RA #2

Title: "From Fly Girl's to Bitches and Ho's

Author: Joan Morgan

Date: 1999

Topic: Sexism in the hip-hop industry

Analysis of Argument

Intended Audience: People who listen to hip-hop/rap and want to understand why women are put down again and again in their songs.

Exigence: To understand why there is sexism in the hip-hop industry.

Purpose: To inform women and all the like about the truth behind sexism in modern day hip-hop/rap music and to help them understand the reasons behind it.

Claim: Morgan claims that Sexism in the Hip-Hop is caused from the roots of oppression upon the African-American Community.

Evidence: "The Leading cause of death of black males from the ages of 15-24 is homicide. the majority of them will die at the hands of other black men." (604)

“We have come to a point in our history, however, when black-on-black love- a love that’s survived slavery, lynching, segregation, poverty, and racism- is in serious danger.”(602) 

Notorious B.I.G.'s album "Ready to Die" concentrates and reflects on his own past life experiences, with runs ins with robbery, jail, murder, drug dealing, money, sex, parties, and sex which seemed to him as an amazing life.

Rhetorical Analysis

Writing strategy #1 Pathos

Writing strategy #2 Description as evidence

Writing strategy #3 Cause and effect

Reader Effect #1 Morgan uses quotes from song lyrics to help readers understand what is really said.

Reader Effect #2 Morgan uses facts and reasoning to help readers understand how much violence is endured in these people's lives 

Reader Effect #3 Morgan uses her own personal experience as a black woman to give a different point of view on how these issues affected her life.

Response:  Although rappers express their lives and thoughts throughout their songs, we will truly never understand what each rapper has endured throughout their life or what they have carry through it, because everyone's experience is different. Many of their views on life, women, belongings are acquired through the hardships they have faced like racism and poverty, and they see it happening throughout their life and feel obligated to do the same against their own people especially towards women, which they look at as sex objects and nothing more than that. But that is how the hip-hop culture has become nowadays and it will always be for an unknown reason.