Don’t be alarmed by the title of this post, it’s simply the name of a Lupe Fiasco song. I was going to censor the title but then I figured I'd leave it because it is more attention grabbing. As soon as I heard the song, I liked it (but not for the reason you’re probably thinking) and I knew I had to share it with some people. I played it for a few of my friends but then I decided to write about it and see what people thought of the song as well. For those who haven’t heard this song I’d like you to listen first before I share my opinion on it. Here it is: Trina. The self proclaimed "baddest." For a quick summary I’ll touch on a few points that stuck out to me. In the first verse of the song Lupe talks about a young boy who has an undeveloped context of good or bad. So when his mother, his number one protector and source of help, is in the car singing along to a song about being a “bitch” he believes that’s a good thing. He thinks it is a good thing because not only has he related the word “bitch” with his mother, but his mother is relating it to herself as well. Now the second verse of the song is about a group of young girls that are “malleable and probably unmentored” watching the music video of a song by their favorite singer. Once again this song they’re listening to has “bad bitch” all over it, with the artist in the song repeating how all he wants is a “bad bitch.” The girls aren’t paying attention to the artist, they’re paying attention to the woman in the video “acquiescent to his whims.” All they see is the high heels, fat booty, long hair, slim body, and probably wearing next to nothing. “They don’t see a paid actress, just what makes a bad bitch.” Lupe Fiasco then brings the song full circle in the third verse when this young boy meets one of the young girls. The boy thinks the girl is a bad bitch and the girl thinks she’s a bad bitch as well. It would seem good since they both think the same thing, however, he is thinking of being a “bad bitch” as a form of disrespect but she thinks of “bad bitch” sexually. The young boy just thinks she’s bad at being a bitch because his mother who he also sees as a “bitch’ never dressed like that. She never had her breasts, her booty, or just her body in general out like that. This girl to him is doing a bad job of being a bitch. The last five lines of the song conclude the story so eloquently. They go: “He caught in a reality, she caught in an illusion Bad mean good to her, she really nice and smart But bad mean bad to him, bitch don't play your part But bitch still bad to her if you say it the wrong way But she think she a bitch, what a double entendre.” Another "bad bitch"... Nicki Minaj I think this song is great not because of the beat, the melodies, or even the artist (even though Lupe Fiasco is one of my favorite rappers and I like a lot for his work). I think this song is great because it makes you think. It presents a very plausible scenario for the future based on what is going on today. It makes me realize that you have to be careful what you feed your mind because a lot of that governs what your perception of what people do or in this case say to you. Lupe Fiasco even touches on this subject when he says: “Disclaimer: this rhymer, Lupe, is not usin' "bitch" as a lesson But as a psychological weapon To set in your mind and really mess with your conceptions Discretions, reflections, it's clever misdirection...” I think there isn’t much else to say about this song, but one thing I do know is that it brings up a lot of questions. Some of them include what are your views on the term “bad bitch?” For women who refer to themselves as bad bitches, what do you mean? For men who say they want a bad bitch, what do you mean? Is it ever a good thing to refer to yourself or someone else as “bad bitch?” For women who refer to themselves and their friends as bitches why is alright for you to do that, but as soon as a man does the same it becomes a problem? I think this is somewhat similar to us black men referring to each other as “nigga,” yet we get mad when someone of a different race calls us by that term. Now I’ll go on the record and say this, if I ever refer to a woman, or even anyone for that matter, as a “bitch” or any other phrase that involves that word it’s never a good thing. If I do it’s either an off the cuff or knee jerk reaction or I was compelled to. I can think of one instance where this happened and I’ll end this with a quick anecdote on that.
However, that right there is the epitome of why I ask what makes it alright for her to curse and refer to herself and her friend as a “bitch” but once I did it resulted in throwing blows? For more instances of young women referring to themselves as bitches, all you have to do it go on twitter and search the term "bad bitch." Thoughts, questions, opinions, and concerns anyone? Magnificent Su
6 Comments
Akilah
8/16/2012 13:28:46
Thoughtful post i like how you bring this to the forefront
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Cliff
8/16/2012 16:44:35
Great Post. It is important to consider how media impacts youth and people in general. This post shows how one word so causally used can have a totally different meaning depending on the person. All in all, people should really be careful about boasting names commonly used in media today.
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Asia G.
8/17/2012 00:57:22
Love this post !!! I talk to my little cousins about this all the time. For some reason, they believe it is acceptable to be called the word bitch but only in certain contexts and said in certain intonations. ( -_-) ..Its aggravating to listen to them try to defend the word because I see it as not knowing their worth and marginalizing beauty to big booty and long hair when their is sooo much more that makes them the beautiful people they are. But it also the responsibility of us as the consumer/listener/thereasonwhytheartistsmaketheirmoney to stop accepting and tolerating that ish. :)
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Brittany
8/17/2012 03:40:38
Great Job!!! I love how you put the word in different perspectives. This one word has such a catastrophic meaning behind it. Even I can relate to calling myself a "bad bitch" and never thinking twice about it. After reading this I know I will be more prudent to just openly saying this term.
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Akilah
8/17/2012 04:15:00
must admit i have used the b word with friends, fam and my self. but i know that i would be pissed if a guy called me one! what's up with that? as i mature i better understand the power of words and though i didnt mean to degrade my fellow women when i used the word, inevitably it does. it kind of reminds me of the N word. lots of people use it and dont necessarily mean any harm by it, but thinking about how it was historically used there is so much pain and suffering behind the word. either way, i think we have to take control of how we want ourselves to be presented and what we want our image and legacy to be. the power of life and death is in the tongue (proverbs 18:21), so speak life and positivity :)
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Aisha
8/23/2012 11:37:12
Great piece! I never heard this particular Lupe song, after reading this post ... I had to enlighten myself. I love when music can empower and jam. Lol. I'm so guilty of calling of my friends the "b word" without even thinking twice. I'll have to reconsider due to this literature. Lol Keep the post coming Sulei!
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