Popular Culture Review 30.1
No machismo . Step off , keep your weakness , brother ,
Get back and between us all , I represent all proud sisters . 4
The above excerpt echoes familiar themes as manifested in many songs by Lady Laistee , such as a demand for equal rights and female empowerment . This technique was previously used by artists in the United States . Weekes ( 147 ) maintains that American rappers such as Queen Latifah and later Missy Elliot were re-appropriating hip-hop music and producing their own responses to the “ masculinized containing of femininity ” by using hip-hop to educate the masses and create a place where women could portray themselves on their own terms . It is from these established American female artists that their French cousines ( female cousins ) would draw their inspiration . The song “ For the ladies ” as well as several others from Lady Laistee ’ s album Black Mama received massive airplay in France , making her the first French female artist to rise up and challenge male dominance on a large commercialized scale ; whether in the industry or French society in general . In addition to rapping about the subject of sexism from the point of view of a woman of color , Lady Laistee also followed the usual thematic trends as established by male hip-hop artists in France . For example , subjects such as racism , acculturation , exclusion , and marginalization form the traditional rubric of le rap français and Lady Laistee also discussed these topics in several of her songs . The following excerpt from the song “ Black Mama ” ( a track that addresses the disparities and exclusion facing French-Caribbean migrants in France ) demonstrates this point :
Born in the tropics , my domain is the DOM-TOM
70