Lauryn Hill depicts the aspects of the black community that indisputably attribute to an inferior lifestyle in comparison to the rest of society in her song entitled “Doo Wop (That Thing)”. The aspects that Hill so skillfully portrays include: promiscuity, superficiality, materialism, and poor morality. Possessing any of these characteristics is detrimental to one’s existence; let alone a combination of any of them. What Lauryn Hill is able to do is pin-point the general downfalls of young African Americans, while simultaneously enlightening them.
By speaking to her audience through hip-hop, she achieves this. Some Females have the tendency to become overtly naive once they are involved in relationships where they believe they are in love. Often times however, it is mere infatuation which engenders their promiscuity. Hill describes a scenario where this is evident in the first stanza of “Doo Wop”. She says, “That one you let hit it and never called you again” then goes on to say “plus when you give it up so easy you ain’t even fooling him. ” What Hill is implying is that some black women misconstrue the meaning of love by equating it with sex.
Later on in the stanza she declares that these women are in denial, “Niggas f***ed up and you still defending them”, (nativity).
These issues stem from lack of self with and low self- esteem which may be due to the often absent father figure in the black community. The inner beauty comes first, while the outer should come second; thus the lyric how you gone win when you ain’t right within?. Too many African Americans attempt to conceal their shortfall of character by making it up with their appearance and ownership of materialistic items.
The Term Paper on The Effects Of Scientific Racism On Black Women
... below" (1979, 44). References "The Sexual Politics of Black Womanhood". In: Collins, Patricia Hill, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of ... Empowerment (New York: Routledge, 1990), p. 163-180. Copyright (c) 1990. From BLACK ...
This superficiality leads to the purchasing of items that they can’t afford; causing many blacks go broke attempting to look rich. The lyric “hair weave like Europeans, fake nails done by Koreans”, pretty much sums up that concept. On a similar topic, some African American women conform to what is portrayed in music videos and other forms of mass media’s idea of beauty. Therefore the previous mentioned lyric refers to the strive of many black women to look attractive; by neglecting their God-given beauty which really makes them an individual.
During childhood we are taught right from wrong, however many black men fail to apply these morals and ethics in their adulthood. Instead turning to inappropriate behavior. Lauryn Hill says that they come in club like hooligans. These men also unfortunately do not have a sense of priority they “pop crystal by the case” yet “still in the mother’s basement”. The lacks of morals, or poor morals, lead them to a life of crime and violence. By Speaking to young Africans with her lyrics of “Doo Wop (That Thing)” rather than preaching, Hill sort of guidelines what they should avoid in life.
