Rapping and Mapping Women's (Dis)empowerment in the Songs of Pinoy Hip-Hop Artist Andrew E.

Abstract

The rise of rap in mainstream media can be attributed to the appeal of its authenticity in terms of plot lines and language. Hip-hop music communities have always considered rap as real life in lyrical form because the lyrics of this music genre are anchored in culturally bound communicative practices. Nonetheless, its eventual commercialization has led to its submission to the demands of popular culture, which tend to preserve existing power structures. The brand of rap of Pinoy hip- hop artist Andrew E. (Andrew Ford Valentino Espiritu) is characterized by implied sexual references and comedic verses embedded in the lyrics’ narratives. Using Dell Hymes’ (1964) conception of the ethnography of communication and Norman Fairclough’s (2001) approach to Critical Discourse Analysis as the main theoretical and methodological frameworks, this study explored and examined how women are portrayed, empowered, and disempowered in the narrative rap songs of Andrew E. from 1990 to 2013. Having analyzed the narrative arcs and speech units, the findings reveal that sexual agency, social status, physical appearance, and objectification are prominent sources of (dis)empowerment for the women in the songs’ narratives, and that the lyrics perpetuate hegemonic masculinity and misogyny.