Das me brooke candy lyrics

Slut Is The New Confident

Rap music is known for its misogynistic objectification of women through its lyrics and visual representation in media but Brooke Candy in her rap video “Das Me” challenges those stereotypical portrayals of women and uses them as a way to empower herself. Often enough contemporary male rappers, such as Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Nelly, produce songs and music videos that contain sexist slurs, sexualization of women, and themes of glorified abuse. These male artists constantly shame women for embracing their sexuality while they themselves are surrounded by scantily clad women. This double standard on gender roles in rap music video is flipped on its head when Brooke Candy uses the same techniques, along with her lyrics, to bring awareness to the misogyny, or the dislike and mistreatment of women, in rap music.

In particular, compare to her bizarre music video, her lyrics for “Das Me” is an empowering statement for women to embrace their sexuality and to redefine the slurs used against them. The lyrics in “Das Me” says “It's time to take the word back, ‘Slut’ is now a compliment, A sexy-ass female who running shit and confident” which is juxtaposed with a shot of two women dressed in sexual outfits dancing in the music video (Candy). The scene portrayed is similar to that of the music video “Still D.R.E” by Dr. Dre, except, in that music video, his lyrics degrades women as “bitches” who’s only job are to be prostitutes. According to Terry Adams and Douglas Fuller “the degradation of...women...provides these artists a means for asserting their masculinity” (948). Compare to Dr. Dre, Brooke Candy uses the same method but as a way rebel against the double standard that rap videos put on women. In her interview with Ben Taylor, a magazine writer for celebrities, art and culture, Candy stated that “I feel like women, I say it in my songs, are still sexually enslaved in our minds....There should be no double standards…” (1). Through her own portrayal of sexualized women, she spreads the message that women should permit themselves to be sexually active with confidence without fearing that they will be called sluts and whores.

In addition, Brooke Candy also criticizes society for setting the double standard that encourages men to have multiple partners while women are condemn if they choose to do the same. In “Das Me” Brooke Candy raps the lyrics “A dude could fuck 3 bitches and they'd say that he's the man, But I get it in with twins, “she's a whore”, That's what they saying” while there are scenes showing her unabashedly engaging in a cult-like orgy in her music video. Her visual presentation brings to our attention how easily we criticize women for engaging in sexual behaviors or any activities that is outside of the gender expectation for women. In her article Nataki Goodall says, “The threat of sexual harassment...increases dramatically when women dare to enter nontraditional fields. The hiphop community is no exception…” (85) It is socially acceptable for male rappers to talk about how many women they have conquered but the moment a female rapper is given the same position and power to talk about her sex life, which is outside of the traditional gender expectations, she is attacked.

Furthermore, in Candy’s depiction of her embracement of her sexuality, her video also features a lesbian, female with female, kiss scene which defies the gender expectation for her to only portray a heterosexual relationship in her video. When people think about a female rapper talking about her sexual conquest, they automatically think it is with other men. It is a heteronormative expectation, especially within a music genre that rarely features LGBTQ relationships. As Nataki Goodall says in her article “These women take charge of their own sexuality and make a conscious choice not to be victims of either men or sex” (85). By featuring her lesbian relationship with her lover, Candy shows us that a female rapper can show a lesbian relationship in a music video not for the purpose of pleasing male viewers but because she accepts and embrace her sexual preference.

On the other hand, Nicola Formichetti, a columnist, criticizes Brooke Candy’s fight for equality as being ‘half-baked’. He says “At 25, Candy certainly has a lot to say for herself -- even if some of her theories are a little half-baked..."Slut is now a compliment"--one of the lines from her track “Das Me”...It's hard not to read it as a very mixed message” (Formichetti 1). Though that is true, he is taking the lyrics out of context. If Formichetti continues reading that part of the lyrics, he would’ve also realized that Candy defines the word slut as someone who is confident and someone who accepts her sexuality. In that way, slut is a compliment because it is not degrading when a woman is told that she is in control of her life and does not allow gender roles to strip her of her equality.

In conclusion, in her music video “Das me”, Brooke Candy uses her music to encourage women to accept their sexuality and not allow gender roles to define what they can and cannot do. As she mentions in her interview with I-D Online Candy aims to be someone who can help teenagers understand and accept their sexuality, and also empower them through her music. By putting herself in the same position as male rappers, she enables herself to share the same power as they do. Similar to them, she surrounds herself with female dancers who are sexual yet she does not degrade them as male rappers like Dr. Dre does. She does not glorify abuse or mistreatment against women like Eminem does in some his songs. They are not props in her music video, they are representation of her message for women to embrace themselves and to be confident. Along with that, she also sends a message that anyone, not only women, should be allow to explore their sexuality with no shame.

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Annotated Bibliography:

Adams, Terri M., and Douglas B. Fuller. "The Words Have Changed But the Ideology Remains the Same: Misogynistic Lyrics in Rap Music." Journal of Black Studies 6th ser. 36 (2006): 938-57. JSTOR. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. Adams and Fuller in their article "The Words Have Changed But the Ideology Remains the Same: Misogynistic Lyrics in Rap Music" criticizes gangsta rap music for their promotion of misogynistic portrayal and treatment of women. Their article discusses the ways that rap lyrics contain abusive language towards women and their ideal role in a man's life. They acknowledge that misogyny does not exist in rap music based on its musical value but because of the influence the dominant culture has over it. Through the use of misogynistic language in their music, male rappers views it as a way to boast their masculinity. Along with that, they discuss the misogynistic nature that gangsta rap music has towards African American women. By having this internalized sexism and racism in rap music, the dominant culture pits women against each other by causing them to believe that African American women are inferior to White women due to their position in the social system.

Candy, Brooke. “Das Me”.YouTube. Youtube, LLC, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHULK1M-P08 >. The music video “Das Me” by Brooke Candy is a rap song that is written to empower women. The video features the same elements found in most rap videos produced by male rappers such as scantily clad women, sex, drug use, derogatory terms geared towards women, and so on. What makes this music video different is that there is a female lead in the male position and it includes scenes of homosexual relationships. Along with that, instead of using the cross as the religious element in the music video, it features a satanic, cult-like element instead. There is also an exaggeration of bodily features that are usually consider as a way to express femininity such as her nails, hair, and eyelashes.

Formichetti, Nicola. "Bring On The Apocalypse." Sunday Times: 20. Aug 24 2014. ProQuest. Web. 8 Oct. 2014. In this article Formichetti writes about Brooke Candy as an upcoming young rap artists that has become a pop sensation from the viral youtube videos she has produced for her songs. In the article we discover that Candy identifies as a feminist whose purpose is to bring to attention the misogyny and oversexualization of women that exists within pop culture. Candy criticizes pop culture for allowing adolescents to be exposed to extremely violent media yet it refuses to expose them to the idea of sexuality. According to Formichetti, Candy believes that people are too indifferent to the issues around them and not aware of their actions. She wants to change that through her music. Formichetti then goes on to criticize Brooke Candy’s lyrics from her song “Das Me” by calling it half-baked.

Goodall, Nataki H. "Depend on Myself: T. L. C. and the Evolution of Black Female Rap." JSTOR. Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. Vol. 79, No. 85-93, 1 Dec. 2010. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. In her article “Depend on Myself: T. L. C. and the Evolution of Black Female Rap." Nataki Goodall writes about the transformation of hip hop music through black, female rapper. Her analysis shows that while female rappers have become more prominent in contemporary hip hop, they are still not at the same level as male rappers. From their sexual embrace to their sexual preference, female rappers are more cautious of the content they put out due to the gender roles that expects them to stay within the traditional expectation of women. Some black, female rappers would imitate the techniques of male rappers or dress in a masculine way while they dance sexually with female dancers as a wait to subtly express their sexuality so to avoid the backlash and outrage of fans that deemed their actions as immoral and inappropriate for a woman.

I-D Online | I-N Conversation Brooke Candy. Prod. Verena S. Grotto.YouTube. YouTube, LLC, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV-IjiCHW6Q >. The interview produced by Verena S. Grotto I-D Online | I-N Conversation Brooke Candy highlights the purpose behind Brooke Candy’s career choice and how her beliefs influences the messages she sends to her audience through her rap lyrics. According to the interview Brooke Candy hopes to become a revolutionary artist. For Brooke Candy, there is no boundaries and she believes that if she has an opinion for something, she should be allow to express it. In the interview her life story is revealed beginning from the discrimination she faced once she came out as a lesbian to her struggle with depression before she started to embrace her sexuality as a women and uses the money she made as a stripper to invest in her music career . From those experiences, Candy says she wants to be someone that can help young people understand their sexuality and empower them through her music.

Taylor, Ben. "Brooke Candy’s Brand of Feminism." Swide Magazine The Dolce Gabbana Luxury Magazine Online Brooke Candys Brand of Feminism Comments. Swide Magazine, 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. < http://www.swide.com/art-culture/music-interview/brooke-candy-new-female-rapper-the-interview-in-milan/2013/2/27 >. In his interview with Brooke Candy, Ben Taylor asks about Candy’s purpose in all of her songs as an up and coming female rapper. Through her answers, we discover that Brooke Candy identifies as a feminist and who’s mission is to bring awareness to the inequality that exists in gender and sexuality. She believes that women are still condemned and treated as sexual objects in contemporary songs. As an up-and-coming artist, she understands that she is constantly compared to popular artists but she believes that they work from a different level as she does, visually and sonically.