This question originally appeared on Quora. Answer by Aaron Ellis, Former Music Critic with Artist Farm Macklemore & Ryan Lewis follow a formu...
"Bitch Bad" is a complicated grappling with misogyny in popular music and culture, and its effect on children of both genders. But what is not complicated is how Lupe feels about songs he hears on the radio.
I'm not a huge fan of Facebook (I'm a Twitter gal). But even I can acknowledge that something seismic has shifted in how we communicate and connect and Facebook epitomizes that -- at least right now.
Because hip-hop has been the dominant cultural expression since at least the 1980s, in America, in the world, it has also come to embody many of the worst aspects of male privilege and domination. Ashley Judd is not wrong to point this out.
To some, Kanye West's new video is a defense of blackness. I wanted to see such a meaning. I looked for it, both in the lyrics and the video. I couldn't.
While music has yet to play a public role in the protests similar to the role of artists in the Beirut Spring of 2006, they are working behind the scenes.
Hip-hop music has always acted as a sort of watchdog for political movement. Lyrics range from anti-American to revolutionary to ideas that encourage listeners to simply stay aware.
What better message to send than to appoint as our secretary of state a woman who is already known throughout the world as a principled and gifted fighter for freedom and equality?
