Hip Hop and Masculinity

by Kimbriuna Dyer
University of Memphis Student

For many years, I viewed masculinity in Hip Hop as being defined as tough, hardcore, from the streets which is similar to the views of many others when you ask for the masculine description in relation to Hip Hop but now it seems that image has shifted and changed in a more positive way. You no longer really have the hard-core rapper but a more subtle and subdued. It seems that more current rappers of today are actually well-educated and come from stable backgrounds and home lives and even rappers who initially started out as the hardcore, from the streets type of rapper are starting to adopt these more current views of masculinity. I can initially recall seeing this type of shift in masculinity with Outkast’s Andre 3000. Andre 3000 has always shown an eccentric style when compared to his Outkast counterpart, Big Boi but it was not until the release of Speakerboxx/The Love Below that made me realize that Andre was a different type of rapper. His music showed a different type of masculine approach compared to what was already out there in regards to Hip Hop. This is the first time I noticed that shift in the image of masculinity. Then you have Kanye West, who has been extremely successful in his career and comes from a good home life. He has never tried to adopt that hard edge because he knew that wasn’t who he was so he came out as the person he was. He enjoyed wearing clothes that fit him, he would wear a backpack if he wanted, and he would articulate his words because that is the type of person he has always been and he wasn’t going to fake who he was for success. I feel that now in Hip Hop that this movement is becoming more prevalent when you have rappers such as Wale and J Cole garnering so much attention and success and they are both college educated so I feel that this shift in masculinity can only gain more speed at this point. I remember a time when rap wasn’t considered “real” if it wasn’t from the streets but it seems as time has gone on fans of Hip Hop views have changed.
No longer are we concerned by how tough your life was and how many times you were in and out of jail but we are concerned that what you are rapping about in your music is your truth and what you tell about your life is the truth. If you’re honest about what you represent then the Hip Hop fans will be receptive but if you’re not honest then the fans will walk away similar to what happened to Plies. He debuted in the Hip Hop world as a tough, hardcore rapper who had a hefty criminal background which people accepted and were willing to buy his music because they believed that this image of him having a hard life growing up was his real life but later it was discovered that he may not have been as honest about things in his life such as his criminal record and the fact that he had also been accepted and attended two different colleges on scholarships for football and had also been crowned homecoming king in high school. Now I was never a huge Plies fan because before any real truth about his life was revealed, I had a feeling that he wasn’t completely authentic so when all the information about his real life was revealed it didn’t surprise me. In my opinion, it seems fans don’t want to be told lies or what you think they want to hear but they want to be able to feel that as a fan that they are able to know a rapper somewhat and not just rappers any type of celebrity. So, it doesn’t seem like the fans care where you came from, if you were of the honor roll or always suspended as long as you’re upfront and honest. In closing, however I do feel that this new type of view on masculinity is a positive and should definitely be pushed and embraced by the Hip Hop big wigs. As long as there are acts like J Cole, Drake, Wale, & B.O.B and they are able to sustain their success, then I feel this will eventually bring a shift in the views on Hip Hop and maybe bring about more positive changes.