You made some excellent points. I think that mainstream Hip-hop failed Black women by promoting misogynoiristic messages.

Originally Hip-hop was a force for good in the Black community but it has been corrupted. Conscious rappers exist and are great alternatives to the mainstream nonsense.

However, if these positive messages are always on the fringes of society, then I would argue that Hip-hop itself is colonized.

My main issue is that there is not enough outrage from the Black community about disrespecting Black women. It's one thing for a woman to talk about her own sexuality (we can do that). It is another thing entirely for someone to talk about a woman like a plaything or a product.

It is true that Cardi B and artists like Meg Thee Stallion would not take off in a climate that does not over-sexualize Black women. However, it is important to understand that these female artists are a response to the one-sided sexuality we always hear about in music.

Even amongst conscious rappers, there is a stereotype about women that they either be sanctimonious or harlots. I think Black music, in general, should do a better job of humanizing Black women and showing nuance.

I do not see this as just the record label's promotion because if you know grassroots Hip-hop artists, as I do from New Orleans, even the ones who are not signed talk about sex, money, drugs. And women are always talked about in the context of sex, not as people seperate from that. Hip-hop has alot of potential but I do not believe, during my lifetime, we will see the rise of conscious Hip-hop in the mainstream. The industry won't let its hooks out and also, many of our people eat it up. Like every movement Black people get, they have a way to sour it. Thanks so much for reading.