WOMANISM
Why Do "Rappers" Feel the Need to Belittle Black Women?
A punchline about Megan Thee Stallion opens up the conversation
When Drake's new album, Her Loss, dropped over the weekend, his fans tuned in to hear his signature low tempo and melancholy vocals but got more than they bargained for. While the former Degrassi star is no stranger to controversy, and many expected his new project with 21 Savage to stir the pot, it's clear his joke about Meghan Thee Stallion in the song Circo Loco was delivered in poor taste.
In Hip-Hop, rappers often use Black women as a punchline, typically to diminish their sexual relationships with men, entice them to engage in promiscuous activities, or fetishize non-Black women — it's all misogynoiristic tongue in cheek. However, in Circo Loco, Drake commented on a domestic violence incident in which Grammy-award-winning artist Meghan Thee Stallion accused Torey Lanez of shooting her in July 2020. One source told Complex that after an argument, Meghan decided to walk home, and Torey pulled out a gun, saying, "dance, bitch, dance," before shooting her; he's been charged with assault and weapons charges. The judge, in this case, has placed Torey Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, on house arrest until the trial begins. And even though the story sounds pretty…
