Sociology

Hip-Hop is generally defined by its internal contradictions. These contradictions keep a culture alive, pushing it forward in reaction to multiple social stimuli. The contradicting elements in hip-hop give a culture the distinct mark of idealism and to some extent deviance. In general, the contradictions in hip-hop are as follows the group vs. the individual, the society vs. the group, life vs. death, indifference vs. social action, variety vs. uniformity, and obedience vs. freedom of action.

In the song, My Chick Bad, two contemporary issues are discussed the whiteblack women divide and social preference. The song starts with the words my chick bad, my chick hood, my chick do stuff dat ya chick wish she could. This refers to the stereotype African American woman. The African-American woman has a nasty but strong stereotype. According to Gilels (2003), the African-American woman is always depicted in movies as a sexual appendage of a black gangster  a part of the whole melodrama of black inferiority. Gilels (200324) noted that the African-American woman has a strong-self ordeal (stereotype), in contrast to the white woman who is vivacious but weak.

In the song, this stereotype is reinforced. Note the following words from the song she always bring the racket like Venus and Serena all white top, all white belt and all white jeans, body looking like milk  now your girl might be sick but my girl be sicker (My Chick Bad). The African-American woman is a strong-willed individual, in contrast to the white woman who is sublime and condescending. 

The song is generally popular with African-Americans because it defines their history, identity, and social preference. The song is, from a narrow perspective, a history of social differentiation. It is a narrative of the blackwhite divide. Moreover, the song is a reference to an established identity  an identity which cherishes social equality and creativity. Perhaps more than history and identity, the song is an expression of social preference. Because the artist is an African-American, then his choice will also be an African-American. As such, the artist tends to focus on the positivegood characteristics of the African-American woman. The song is not necessarily biased against the white woman.

Social differentiation has deep roots in American culture. It defines both history and identity. The artist was well aware of the social implications of the song. A careful reading of the song reveals 1) a general reference to black culture, 2) the relative dominance of white values in American society, and the 3) loose differentiation between the African-American woman and the white woman.

As discussed above, the issues in the song are the preponderance of the blackwhite woman divide and social preference. A sociological analysis would look like this. We make a preemptive analysis of the song, based on three criteria (issue urgency, complexity, and relevance). Next, we will examine other hip-hop songs composed by the same artist. The idea is to find similarities and differences among the songs. A good sociological analysis utilizes across-the-object studies. We will examine other hip-hop songs not necessarily composed by the same artist. The purpose is to determine whether there is a continuous mood or theme in black songs. The resulting sociological analysis is complete and continuous because it is general and non-contradictory.

The song does speak to contemporary issues in the United States. However, the so-called blackwhite woman divide is a deemphasized topic primarily because the current focus is on the ethnic group rather than the subgroup. Note that only a handful of academic literature which discuss the blackwhite woman divide.