PIMPS UP HO'S DOWN

Pimps Up Ho's Down addresses the contraversial issues surrounding young black women and hip hop culture. Sharpley-Whiting interrogates the idea of young black women's engagement with a culture that is masculinist and misogynistic.

Beyond their portrayal in rap lyrics, the representation of black women in music videos, television, film, fashion, and on the Internet is crucial to the mass media engineered appeal of hip hop culture, the author argues. She goes on to talk about how the portrayal of woman in hip hop as sex objects through marketing techniqhes has made them appear normal, acceptable, and entertaining.

Sharpley-Whiting questions the impacts of hip hop's increasing alliance with the sex industry, the rise of groupie culture in the hip hop world and the growing exploitation of women.

This book features interviews with exotic dancers, black hip hop groupies, and hip hop generation members Jacklyn "Diva" Bush, female rapper Trina, and filmmaker Aishah Simmons, and also the opinons of many "everyday" young women.