host whose name I had heard in passing but never cared to research. I couldn’t tell you anything about his show, political affiliation, history, or personal outlook, but with the current media maelstrom surrounding the shock-rock radio host, I feel like I could now write a semi-comprehensive biography.

Imus’ recent attack on the Rutgers’ women’s basketball team - referring to them as “nappy-headed hoes” - has sparked controversy across the nation. While many were calling for his job and others for punishment, everyone from civil rights leaders to politicians to grade school teachers were giving their respective two cents. Unfortunately, one topic that continues to come into the debate is hip hop and its often misogynistic treatment of women.

It’s no secret that the handling and perception of women in the hip hop community is less that stellar. Often referring to women as “hoes” or “bitches,” the music is under constant criticism for this portrayal and attitude. Rarely though, do outsiders take a legitimate look at the art form, its many facets, or where these images may stem from.

In response to Imus’ comments, notoriously demonized emcee, Snoop Dogg said, “rappers are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We’re talking about hoes that’s in the ‘hood that ain’t doing shit that’s trying to get a nigga for his money.”

This response to Imus is unfortunately slightly tainted. Snoop Dogg is frequently at the core of debates about the misogyny in hip hop. While his comment is certainly worthwhile, it’s essentially a case of the pot calling the kettle black - Snoop often contradicts the aforementioned statement in his own music by regularly uniformly referencing women as “hoes.” So while Snoop’s assertion doesn’t hold true in his own music, in the end, the important thing is that the statement points to the interesting dichotomy in the genre: There are emcees that use the word “ho” as a blanket statement and those that use it to describe a very specific group of women. Unfortunately, all of the debate surrounding the vocabulary seems to be focused on the former. Rarely is it noted that there are countless artists that only use the terms to describe a select group of women - a group that, like it or not, may bring the phrases upon themselves - and others, not at all. It is these artists that are continuing the real tradition of hip hop by simply portraying the things around them in their music.

So while this statement remains somewhat problematic, it stands in stark contrast not only to Imus but also those that argue the demonizing of mainstream rappers for their comments on women. Snoop’s sentiment is echoed through most of the hip hop community though and stands as an explanation for their language and thoughts on the female sex.

Outside of ghost riding and grillz, recent Houston mainstay Mike Jones has become best known for his single “Back Then.” Jones laments in the chorus, “Back then hoes didn’t want me/ Now I’m hot, hoes all on me.” Many feel that rappers fail to delineate who is and isn’t considered a “ho” or “bitch” in their songs, and therefore use the terms as blanket references to women. But songs like this clearly show the distinction. Jones isn’t referring to all women as hoes, simply the ones that are only after his money, and only care for him because of his fame. Repeating this sentiment on all tracks, simply to define who a rapper is or isn’t naming a “ho” is repetitious and unnecessary.

Jones continues, “Before my paper came, before I got my fame/ These hoes that’s popping on me now didn’t even know my name/ They said my flow was lame, they said I had no game.” It’s lines like these that many dismiss without looking at the truth behind them. Even more “socially conscious” rappers discuss similar topics. Kanye West’s platinum-sized “Gold Digger” carries the same sentiment. He notes, “Now I ain’t saying she a gold digger/ But she ain’t messing with no broke niggas.”

These rappers are clearly speaking about one thing: groupies. They aren’t demoralizing all women, and they aren’t saying that all women are after their money and fame. However, they feel the need to call out those who do act accordingly. Lil’ Wayne - an emcee best known for his early work with Cash Money Records and appearing on highly controversial tracks such as “Back That Azz Up” - notes on the closer of his epic Tha Carter II, “Quit calling women bitches/ As long as she don’t worry about the coke in the kitchen.” Wayne has always openly said that he’s rapping for money and that’s his number one goal. Here, he calls for rappers and everyone to stop calling women bitches as long as they don’t get in the way of what you’re after: money. That seems reasonable.

Unfortunately, this typically isn’t enough to justify the language for the mainstream media and many women’s rights groups, and because of this, the entire genre is demonized. However, this is a gross mistake. Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons has always been an advocate for the editing of the hip hop vocabulary. Recently, he called for a “voluntary ban” on words like “bitch,” “nigga,” and currently, most appropriately, “ho.” As lofty and ideal as this is, it’s nearly impossible. These words have been ingrained in the hip hop dialect and are essentially inseparable from it.

The real issue is the disturbing neighborhoods, communities, and childhoods that initially and continually provoke this language. While many argue that these artists have a responsibility to set a good example, they are simply products of the environments they’ve been raised in. Sadly, many were raised in violent, impoverished, and drug-addled neighborhoods. This is the real problem at hand.

Rich Boy openly admonishes on his track “Role Models,” that Parents should go out and play with their kids, because we ain’t no damn role models. And that’s where the change needs to begin. We can’t expect rappers to change their vocabularies, lifestyles, experiences, and ultimately, the way they make their living simply because it may or may not influence young children. Emcees are not responsible for the education and upbringing of the people that listen to their music. Rappers are entertainers and they do so in the only way they know how. Whether or not it’s the most productive and positive shouldn’t matter.

But as previously noted, they aren’t doing as much wrong as most outsiders believe. They don’t call all women “bitches” or “hoes.” There is a select group they refer to as such, and if the experiences they sing about are as prevalent and true as they say, they may have an argument. (Would anyone hesitate to call Anna Nicole Smith a bitch? She did exactly what the women in Mike Jones’ and Kanye West’s songs did.)

Where does Don Imus fit in then? Strangely, those people that argue for the purifying of the hip hop language are often also those that feel that Imus didn’t do anything wrong. “If rappers can say it, so can he” they argue. But Imus is an outsider. Imus hasn’t experienced what many of these rappers have. And last time Snoop and I checked, the Rutgers basketball team wasn’t really doing any gold digging.