Unblurring the lines: Exploring the images of women in Ghanaian rap music

David Addae, Ellen Abakah

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Women have been portrayed in a variety of ways in Ghanaian rap music, popularly known as hiplife. These discursive constructions represent the subjective interpretations that artists assign to women based on societal gender stereotypes, which present women as inferior and subordinate to men. Using a qualitative content analysis of nine purposively selected hiplife songs released in the past decade, this paper explores the lyrical depictions of women's persona and roles in their relationships with men. From the analyses, three gender-related themes – women as sexual objects, women as ‘gold diggers’, and women as ‘heart breakers’ – predominantly prevailed. Going beyond the content analysis, this paper further underscores the paradox of hiplife music in the (mis)education of its growing listeners.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102914
JournalWomen's Studies International Forum
Volume105
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2024

Keywords

  • Females
  • Ghana
  • Hip-life music
  • Objectification
  • Sexual exploitation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Unblurring the lines: Exploring the images of women in Ghanaian rap music'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this