Hip Hop is Dead, B*tches

First, I love that song "Hip Hop is Dead", by Nas, and I encourage anyone who reads it to listen to it. My mother heavily censored any music I listened to growing up so it wasnt until I was almost out of high school that I got into hip-hop and rap. I remember listening to Eminem with my friend in 10th grade in her room and liking his witty (although dark) lyrics. However, hip-hop and rap have deteriorated drastically since their rise to popularity. I cant count how many time I have turned off the radio while listening to a song due to disgust. Not that my sense of morality when it comes to music is ram-rod straight and I only listen to songs about God, but a line like "Ill fill your space and forget your face" (My Love by Justin Timberlake)makes me cringe. Why do we as women subject ourselves to this sort of verbal/sexual abuse? Lyrics that debase and dehumanize us into merely sexual objects, no matter how good the beat, are not acceptable. What is worse is that we listen and support these artists. We allow ourselves to be called "bitches", where the word has become synonymous for the word "woman" in pop-culture. Even John Legend who sings one of my favorite songs has a song where he says "Dont say I dont love you/just because I cheat on you.." C'mon!! I am not a "bitch" (well, most days) and I refuse to be abused like that by rappers and hip hop artists that only think women are a piece of ass. IF you respect yourself, take a minute to listen to your music and do something about it. Sure, we can vote now, and we are slowly gaining respect in the corporate and academic world, but these lyrics set us back centuries to where women only existed for men. Screw that....