Happy 2013! Let's take a moment to think about how old we all are and how it's been nine years since the appearance of mainstream hip hop's most feminist track -- at least from a man.
Sure, T.I.'s 2004 jam "Freak Though" plays to heteronormative stereotypes (and it's pretty dirty) but as rap songs go, it's one of the most sex-positive out there.
In the song, Tip admonishes those who would deem his girl a ho -- pointing out, "The main thing making n***** judge you / is the same thing that make me wanna love you."
Now I been told every n**** in the streets know
She nothing but a freak ho
But when I look in her pretty eyes, I don't see it though
Now she done showed me some s*** that I ain't seen before
But what we do behind closed doors is for me to know
T.I.'s decision to get down and dirty is a nice corrective to both the typical misgogynistic claptrap in rap and the songs from so-called "conscious" rappers who, in their attempts to uplift, also manage to talk down to women who don't adhere to their "standards."
Let's cross our fingers that we get a worthy follow up before 10 years have passed.