Beyond Beats and Rhymes: Unpacking Gender and Gendered Constructs in Hip-Hop Culture

From its earliest beginning, hip-hop has always been related to masculinity and male-associated elements such as wealth and sex, and rap was considered to be a man’s genre. These characteristics, or stereotypes, were reflected in the works of many popular MCs, but the music industry has changed rapidly and consistently since the first block parties of DJ Kool Herc: female rappers have been bringing their points of view to the table for decades, thus revolutionizing the hip-hop genre as a whole, making it more relatable for a female audience and enriching it with unique points of view on the world. Through the analysis of the lyrics of the most renowned rappers, this dissertation aims to underline the linguistic and cultural differences between male rappers and female rappers and the proximity or distance between the works of female MCs and rap in its most traditional form. More specifically, it is arguable that the different approaches preferred by rappers Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, and Doja Cat are a reflection of different modern manifestations of feminism. Women’s rap could be seen as the umpteenth demonstration of the polymorphic nature of feminism and womanhood.