This video from rapper Ludacris was released in 2006, and the song peaked at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 music charts. Throughout the video, Ludacris and Pharrell are surrounded by dancing women in mini-dresses; the men flash $100 bills as they call on the women to “shake their moneymaker”.

discussion

When you think of the representation of women in hip-hop videos, what comes to mind?

How are women generally portrayed? Does this video match your expectations?

critique

The Ludacris video helps exemplify a strain of hip hop culture that can be critiqued as inherently exploitative of women, overly materialistic, and politically regressive. Hip hop culture in this vein has been criticized by people from all across society – from other rappers who believe their work should be a force for good, to racist whites who believe it confirms their long-held stereotypes, and many in between.