Let Your Voice Be Heard! Radio: Can Hip Hop Teach Us How To Love?

For a number of years, hip hop has been condemned for its harsh lyrical treatment towards women and images of female exploitation. Of course not all hip hop degrades and dehumanizes women to nothing more than the worth of their body parts, but an overwhelming majority of today’s commercialize hip hop does exactly that. That is why it came as a shock when lil Wayne released a hip hop single and video that not only empowers the female sex, but relays the plight that many women of color face.

In his “How To Love” video, Weezy explores the obstacles and hardships that one woman endured as a young girl which resulted in a life void of love and filled with pain and trauma. Because this little girl was never taught or shown how to love or experienced true love from a father figure or a man in heterosexual relationship, her life is spearheaded towards destruction. As a young girl, her innocence was stolen when she is molested by her mother’s boyfriend. As a teenage and adult, she desperately looks for love but finds herself only with men that use her for sex.

The message in this video is deep, brutal and powerful. And it all comes from...lil Wayne? The mega rap star has shocked the world yet again this time by pushing aside misogynistic libretto and producing a record that illuminates the stories of countless little girls who grow up being misused, abused, and, consequently, never find their true worth or value. These are the same little girls that grow up to be the sluts, whores, and hoes that we often stigmatize, judge and exploit in music videos. But for once, their story is told, their side is heard, and their pain has been revealed.

My question is did lil Wayne really have a lasting effect on the way women are portrayed in society and in hip hop through his “How to Love" video? And how were you moved by the song/video if at all?

Share this with us this Sunday on Let Your Voice Be Heard! Radio from 5-7pm as we go more in depth with this topic and also examine how Jay-Z and Beyonce’s marriage and expected baby is changing the perception of love in hip hop and displays a prime example of HOW TO LOVE.