Hip Hop + Feminisim. Can It Co Exist?

So I am a proud card carrying member feminist, as someone who grew up (and still deals with) machismo on an everyday basis, I have come to embrace the label that being a feminist entails. No I am not a lesbian man hating bra burning woman. These are all negative stereotypes that attempt to discredit what being a feminist is all about, essentially the belief that women are human beings that deserve respect and equality.

So I digress, this post in not merely about being a feminist, but about how I deal with being a feminist who loves Hip Hop. I can admit that at times there has been a strain in my relationship with Hip Hop mostly due to the commercial friendly songs that get played over, and over, and over,and over, AND OVER again on the radio. I mean there are but so many time I can hear about some one's "bust it baby" and how in fact a woman's worth all boils down to how good her blow job is and how her ass cheeks can clap together. There have been times that I go cold turkey and go weeks without playing hip hop because I feel so disgusted with the lack of women MC's currently out and how some of these more popular songs just degrade women of color.

I sometimes wish I could give up hip hop for good, but alas I can't. Hip Hop has been with me as far back as I can remember,from singing Salt N Peppa songs that were years beyond my worldly knowledge (let's talk about SEX) to having a young crush on Tupac and rocking with Lil Kim and her "crush on you" songs. As someone who grew up in an urban area I relate to hip hop on a very base level, loving the beats, the flow, the places that a Hip Hop song can take you. Unfortunately as a woman I have also seen where hip hop can be a man's world that largely dehumanizes my entire gender. Now I understand that sex sells and sex is a part of life, I don't believe that a woman's sexuality must be her downfall and can be embraced, but it should also be embraced just as much as her intelligence, strength and determination. I honestly don't know what to do, must I give up one to be loyal to the other? Sure there are some great artist out there that give a more balanced point of view on women (Mos Def, Common, Talib, Lupe) but they are few and largely don't get that much exposure. And what about female MC's? Where the hell have they all gone? Why is Hip Hop a genre of music that has such a limeted amount of women in it?

I really would like to hear other people's opinions on this both male and female. I don't think I have a concrete answer as to whether the two can coexist. Does loving Hip Hop make me hypocritical to my own pro feminist cause?

I leave you with this clip of a documentary that seems very interesting and opens up discourse on the supper masculinity that seems to be a requirement in Hip Hop.