I can still hear a whisper (song). Arms oval. Neck curled. Hips sway to the familiar southern bass from a black (male) speaker rapping to me the dance floor. Before I could face the voice coaxing me to move, he drops his hook—a line about a violent sexual fantasy, a common come-on echoed in hip […]
Author: crunklife
Nicki’s World
As BET gets set to air its documentary about women and hip hop Monday, I am finding my 30-plus, old school feminist-self working hard to gear up to get down with the over-the-top, lyrically layered, brand savvy rapper that is Nicki Minaj. The self-described Barbie is inescapable. She works every rap and R&B hook, and […]
On Slim Thug
From news media pundits, comedians-turned-relationship experts, to a soulful singer speaking about his self-proclaimed white supremacist penis in Playboy, it would seem that everybody has something to say about the un/desirability of Black women. When I read the Vibe interview excerpt by Slim Thug and the response gone viral by Marc Lamont Hill, I opened […]
She Just Wants to Dance, but She Can’t Fight the Rhythm
(A Performance Excerpt by Caitlin O’Connor) She just wants to dance. He just wants to groove In his fly dancin’ shoes. Seconds lapse between his favorite steps, Doin’ tha Ass tap, dip back, hip thrust, she like that. She dances because she can’t fight the rhythm. He grinds, he grins at the lyrics that he’s […]