By Nia B
The views expressed in this column are not the views shared by AllHipHop.com.
“Oh my God, Becky! Look at her butt! It is so big. She looks like one of those rap guys' girlfriends.” -Sir Mix-A-Lot, “Baby Got Back” circa 1992Hey everybody! Hope all is well. I know some of you may be wondering why I started off with that quote, well let me elaborate. While sitting on a Saturday afternoon sipping a little cognac and coffee, I hadn’t decided what song I wanted to talk about this week. Ironically my IM went off and I got a link from one of my fellow AHH editors. It was a track from The Dream ft/ Lil’ Jon titled “Let Me See That Booty”. “Let Me See That Booty”? “Oh gosh, what is this going to sound like?” I thought. So I downloaded it…took a listen and hung my head low. Another song about the boo-tay…Great!
As I sighed, I wondered…Will it ever stop? And then I thought back to when I believed the boo-tay became a big focus in Hip-Hop, because the focus on “the ass” has been going on for some time now. 2 Live Crew and Luther Campbell were one of the first groups to put “the ass” up front and on the chopping block in their videos. And while other artists can take credit for highlighting the boo-tay, overall I think the focus became mainstream when Sir Mix-A-Lot did “Baby Got Back”.
You all might have another opinion or a better recollection of when it all hit the fan, but that’s when “I” took notice that the boo-tay became a notable topic of interest every where. Yes, most Black men have always loved a big ass and today women with them are plastered all over various men’s magazines, the internet, and Hip-Hop inspired periodicals like
King,
The Source and
XXL, but at this point I don’t know what to make of it all anymore.
In The-Dream’s song there’s one instance where he says, “Put it on my d*ck then drop it to my shoes and in the end I smell like your perfume.” As if the start of the song and the hook wasn’t enough, The-Dream goes in on this track. This isn’t much different from other lyrics I’ve heard, but The-Dream has written some classic hits, and this one stoops to another level. Am I surprised? Not hardly, but sometimes it never ceases to amaze me. I just don’t know what else to say. But I have to ask, “Are songs like this merely an artistic expression for the love of the gluteus maximus or just flat out disrespect of women?” This is on the lines of a “Tip Drill” Part 2 and I can only imagine what would happen if this song went to radio and then had a video to follow. This is one of those after Midnight joints and joins the ranks of a long list of strip club anthems that can be attributed to Hip-Hop.
Overall, I am just interested to know what you all think. Are you tired of these types of songs or do you enjoy the artistic expression? Women having large assets isn’t going away anytime soon and neither is the obsession with them, so it is what it is.
Well thanks for taking time out to read what I had to say this week.
Until next time y’all enjoy this week’s Sunday Selection – “Let Me See that Booty”
The-Dream: "Let Me See That Booty"