When Conscious Rappers Live That Misogynistic Life
Too many times, a progressive image has crumbled under misogynistic acts
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Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
Back in 1998, André 3000 put his own spin on that old adage about judging a book by its cover. “Is every nigga with dreads for the cause?” he mused rhetorically on the title track of OutKast’s third album, Aquemini. “Is every nigga with golds for the fall?” The point was clear: Seeing ain’t always believing, especially for his materialistic and conscious rap peers. And more than two decades later, the answers to his questions feel clearer than ever.
Earlier this month, in the wake of the death of The Roots’ Malik B., singer Jaguar Wright hopped on Instagram to reminisce. And with that trip down memory lane, she made some alarming allegations against artists many considered to be righteous. Among the charges, she accused Common of sexually assaulting her, Talib Kweli of hiding in a green room and watching while women changed clothes, and The Roots — with whom she worked early in her career — of fostering an environment that was generally unsafe for women. Of course fans were shocked by the as-yet-unproven claims, due to the pedestal on which these conscious acts have long been perched. Yet Wright’s assertions, which were only the latest in a recent string of incidents highlighting the abuse of Black women within hip-hop culture, underscore an important point: Never assume any individual is more virtuous than the next based solely on their art or their aesthetic.
It may feel natural to assign a degree of merit and respectability to artists who create music meant to uplift. But even among the most principled MCs, there can be a dissonance between music and reality. Before Common became an actor, author, or ambassador, he was recalling his relationship with hip-hop (as personified by a woman) on record. First there was 1994’s “I Used to Love H.E.R.,” where he lamented its commercialization; five years later, on The Roots’ “Act Too (The Love of My Life),” he ultimately accepted the culture’s expansion into something over which he couldn’t be possessive. However, Common himself will admit that he was substantially less enlightened in his…
