Beauty is in the eye of the male gaze: DreamDoll, Doechii and Baby TateTarik Moody
DreamDoll, Doechii and Baby Tate
Amanda Howell Whitehurst for NPR
In 2019, DreamDoll vlogged about her body being 100% plastic-free. In 2021, Baby Tate clapped back at body-shaming trolls on social media. And in 2022, Doechii appeared in the visual for her major label debut completely nude. What do these three moments in time, and these three unique artists, have in common? The subversion of the male gaze.
The male gaze is the idea that everything women do is held up to the lens of what straight men want to see. And although the male gaze reigns in all forms of media, it couldn’t be more present in rap, where women’s bodies are the currency with the highest exchange rate.
In this episode, we dig into the ways in which the male gaze body-checks the culture. Whether it’s coming from ex-boyfriends, internet trolls or entire corporations, the pressure is real and it’s never been more normalized. But we’ll also show you how the women running rap today are pushing back against that body policing by reclaiming their bodies, showing them off and making art that defies the gaze.
To follow along with the music in this episode, check out the Louder Than A Riot playlists on Apple Music & Spotify. We’ll update them every week.
Audio story produced by Gabby Bulgarelli and Sam J. Leeds Audio story edited by Soraya Shockley and Sam J. Leeds Audio story engineered by Gilly Moon and Josh Newell Podcast theme and original music by Suzi Analogue and Kassa Overall Fact-checking by Greta Pittinger
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Elizabeth Eden Harris, known professionally as Cupcakke, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. She is known for her hypersexualised, brazen, and often comical persona
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Elizabeth Eden Harris, known professionally as Cupcakke, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. She is known for her hypersexualised, brazen, and often comical persona and music although she has also made songs with themes supporting LGBTQ rights, female empowerment, and autism awareness.
Acclaimed GRAMMY-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello makes her Blue Note Records debut with the June 16 release of The Omnichord Real Book, a visionary
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Acclaimed GRAMMY-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello makes her Blue Note Records debut with the June 16 release of The Omnichord Real Book, a visionary and deeply jazz-influenced album that marks the start of a new chapter in her trailblazing career. Following her 2018 covers album Ventriloquism, Meshell returns with an album of new original material that taps into a broad spectrum of her musical roots. The Omnichord Real Book was produced by Josh Johnson and features a wide range of guest artists including Jason Moran, Ambrose Akinmusire, Joel Ross, Jeff Parker, Brandee Younger, Julius Rodriguez, Mark Guiliana, Cory Henry, Joan As Police Woman, Thandiswa, and others.
The Omnichord Real Book is introduced today by the expansive lead single “Virgo,” the mind-altering 8-minute centerpiece of the album which features Meshell on vocals, key bass, and keyboards, Younger on harp, Rodriguez on Farfisa organ, Chris Bruce on guitar, Jebin Bruni on keyboards, drums by Abe Rounds, Deantoni Parks, and Andrya Ambro, and additional vocals by Kenita Miller and Marsha DeBoe. The Omnichord Real Book is available for pre-order now on Blue Note Store exclusive color vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and digital.
“It’s a little bit of all of me, my travels, my life,” says Meshell. “My first record I made at 22, and it’s over 30 years from then, so I have a lot of stored information to share.” Reflecting on the impact that the forced stillness of the pandemic lockdown had on her, she says “I must admit it was a beautiful time for me. I got to really sit and reacquaint myself with music. Music is a gift.”
“This album is about the way we see old things in new ways,” Meshell explains. “Everything moved so quickly when my parents died. Changed my view of everything and myself in the blink of an eye. As I sifted through the remains of their life together, I found my first Real Book, the one my father gave me. I took their records, the ones I grew up hearing, learning, remembering. My mother gifted me with her ache, I carry the melancholy that defined her experience and, in turn, my experience of this thing called life calls me to disappear into my imagination and to hear the music.”
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