Classic Dr. Dre Appropriated By White Girls In Sweaters (Video)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 2:00PM
Or "The One Where I Write An Elaborate Ruse That's Just An Excuse To Post A Viral Video"
Watching Ava DuVernay's BET documentary about women in hip hop, "My Mic Sounds Nice," and reminiscing about the style of Hip Hop I grew up listening to, triggered an old memory for me. It was of me and my little sister listening to rap music, but trying not to pay attention to the lyrics out of the fear that to know the sexist truth would mean I would have to stop listening to rap altogether.
When I was into rap music, around the late 90s, at the time I was listening to more West Coast hip hop than East and was heavily into everything that was coming out of Death Row Records. I owned the "soundtrack" to Snoop Dogg's "Murder Was the Case" and listened to Bone Thugs N' Harmony's second album constantly. My favorite track was "For the Love of Money." My little sister, Baby Snob, was into rap even more than me and owned "The Chronic," all kinds of Tupac and several other "gangsta rap" albums that we would swap and share.
I remember knowing very well that the songs were highly misogynist in their content. And I remember civil rights activist C. Delores Tucker and her feud with rap artists over their lyrics that were sometimes degrading to women. Yet, being 17, I still listened to these songs and honestly didn't think very much of them unless there was something so awful that I couldn't ignore it. Like, I couldn't bring myself to like the song "Nuttin' but A G Thang" because in the video Dr. Dre and Snoop pour a 40 oz on an "uppity" woman. I was so taken aback by it that I didn't listen to The Chronic in full until five years after the album came out.
So much of hip hop is catered towards male fantasy and I sincerely felt left out of it. While some of the conscious rap was better or at least less offensive, the sense that as a woman I didn't have a place was still felt. Especially since many of my favorite female rappers were often marginalized or were only respected if they were backed by a male MC.
How do you deal with that? How do you deal with an art form you grew up loving and listening to when that art form has no real interest in being sensitive to your tastes, dreams or desires? How do you take a song like, for example, Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit," a lady-laced diss on Eazy-E, and make it your own as a woman? How do you do that when technically, this being a song about street life, prostitutes, machismo and ghetto fantasma, is not for you? How do you make this work for someone who is female and grew up in suburbia surrounded by choir practice, Abercrombies and tennis lessons?
Ahem ...
(Via YouTube, H/T FlyBlackChick)
UPDATE: Twitter friend Ladypolitik was kind enough to point out that this parody is actually a parody of Ben Folds' cover of "Bitches Ain't Shit" from 2006 which somehow I missed. Likely because I spent 2006 in Bakersfield, trying not to kill people. But I think of all the random parodies of Ben Folds' parody, White Girls Appropriating Dr. Dre in sweaters is still pretty awesome.
Reader Comments (17)
I swear I've listened to this five times already! I know they have to more videos out there!
lol
Such language. Hee, hee
Btw, there's a typo. It's "swap," not swamp.
I'm a lurker, have been reading this blog for a minute, but never commented.... well, not until now, because today I cannot remain silent. I HAVE to tell you, Danielle, just how awesome this video is. I cannot possibly convey to you the joy it brings me! I'm a mild-mannered, high-class, high-post edumacated broad who never fails to astound people with my shameless potty mouth, because I guess I'm a very unlikely source of such foul language. But I can hand over my championship belt to these chicks, man. Marvelous video! I actually remember the original song and--as a young feminist in full bloom--never really feeling comfortable with it. I guess Dave Chappelle was right when he said that the dirtiest and most controversial thoughts can be freely expressed and even applauded if you get pretty white girls to sing them.
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?title=pretty-white-girl-sings-daves&videoId=210277
@ Uju
Ah. I remember that Dave Chappelle clip. Never were truer words spoken.
Now I need them to save "Ain't No Fun (If The Homies Can't Have None)." I really felt guilty enjoying that song as a teen. I knew it was wrong, but it was so darn catchy!
Danielle:
I want to telll you that I have been through the same emotions that you and your sister did with rap/hip hop music when I was younger (I am now 25). I loved "nothing b a g thang" and would have died to meet Bone. The Chronic changed my life. Im from Queens but West Coast rap was my favorite back when MTV played videos lol. I would go buy singles lol and hide them from my parents. Not that I was not allowed to listen to non-gospel music, but I was limited to New Edition. MJ, Janet and Bobby Brown.I am now a MedSchool graduate and I still listen to my old stuff daily...who says gangsta rap hurts? LOL
FYI Young black professonals do/did have a love affair with rap in the early 1990s :)
Great post Snob. I totally agree with you about Ain't no fun. I hated to love it. But it was so darn catchy...I feel like this about alot of catchy yet very disrepectful tunes. A catchy hook will do it everytime! SMH.
This rhetoric is getting so old it needs a walker with ALL due respect Danielle that whole 'rap is sexist' is not only played out and tiresome it's also r-a-c-i-s-t. That's right I said it! Please I was just talking with my sister about this the other day how many Hollyweird movies do we see where a woman is running around half naked,nearly naked or just plain old naked JUST for the sake of male titilation. And who the hell are all those Stallone,Van Damme,Scwhazapig,Willis,Will Smith,Cruise movies for anyway. Because it damn sure ain't people with 2 XX chromosomes I can tell you that. And don't even get me STARTED on all the slasher and horror pictures that seem to be how to videos on every sick,disturbing,brutal,violent,sadistic,psychotic,scary,horrifying,vulgar,and WTF ways to kill and mutilate women. Case in point a VERY disgusting scene from Eli Roth's sequel to his hit 'Hostel' where a naked woman who is tied up and hanging upside down is cut to pieces by some sicko while a FEMALE sicko lies beneath her bathing in her blood WHAT THE FUCK?!! Yet THAT shit never illicits criticism from you all?!! So whose sexism are we fighting against again is it all about us or society in general. Last time I checked there were a shitload more Hollowood filmmakers than rappers and MANY who get away with whatever I'm wonder why that is and what does that say about how seriously you want to make your argument.
The whole "white nerd doing gangsta rap" thing is so played out. Its the same tired joke that has been done since the 80's. This dead horse has been beaten so many times its ridiculous.
I agree with Dewfish and for a long time Daniele me being a hip hop head kinda divorced the genre, because I could no longer take the mysogonistic lyrics and playalistic attitudes throughout........ Wiz of Poetry, Bigga than Rap etc have reignited my love for the genre that I grew up with...only certain artists I check for tho, my tastes are still very very discriminate.
Aw yes I too had the same dilemma growing up, I shudder to think that I actually defended those fools like 2 Live Crew back in the day knowing MOST of the lyrics were hard to digest. Now, I can't listen to the crap anymore. The beats, the rhythms, you can get caught up I will admit it but I divorced rap music about 10 years ago and haven't looked back.
I think it is so funny to see these girls who are wearing sweaters around their necks rapping this song!
I hope you holier thans are talking that SAME bullshit about Hollyweird and all the sexist,misogynistic crap THEY out out or is it just the 'Negroes' who have to be above reproach?!!
@Sandy:
what in the world are you talking about? your comment may be in the wrong post.
I'm saying black people have a LOT of nerve epsecially black women to act all 'polly pureheart' when it comes to 'sexism' in rap but tolerate and celebrate it in EVERY other form of entertainment. There is so much bullshit and selective morality when it comes to criticism of rap and most of it from black people that's what I'm talking about.
I am stunned. They did a really good job even thought the lyrics are devastatingly horrible. Wow.