This is the story about the petition to get Rick Ross dropped by Reebok in their sponsorship deal with him after his recent song release. This is the petition - not sure it works over here as it's an american site, but linked so their explanation can be read.
In all of this it's Ross' response to try and explain himself that gauls the most. I can't even begin to articulate just how nasuating his response is but here it is in all it's fucking glory. ?There?s certain things you can?t tweet. I want to make sure this is clear, that woman is the most precious gift known to man, you understand? There was a misunderstanding with a lyric, a misinterpretation. The term rape wasn?t used. I would never use the term rape in my records. As far as my camp, hip-hop don?t condone that, the streets don?t condone that, nobody condones that. So I just wanted to reach out to all the queens that?s on my timeline, all the sexy ladies, the beautiful ladies that had been reaching out to me with the misunderstanding. We don?t condone rape and I?m not with that.?
I think what he means re misunderstanding is his rather loose grasp on reality and the justified anger such lyrics would generate, particularly in light of recent the high profile media spotlight on Steubenville.
I think the only just thing here is for the fucker to lose some income and Reebok drop him like a stone. Nothing less than he deserves.
Feminism: Sex & gender discussions
Reebok sponsorship of rapper targetted after he raps about drug rape in song
bunchamunchycrunchycarrots · 03/04/2013 02:01
Result! Common sense from Reebok, although a bit 
about their statement - saying they don't believe RR condones sexual assault. Aye, that'll be why he's fucking rapping about doing just that. FFS.
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Yes your right, I suppose his songs are more 'pop' than hip-hop. I had noticed misogyny in hip-hop/rap but I thought that this was because they were American, and that there was more misogny in US society. Before I read that article I hadnt thought of hip-hop itself as misogynistic. I felt a bit ignorant on this subject so I did a bit of googling and I found this article.
Mugoftea's article above says "Many black men within hip-hop culture who battle racism and oppression themselves everyday have been conditioned by society not to trust or love, and if they do not love themselves, it is difficult for them to love women or anyone else in a healthy manner", and "Black women were sometimes used as breeding instruments to produce more human property, and at other times forced to have sex to pay the for food, the safety of her children, or to be treated less harshly on a day to day basis. They were "paying" with their bodies as a survival strategy...Women, especially black women, have less access to power, material wealth, and protection and so have historically used sex (in prostitution and various other domains) as the "bartering chip" to gain access"
The article I found said something similar "during slavery and into the early 20th century, many Black women were raped by White men while their husbands cowered in corners. This feeling of helplessness resulted in misplaced aggression in Black men in which they began to blame the Black women, themselves, for getting raped. This disorder has now manifested itself in the actions of their great, great grandsons" and "While many of the relationships between White men and Black women were forced, that was not always the case. According to historian, E. Franklin Frazier, in his book, Black Bourgeoisie:?In giving themselves to their white masters, there were certain concrete advantages to be gained.? These advantages ranged from better food and clothing to the possibility that their mulatto children would enjoy special privileges or even be emancipated."
So then I thought well if this is true; that misogyny in hiphop is a reflection of misogyny in African American culture and that this goes back to slavery then surely it would also be visable in other aspects of African American culture? (And I thought it sounded a bit racist, even though I know these articles were written by black people 
). So I did more googling and learned that hip-hop itself was founded in the late 70s and 80s and it was not misogynistic. In the 1990s a middle class pimp called Iceberg Slim wrote a popular book about being a pimp, and several rappers copyied him by rapping about being pimps and became really successful and gangsta rap was born, which was commercially successful because it was lapped up by white people. According to wiki "Some commentators (for example, Spike Lee in his satirical film Bamboozled) have criticized it as analogous to black minstrel shows and blackface performance, in which performers ? both black and white ? were made up to look African American, and acted in a stereotypically uncultured and ignorant manner for the entertainment of audiences".
This kind of made sense to me for example Kanye West's mother was a single mother working as a teacher, she travelled to China to work and brought him with her (according to wikipedia). So growing up his female role model certanly was not using her "sexual power to receive economic gain from men", yet he coined the song goldigger , surly because it sells records, not because black women actually are goldiggers or that black men think they are .
That said I'm sure that the popularity of misogynistic songs encourage misogyny, among black and white Americans but I dont think they are a genuine reflection of African American culture. The article mentions women sleeping with rappers for status etc but what musicians didnt have groupies? There blackness is irrelevent
I will consult DP and revert - I can like the sound but not have a clue who is playing. I am more of an Archers fan myself 
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