Reflective Analysis of Rap Music and Spoken Word Poetry on Women Empowerment

This reflective analysis compares the views of Joshua Bennett and Queen Latifah on women empowerment through their spoken word poetry and rap music. Joshua Bennett highlights the different aspects which make women an inspiration for men, while Queen Latifah asks every woman to be united and respond in a strong manner to punish any atrocity committed against them. The article highlights the positive outlook towards women and their strengths.

Running head: POETRY ANALYSIS
REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS OF RAP MUSIC
Name of Student
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Author note

1POETRY ANALYSIS
“10 things I want to say to a Black Women” by Joshua Bennett is a spoken word
poem which reflects the poets view about women and he points out several aspects that
describes women as the most beautiful and powerful. “U.N.I.T.Y” by Queen Latifah is a rap
song from the early 90s which admonishes the world for looking down upon women and is a
protest song which establishes women as strong personality.
Joshua Bennett in “10 things I want to say to a black woman” starts by saying that he
wanted to put the voice of the women in a jar, and wait for one of the coldest nights and go to
a strict prison and open it. Here the poet wants to establish a characteristic feature of women
who are always looked down as nothing but consumable products. Bennett stresses on the
fact it is those voices which can provide warmth in that coldest prison. The inmates can
remember their m other, sister, wife or daughter and sleep comfortably as it is the women’s
voice that can present heaven in the darkest of hells. A woman can be felt not by their body
but by the soul that lives inside her, the motherly figure that comforts in the coldest of the
nights.
Queen Latifah on the other hand protests against the atrocities of the men that they
commit upon women. She mentions the lowly moments when the girls are called names such
as ‘ho’ (whore). This might be just for fun, but according to Latifah women should take this
type of insults seriously as they are not lowly beings. She goes on sing that the girls might be
cool when they are playing but if they are called names such as ‘bitch’ or ‘whore’ the men
should better be aware that the girls can too protest by bringing out their wrath.
Both the artists have their own way of expressing their concerns for the women.
Joshua Bennett has a softer approach where he goes on to highlight the different good aspects
of the women. He compares the black women’s smile to that of a crescent moon. He also
addresses his mother and says that her charming smile has always been a mystery for him. To

2POETRY ANALYSIS
him, she is a queen who had a large heart even bigger than the skies. Queen Latifah on the
contrary highlights the women’s characteristics from a protestor’s point of view. She says
that girls might be wearing shorts for looking hot, but that doesn’t give the men the right to
touch and abuse her at their own will. She cries out to every women to unite and raise their
voice against such acts and if necessary punch into the face of the offenders. To her, women
are not to be messed with. In the lines she constantly, repeats her agenda of loving every
black man and woman ‘from infinity to infinity’. However, she also repeatedly states the
facts that women should not be disrespected and if done should raise their voice in unity.
Joshua Bennett also highlights the strengths of women, but in a much calmer tone. He
gets excited while reciting the poem but eventually calms down. He looks up to the women as
heroes who can achieve even more than men. The men might go out to work outside the
house, but the work that the women do in the house is no less tough. Moreover, in many
cases black women are seen to be raising their children without the fathers, wherein the
complete responsibility of earning and raising the house falls upon the women. A bastard
child might go out of control without proper guidance, but it is the responsibility and the
strength of the mother that makes a good guy out of a bastard child. It is her love and her
education that carves a good man out of her child. It is the little sacrifices that can help a
child grow, but the child when grown into a man will never have the enough resources to say
her a thank you for the immense sacrifices that they make. Queen Latifah, looks towards the
life of the woman from a different viewpoint. Though she agrees that women make great
sacrifices to make the men’s life comfortable, but still she can put them behind bars if they
commit crime.
It can be seen by comparing both the songs that both Joshua Bennett and Queen
Latifah reflects a positive outlook towards the women. Joshua Bennett highlights the different
aspects which make the women an inspiration for men, a being that they can look up to while

3POETRY ANALYSIS
Queen Latifah asks every woman to be united and look after themselves. They should look
after the men and their well-being but if any atrocity is committed against them, they should
unite and respond in a strong manner to punish them.

4POETRY ANALYSIS
Reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-FJKzJeVlA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8cHxydDb7o