Growin’ Old
“…niggas say bitches is trife, bitches say niggas is/we just don’t understand our fundamental differences…” - Talib Kweli, “Love Language”, Train of Thought (Reflection Eternal album)
“…Com, I make righteous bitches get low…” - Common, “They Say”, Be
You know you’re getting old when the first thought you have when you hear lines like that is this:
Was saying “bitch” really necessary??
And not to say that I only care when “conscious” rappers say it, I pretty much think its unnecessary most times. And I also know that in the flow of the songs it fit for spacing and timing reasons (try writing a verse to a beat and this becomes a major issue), but still…
Ah, the quandries of over 25 but not quite 30.
What’s next…will I start questioning rappers (and myself) saying “nigga”??
May 22nd, 2006 16:23
LOL. As someone who just bought both India.Arie and the greatest hits of Wu Tang, I understand the n—a/b—h dichotomy. I don’t like either words, but like Chris Rock said, “I understand.” (BTW, “Love Language” is one of the best songs ever. “They Say” also.)
May 22nd, 2006 17:25
You had it a little backwards, Talib says
niggas say bitches is trife/bitches say niggas is/we just don’t understand our fundamental differences
May 22nd, 2006 17:27
@Crys: good catch…it has been corrected.
May 22nd, 2006 19:30
There was a bit about this on WashingtonPost
(dot)com today.
May 23rd, 2006 13:48
Yeah, I try not to say “bitch” anymore to women. I only call men that. An easy way to replace the word bitch is with the word “broad”.
June 19th, 2006 15:16
So bare with me because this is long but I wrote a lil’ something to Harold that reminds me of this:
“Hello-
I have a quick question for you. I was just reading the blog that you wrote on Karrine Steffans‚Äô book (I know I know, I‚Äôm a little behind) when the portion about Tyra Banks came up. Now please understand that I am in no way shape or form defending Tyra, butI am simply curious. You referred to Tyra as a bitch, and as far as I recall that wasn‚Äôt the first time that you referred to a female in such a way in your blogs. Now, I am not this super insane feminist (I am a feminist but not to the extreme in which I am blind to other genders and have double standards) but I am curious as to why you feel it‚Äôs okay to refer to women in such a way. I understand that some females address each other in such a way, however, I don‚Äôt believe that this justifies calling any female this. So this 18 year old female (who respects herself and other females as well) is just curious if your saying this simply as an expression of your anger, or if you really do believe that these women are ‚Äúfemale dogs.‚Äù”
…To which he responded….
“Thank you thank you thank you for writing! I appreciate your honesty, assertiveness, and concerned criticism.
Peace and Love.
To answer your question directly: you hit the proverbial nail on the head and I did call Mrs. Banks a “bitch” in expression of somewhat playful, dismissive anger. When I do use “bitch” it’s usually in a similar frustrated/aggressive context. Sometimes I say “bitch” in reference to beautiful women (ex.s “bad bitches,” “sexy bitches”), but that “bitch” is for emphasis. The jocular insinuation is that a woman looks so good, she’s being malicious in her effortless temptation of her admirers.
I hope I’ve clarified sufficiently. I hope even more that you continue to read
-H.M.C. ”
Just thought this would be an interesting read as it relates to the subject.