By James Braxton Peterson | With thanks to NewBlackMan (in Exile)
Saturday, April 3, 2013.
Rick
Ross, not the crack-dealer-turned-CIA-agent, but the rapper, government
name: William Roberts, is a Republican. He may not be a registered,
card-carrying member of the GOP, but in lyrics from a recent mixtape
feature, Ross squarely aligned himself with the Todd Akin wing of the
Republican Party. First, he said something really ignorant (and
dangerous) about rape – in this case, slipping drugs into a woman’s
glass of champagne – unbeknownst to her of course, and then raping her
without her knowing. Of course, the lyric equates this casual example
of date rape with casual sex in the fantasy world of Rick Ross. Second,
he then tried to qualify said comments in some fairly inane and
ignorant ways – suggesting his rapper persona speaks/spits in fantasy
and that he didn’t actually say the word “rape.” Sounds more like Todd
Akin than the original “Freeway” Ricky Ross. But his lyrical
“scorecard” as a rapper reads like a set of talking points for the
Tea-party controlled Republican Congress.
He
is certainly a member of the 1% with a reported net worth of 28 million
dollars. He rhymes about his riches all of the time. Not sure how or
if he pays his taxes, but the one percenters generally ride with the
boys in red. As much as he raps about assault weapons and murdering
(what must be young black men), he can’t be for background checks,
ending straw purchases or the assault weapons ban. He’s better then
Glen Beck at influencing consumers to buy gold. In fact if we believe
him, “blowing money fast” is an aspirational attribute. His music label
is named after an out-of-production high-end car model. The evidence is
overwhelming. The “Bawse” is running with the elephants.
Obviously
I am not the first to pull Rick Ross’ card – so to speak. Plenty of
bloggers and music journalists have done so – like here:
But while his audience and his critics seem to for the most part
forgive him his various right wing proclivities, it seems as though
these recent rape lyrics have crossed a line – hitting the gender nerve
that’s been exposed by the conservative forces that are committed to
trans-vaginal probes, restricting or abolishing reproductive rights and
freedoms, and of course, legitimizing rape. Hip Hop activist, and
former Green Party VP candidate, Rosa Clemente and others have initiated
a campaign
to shame Rick Ross. She is right. Whether these lyrics are fantasy or
we’re supposed to believe everything rapper, Rick Ross, says, the lyrics
reflect the rape culture underwriting too many recent horror stories in
REALITY.
We
live in a world where women are brutally gang-raped on buses, carted
around town by High School football players, unconscious, raped and
recorded on smartphones by kids who tweet the images – proudly. In this
world, the real world, rape culture is consuming the lives of women,
girls, and the sad men and boys who perpetrate these crimes, mostly free
from prosecution. In these political and real-world environments, rape
fantasy rap is just another sick sinister contribution to the rape
culture against which should all stand.
***
James Braxton Peterson is Director of Africana Studies and Associate Prof of English at Lehigh University, and a MSNBC Contributor.