Misogyny & The Emcee

Taking on the single most controversial issue in the hip hop world, award-winning author and political activist Ewuare X. Osayande pulls no punches and takes no prisoners in this tour de force of critical essays on the exploitation of Black women in the rap industry. Written at a time when most debates on hip hop are reduced to rhetorical prattles between liberal defenders and conservative detractors that center on "free speech versus censorship," Osayande turns the corner with Misogyny & the Emcee and offers a nuanced look that puts the interests of people before profit. Misogyny & the Emcee unmasks the brutal masculinity that hip hop mimics and markets to the world. Covering the major controversies in hip hop for the past several years, Osayande dissects the lives and lyrics of many recording artists including 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Nelly, OutKast, Ludacris, Common, Dead Prez, Beanie Sigel, Dr. Dre, Kirk Franklin, R. Kelly and many more. But he doesn't stop there. He also takes on Eminem, The Source and Don Imus as well as their corporate sponsors. Osayande's analysis targets the exact location where racism, sexism and capitalism criss-cross, collide and wreak havoc on the lives and aspirations of Black youth worldwide. The net result is a systemic attack on the integrity of Black life and culture. Misogyny & the Emcee is a necessary work for these times. It is the work of a Black man critically engaging the socio-political constructs of hip hop culture through the radical lens of Black womanist thought without compromise. In this work Osayande heralds the vision of Black women such as Angela Davis, bell hooks, Kelly Brown Douglas, Pearl Cleage, Joy James and Aishah Shahidah Simmons, who have championed the cause of social justice for decades. Here is a work that heralds the future.