Monday, March 31, 2014

Sex in The Music Industry

By: Tachina Hardy

When adults notice a teenager walking around with headphones on or earphones in it is assumed they’re listening to music of course, but the contents of that music may be questionable due to the lyrics of the songs. The lyrics from most songs that teens listen to now come off derogatory and has an incredulous impact on the behaviors of the listeners, particularly young teenage girls.  These behaviors portrayed in music videos can lead to a mimic of behavior which brings me to the topic of sex in the music industry and the impact it has on young female adults.

Many girls when they’re going through the adolescent stage or live in lower socio-economic classes they dream of being a princess, having this huge dream house, or living a life of luxury. These ideas however do not formulate over night; they may either derive from watching television shows or for some they come from music and their videos. The story of Karrine “Superhead” Steffans can adhere to this being true. Karrine grew up on a small Caribbean island of St. Thomas and had dreams of living a Beverly Hills lifestyle. She grew up in harsh living conditions and the moment she was able to be free she left home immediately. She moved to Los Angeles because of the glamour and fabulous life style that it appeared to be and at the age of 17 she began stripping at a strip club where she met her first rap artist boyfriend Kool G Rap. She dated him for 3 years conceived a son with him and once the relationship with him came to an end; she then came to the realization that nobody truly cares about you, they just leave you in any condition and that the city of Los Angeles does this to you. [1]

Karrine Steffans’ nickname Superhead may be self-explanatory to those who use context clues but the name stemmed from the dishonorable acts she performed in order to become successful within the music industry. When she was asked why she was referred to as Superhead her response was it derived from a sexual relationship she had with one of many boyfriends or sexual partners.[2] In reality the name Superhead originated by  Karrine giving blow jobs to well-known artists such as Jay-Z, P Diddy, Jada Kiss, etc. in order to guarantee her a role in their music videos and that she is guaranteed to be paid a certain amount of money[3]. Superhead encountered many life struggles such as sleeping in the car due to her being homeless and being broke because she was determined to live an expensive lifestyle. Superhead then learned how to use her talent to not only make money but to mooch off of the people she performed this sexual action[4]. Based upon her prior knowledge and current perception of this lifestyle, Superhead was externally influenced by the societal norms she was presented with on a daily basis to perform such acts of indecency in order to successfully be integrated into the culture in which she so desperately yearned to be a part of.

Those at NBC News have discovered youth that listens to sexual lyrics or raunchy music have been said to begin having sex sooner than those who may listen to classical music or just may prefer other music. [5] Teenage girls that are listening to songs such as “Lollipop” by Lil Wayne which insists that his groupies want to lick not only his penis but the rapper; and then in Beyoncé’s song “Drunk in Love” this implies that she’s drinking watermelon; which is basically saying she is performing oral sex on her husband Jay-Z and swallowing his sperm. Then you have the song by Mykko “Do It” says that he loves the way she does it. He enjoys her being on all fours as he is all between her legs and hitting it from all angles. [6] By these sexual acts being implied in these selected songs it has put girls under the impression that when they’re in a relationship or casually dating this is expected of them, and that these actions are deemed as acceptable.  






[1] Premium Hip Hop., "Kiss and Tail(Superhead)," Web, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eThl0kHGmZM.
[2] Ibid
[3] Barrow, Jerry, "Where Did the Name Superhead Come From?," Web, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eThl0kHGmZM.
[4] Premium Hip Hop., "Kiss and Tail(Superhead)," Web, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eThl0kHGmZM.
[5] NBC News. “Dirty song lyrics can prompt early teen sex.” Last Modified August 8, 2006  http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14227775/ns/health-sexual_health/t/dirty-song-lyrics-can-prompt-early-teen-sex/#.UzhoIvldWSF
[6] Rap Genius. “Lil Wayne Lollipop” “Mykko Do It” “Beyoncé Drunk In Love” 

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