Good Bad, and Probably Evil

I first heard the homemade stylings of Ms. Ho in a song with the chorus “cocaine makes my pussy pucker, mother fucker”.  I have a weakness for this kind of reform school girl hoetry.  I know its kitsch, I fully understand that it’s quality is non-existent, though it’s certainly enjoyable as a joke and as a dark expression of our repressed desires to see Ho Heroines beating up rich bitches for their expensive accessories.  There comes a time to relax your critical faculties and enjoy a novelty act that, unlike a lot of mainstream pop, at least has novelty on its side. 

But the reason I really enjoy this kind of d.i.y. profanity is that is shows how much conservatism there is in the uniformly dull and dreary world of hip hop crime and sexuality.  Even the misogyny is boring, with the women stuffed in to clothes that look like punishments gyrating in front of expensive toys.  I guess the point of misogyny is not the desiring of women, but their potential easy, coerced accessibility.  Again, boring.  This is not to suggest that misogyny is bad because it’s not entertaining, just that people like Wendy Ho and other outsiders like the queer hip hop community have far more verbally expressive persona.  I think this sexual reserve in a lot of straight men rapping (What the hell does hittin’ it entail?) displays a lack of imagination when it comes to fucking coupled with a puritanical fear of the pussy.  Get on this, people, and unpack your adjectives.

—Terry Sawyer