Though it’s definitely ironic, I can’t claim to appreciate trap music ironically.
As a feminist, it’s difficult to justify how I can enjoy a genre of Southern hip-hop that chronically objectifies women, both in song lyrics and music videos.
I don’t know why I think it’s acceptable to sing, “All I want for my birthday is a big booty ho” at the top of my lungs. That statement, quite literally, refers to women as an object. But man, it’s catchy.
This week however, I had to re-evaluate my passivity towards blatantly sexist lyrics.
In “U.O.E.N.O.,” a track off of Atlanta rapper Rocko’s latest mix tape, Rick Ross raps about committing date rape. The lyrics are as follows: “Put molly all in her champagne/ She ain’t even know it/ I took her home and I enjoyed that/ She ain’t even know it.”
“The line” is vague and hard to pin down, and yet there is no doubt that these lyrics crossed it. Because of this I feel that Rick Ross should not headline this year’s Pandamonium, the annual concert funded by Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA).
I often roll my eyes at other feminists who decry the sexualization of women in art (because women are sexual beings), and I could turn a blind eye to the objectification of women in art, guilt-ridden as I was. But I cannot stay silent on the glorification of rape.
I enjoy Rick Ross’ music, but this song is dangerous. It implies that rape, specifically date rape in this case, is okay.
After all, if Da Boss raps about it, surely it isn’t that big of a deal.
Some might argue that people already know rape is wrong, that Rick Ross’ lyrics won’t ultimately have an effect on this. I think this is naïve.
The two teenage boys found guilty of raping an inebriated 16-year-old girl at a party in Steubenville, Ohio didn’t think their actions were wrong, at least not while they were committing the crime. They took pictures, videos, and laughed about it.
Across North America, thousands of men and women were sexually assaulted last year.
So clearly not enough people know, or care, that sexual assault is wrong.
Rick Ross’ lyrics are not harmless. He is perpetuating a very sick, and very real, notion.
This is why I feel CUSA should un-invite Rick Ross to Pandamonium.
In the two years that I have been a student at Carleton, much good has been done in raising awareness about sexual assault on campus. CUSA, and other student groups, have been at the helm of this initiative.
Allowing Rick Ross to perform at a student event could undo some of that success because it sends the message that CUSA’s stance on violence against women isn’t really that tough.
Words are a great starting point, but CUSA needs to demonstrate through their actions that they’re serious about eliminating rape culture on campus. Allowing Rick Ross to perform at Pandamonium at the height of this controversy implies the opposite.
As long as Rick Ross is headlining Pandamonium, I, and many other Carleton students, will boycott the event. As a Rick Ross fan this was a disappointing conclusion to come to, but there is a lot at stake here.
This is not a boycott against rap, or profanity in art.
This is a boycott against the glorification of rape.
— Layne Davis,
second-year journalism and political science
