There’s a question I’ve always wondered about, which is why do hip hop videos have so many half-naked hot women in them? I mean it’s not like rappers like women more than rock stars, or folk stars, or whoever. And it’s true that some rock videos have a bunch of women in them. But hip hop videos stand alone in terms of the preeminence they give to saturating the video with beautiful women in revealing clothing.
Now, first off the bat, I should declare that I like women, I like them very much in fact, so I have no problem with a rapper stocking his video with hot chicks. None whatsoever.
But I do find it interesting, and the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve come to some conclusions. And what I’ve realized is that I think in some ways it’s a form of therapy for the rappers and their crew, a release from the stresses and strains they’ve experienced on their way up the ladder to “MAKING IT.”
I don’t know, maybe I’m overstating the case. But like tonight, I was really stressing out about my struggling writing career. I’m trying to build my brand at genxchronicle.com, where we cover news, culture and lifestyle through a Generation X lens. I’ve also just published two ebooks on Amazon Kindle that are children’s books about life with my cat Copper. And I’m working on a memoir about my life that interweaves themes of Generation X into it.
So I have a good amount going on, but I was still really stressing tonight, because these are all in-progress projects, and I’m not sure if I’ll actually get to where I want to go.
I flip on YouTube on the Roku, thinking I’ll watch some hip hop videos and enjoy the women and chill out. And my first, always go-to video is “Cyclone,” by Baby Bash. He’s a Mexican-American rapper, and he features women super prominently in his videos. This video takes place in a strip club, and there’s a whole rainbow of women dancing on poles and relaxing in different sexual poses.
I’ll be darned, but within ten seconds of playing the video I’m already starting to chill out, and I can feel my heartbeat slowing, and my blood pressure starting to lower. My head feels better. My muscles ease up a little. I just feel really, I don’t know, chill would be the best word.
So I’ve come to realize that a lot of these hip hop dudes, most of whom came up the hardscrabble way, have had so much stress in their lives, that now that they’ve made it, they want to ensure they have as little of that kind of stress ever again.
So they populate their videos with hot semi-naked women, which let’s be honest will chill out just about any heterosexual man. I think these women act as a natural tonic for the rappers and their crew, just easing the tension that they’ve lived with for so long.
Now obviously there’s also an element of braggadocio, as they show off their success by parading hot women around for all to see. It’s also true that some white rockers have done the same thing, such as Guns N’ Roses, and a lot of the hair metal bands from the 80’s. Van Halen comes to mind.
But I still believe the extent and degree of how heavily beautiful women are featured in hip hop videos has unique roots in struggling and working-class African-American culture. Whatever the phenomenon is, and despite what might be feminist critiques of objectification of women, I personally am super down with these videos. Because I have a lot of stress in my life these days too, maybe not like these guys had growing up, but I’m stressed. I want to chill out too, and these videos do that for me. So I say bring ‘em on.
I pop on another video and immediately start grooving to this one too. The song is “Whatever You Like,” by T.I. It’s from 2008, and as I recall I think it was a pretty big hit. The backing beat, chord progression, and synthesizers are all really melodic, and it just chills me out.
The video is about T.I. pulling up to a fast food joint in his jacked up sports car, a Mercedes I think it is, and walking in and ordering chicken wings. The cashier at the register is a beautiful African-American woman who looks like a young Kelly Rowland, played by Reagan Gomez-Preston.
She’s obviously stunned that such a huge star would come in and order wings, and she freezes up, but then takes his order. When he leaves he hands her a handwritten note that says “you’re too beautiful to be working here.”
She looks down at the paper as he leaves, and it’s also got his phone number. Bang! She’s obviously elated. The rest of the video involves her calling T.I., he sends a big fancy car to pick her up, and he serenades her around his mansion, and his private jet, buying her all the best things that life has to offer.
It’s an ancient, beautiful tale really, going back as far as the Middle Ages, where the elegant Knight swoops in and rescues the beautiful commoner woman from her life of labor and misery. The video is beautifully shot, and Reagan Gomez-Preston is an out and out hottie. So it’s fun to look at.
What makes it even better is that at the end of the video a major twist is revealed. It turns out she was just daydreaming and fantasizing the whole thing, and when she snaps out of it while standing at the register, she realizes T.I. actually gave her a $100 bill. Not his number.
So it’s a rude awakening for her, and the next customer in line then growls his order at her, adding to her cruel return to reality. For that brief minute or so, though, or maybe it was a matter of seconds, she had made it, she had realized the American dream, and she would never have to worry again. She was free.
Now you could argue that the video is wealth porn, and it’s just selling a fantasy that the vast majority of people will never realize. Maybe so. But don’t we all need a release, and a dream to take us out of the humdrum everyday reality most of us face? I say yes, we most certainly do.
Between “Cyclone,” with its bevy of beautiful women, and “Whatever You Like,” with its Knight in Shining Armor American Dream fantasy of glitz and glamour, I’m now totally chilled out. I think I might even make a sandwich, or watch another video.
Once again, hip hop videos have managed to lift my mood, and to rescue me from the stresses of the day. Good job, rap music, keep making the videos, and I’ll keep watching.
