Popular Culture Review Volume 30, Number 1, Winter 2019 | Page 90

Respectez-nous as We Feminize the Rapped Rhyme
contribute to feelings is disillusionment and malaise . All of these issues are the primary themes featured in the song “ Ma France à moi ,” albeit from a female perspective . What separates female artists from their males is their broader focus on issues that go far beyond the usual lyrical tropes that center on racial and cultural discrimination as the central thematic refrain . According to Rose ( Black Noise , The Hip-Hop Wars ), women rappers tend to discuss social issues from a far less revolutionary perspective than is often the case with male rappers , choosing instead to focus on more humanistic themes . Diam ’ s is no exception to confronting personal and social issues , and she does so by rapping empowering messages in her songs and their accompanying videos . This sort of pedagogical and philosophical narrative was previously used successfully by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill , amongst other female rappers in the United States ( Rose , “ Black Noise ,” “ The Hip-Hop Wars ”).
The second major release by Diam ’ s also tackled a broad range of social issues , many of which had never before been discussed so openly in French music , no matter the genre . Topics such as teen suicide , relationships , anxiety , dating , eating disorders , and body image were featured as major themes in many songs , all of which were accompanied by popular music videos . Additionally , more radio-friendly feminist topics were also covered on this new album , such as what one hears in the song “ Jeune démoiselle cherche mec mortel ” (“ Young Lady seeks Cool Dude ”), a song whose subject matter revolves around women looking for an ideal partner , but with a small twist : Females seize and maintain control of the power dynamic of mate selection and dating ( not males , with this theme being further emphasized visually in the track ’ s official video ). In the single and videoclip , the men to whom Diam ’ s makes reference are told to be courteous
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