RA#2 Joan Morgan

RA #2

Title: From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hoes

Author: Joan Morgan

Date: 1995

Topic: The negative impacts rap music has on black men and women.

Exigence: To confront the pervasive sexism of lyrics in hip-hop music. 

Intended audience: Black men and women, people who listen to hip-hop music, feminists. 

Purpose: To understand the reasons black men write misguiding lyrics and to change the messages they send toward healing the pain in black communities. 

Claims:  If we use rap music as a tool to positively communicate with one another, through this process it will establish a strong black community. 

Main Evidence: The author understands the racial prejudices every black man and black woman goes through growing up. She talks about the constant struggles underprivileged black families go through; from single mothers to murder and drugs and alcohol. Morgan says, “ rap music is really the complex mask African Americans often wear both to hide and express the pain”(603). The violent and derogatory words used by rappers can explain why their is so much violence and the incapability to love one another. 

Pathos: The author uses a personal incident of a family friend who was murdered. She talks about how committed and passionate she is about changing the black community. 

Effect: By showing how committed and devoted she is about solving these issues, it will encourage others to follow her path. 

Ethos: She is credible because she is a well educated, black female musician and writer. She has first handedly witnessed the sexual and violent impacts hip-hop music has had on women and men. 

Effect: By having a black female author, the reader has an inside look of how someone who is at the top of the put down list reacts to it all. 

Logos: The author uses logos by stating facts about the causes of death of black men. As an example, “The leading cause of death among black men ages fifteen to twenty-four is homicide. The majority of them will die at the hands of other black me”(602). 

Effect: By incorporating factual evidence into her writing the reader will understand how severe the problem really is.  

My Response: I believe the author does a good job of explaining the severity of the lyrics used by rappers. She argues, simply condemning the use of of violent and sexual words does little to change the symptoms it creates in black communities. The rappers are looked up to by so many people so, if they say something, it will likely be repeated by those who listen. By being such powerful role models, I agree, “hip-hop can help us win”. By creating a safe place to talk about the issues in their lives, it will spread awareness, and have a positive influence on the black community.