At times, it’s hard and sad being a hip-hop creator. I am often disturbed knowing that women, especially black women who helped shape a style and music culture accepted and celebrated worldwide, are still treated as sexual objects. This reason makes it sad to embrace the fact as a creator in this genre. Rappers like me (Keldamuzik), Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Bia, and others have much more to offer than looks.

In the early 2000s, when Hip-Hop as a genre was evolving, I always wondered why most of what I heard revolved around the looks and characteristics of women’s bodies. And growing up, videos of vixens get way more attention than women musicians without much effort.

Body image is the main focus for many new female rappers, another method used to push them out of the male-dominated space. Unlike male rappers, today’s female rappers are expected to look better than average vixens and outdo their male counterparts. Since hip-hop was primarily male-occupied, it was known for objectifying women and promoting sexism. And we were now used to having men dominate the hip-hop industry that we neglected to realize that other genders can thrive within it.

For me, someone who says they enjoy a genre but don’t enjoy other certain genders in the genre does not enjoy that genre. And the only difference between men and women who rap is their physical characteristics and nothing else, as you can find women thriving in any given genre.

When it comes to the male rap game, with the likes of Drake, Lil Wayne, and Kanye, there is a friendly and mutual understanding with the world at large that they put out different music in the same genre and are at the top of their game. But when it comes to their counterpart, like when Cardi B went into the spotlight, she was constantly compared to Nicky Minaj and Meghan Thee Stallion. But given Hip-Hop’s history of ignoring the contributions of women, it’s easy to see the problem. A community where lyrics about violence, sex, and masculinity reigned but still had no space for women to thrive; instead, women were objectified and ignored, thanks to Queen Latifah, missy Elliot who paved the way for female rappers.

Currently, I love how much the industry has grown and is growing. I love all the new sounds and courageous female talents keeping hope up for the female rap community. I’m happy to see the female rappers’ representation and accomplishments. One of the unacceptable truths is that times have changed, and the rise of female rappers has never been better.

Currently, more female artists are ahead of their male counterparts in areas like entertainment and being more lyrical.

After the late 90s, the era of Lauryn hill and missy Elliot, there was hardly any female representative for the rap industry.

Then the arrival of artists like Nicki Minaj changed the demographics; starting her rap career during the mid-2000s, she did not gain any popularity or traction until 2009 due to the album release. With the likes of Taylor Swift winning the best video of the year and Nicki Minaj winning the best hip-hop artist at the MVCA Awards, I can proudly say the female rap community has come so far.

Seeing these women be themselves and accomplish incredible feats encourages more talent and empowerment. As a woman, there’s no perfect way to depict Hip-Hop as a culture, but looking towards the women like Keldamuzik, who continue to carry the torch for us, brings a lot of comforts that the females will always make their way through as they usually have.

Keldamuzik gives her opinion on a very popular topic of our time; what is beauty? While the definition of beauty has constantly changed, its main key points tend to be based more on physical attributes.

As Coined from Wikipedia, beauty is commonly described as a property of objects that make these objects pleasurable to see. These objects vary from manufactured objects to humans and works of art.

For a feature like beauty to exist, its far away opposite has to live; its opposite is to be known as Ugliness. In this Era, beauty as a character is taken as a high priority. For example, to be successful in both the fashion and entertainment industry, beauty as a physical characteristic is considered. With the advent of the digital age and social media, the aim for perfection has never been higher. The aim of attaining perfection brought up new methods of body modification by specialized doctors. Body modification includes face remodeling, bone restructuring, peels, Botox, and fillers.

One of the main difficulties in understanding beauty is that it is not affiliated with a specific object and has both objective and subjective aspects. Like Margaret Wolfe, Hungerford said, “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder,” which means every single person/ judge all have different tastes in their beauty requirements. While some people’s perception of beauty is similar and believed to be more accurate, it is never the same. Though there are undeniably beautiful people and objects, disagreements by others may be blamed on their inability to perceive the feature accurately, which is also known as lack of taste.

With many people having high aims of attaining beauty perfection due to social media influence and peer pressure, this has led to the age where body modification is honorable. People now tend to spend fortunes just trying to perfect the shape of their face and their bodies, to belong. People who can’t afford this fortune to perfect their skin or looks, tend to get depressed, leading to social stigma and low self-esteem.

Ooh, let’s not talk about one of the most common skin problems, which is believed to be associated Ugliness and hinders beauty. Acne is one of the most common skin problems we know today. Acne, usually found on the face, is known to disturb many people from their teenage years, and it’s also known as a symptom of growth because it has different forms and causes and is very hard to get rid of.

Acne is a selling point for influencers due to its commonness and no specific way of getting rid of it without spending a lot. So paid or self-employed influencers start to promote easy cures or organizations that can get rid of acne and other beauty hinderers for you. This is also applicable to other diseases. While they might be cheap and compelling, these products are usually not verified or known not to cause more damage.

So why do we go this far to attain beauty? This is the question usually asked through the years, but I still get no specific answer. It is undeniable that it is due to peer influence and social media Because people come to social media to look like they are perfect and never go through rainy days, which in turn cloud most minds to want to be like them. But let me reassure you all nobody is perfect or close to perfection; making those drastic changes won’t bring happiness or make you belong.

In my idea, we quickly forget that beauty isn’t only about physical perfection; other attributes like self-confidence, manners, and behaviors are also another form of beauty. There is no limit to what you can achieve with the right mindset. Not everything might see the beauty that lies within and above you. Nobody is physically or mentally the same but still is regarded as beautiful. So, what makes you think you need the right jawline or nose to attain beauty? This brings us back to the statement, “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, ” meaning everybody is beautiful in their form. We were all created with unique attributes; why will you want to edit those attributes to look like others?

Keldamuzik believes that beauty is not just affiliated with physical properties that spark pleasure in the eyes of the beholder; it is the quality that gives pleasure, satisfaction, and meaning to one’s mind. So, go out there and shine; you deserve it.

To get more tips from Keldamuzik, click here.

You could also buy her glamorous beret here.

Today another hot topic is the 360 deal, a current alternative to the traditional and outdated recording deals or contracts. While it’s mostly perceived as a bad idea since most assume it was created to screw artists over. But trust me, that’s not the case, as the application and terms of the contract vary. So, if the deal is monitored and structured relatively, both the record company and the artist gain profit. As a veteran rapper (Keldamuzik), I am here to give you the full details on a 360 deal and its Benefit.

A 360 Deal

But first, what’s a 360 deal? A 360 deal is an alternative to traditional record contracts. It’s a business contract between artists of any kind and a music company. The deal comprises the company agreeing to provide financial and other support for the artist. In turn, the artist accepts to give the company a planned percentage from any revenue the artists earn through. Revenues like digital sales, placement royalties, endorsement deals, and merchandise sales.

A deal developed in the 21st century as an alternative to the traditional recording contract in which the artist usually had complete control over personal revenue streams. But in the 360 deal, also known as the multi rights, a company agrees to provide full support to an artist upfront to more extraordinary lengths than the regular support covered by a traditional recording contract, with a condition of receiving a percentage from all the source of the revenue made by the artist.

In the past, the traditional recording deal did not offer a share of any income other than the revenues from record sales and other forms, which include the recording to the recording company. This gave a massive chance to famous artists to make a comfortable income from their performance, royalties, talents, and tours or concerts. Then artists limited the recording company’s access to those revenues until the advent of the 360 deal.

Unlike the traditional deal in which the recording label pays the artist an advance for recording a piece of music or an album, the artist is required to repay the advance with interest from their successive income from the album. In the multi-rights deal, if the artist doesn’t earn enough royalties from one album, record labels may use royalties earned from other sources like other successful albums to repay the advance of previous albums.

READ: How Old Music is Killing New Music?

The 360 deal was created in the early 2000s as a response to the significant drop in album sales due to the advent of technology. The decline in album sales was placed to the emergence of the digital music age and made the profit margins for the recording label and artist decline progressively.

The 360 deal has become common within major recording labels’ contracts because recorded music sales and profits aren’t as robust as before. This doesn’t mean that people don’t enjoy or spend on music as they used to; it’s just that people don’t purchase records and CDs the way they used to.

The Pros of a 360 Deal.

Though the characteristics and benefits of the deal for the record label are known, how does it benefit an artist?

Let me get you through that quickly.

• Financial Support.
• The recording label provides more commitment to promoting and developing your interests
• Rising artists get opportunities to collaborate with professionals.
• Gives artists more time to concentrate on their talent and creativity
• Proven in increasing revenue streams.
• Investment in revenue stream on the artist’s behalf.

Cons of a 360 deal

Due to the low success rate of emerging artists, most labels take drastic actions to ensure they get something in return for taking the risk. This is where the controversy around 360 deals arise. The debate about them wrecks artists’ careers in the long run. Below are a few cons of a 360 deal

• The upcoming artist mostly lose the copyright of their music
• The record labels take a percentage share of every income.
• Artists have to give up creative control over how their music is produced and how it sounds.

In conclusion, is a 360 Deal Good or Bad?

Though there are many advantages for an artist in signing a 360 deal with a record label, there’s still the issue of the record label earning from all their sources of income. While most record labels request 10-25 per cent of the artist’s income other than record sales, artists should negotiate the deal properly. Lawyers can arrange 360 contracts to fit the interests of the artist and the record label. So, my advice will be to see an experienced entertainment lawyer to tailor the contract appropriately, Cheers on signing the contract.

You can also check my recent thoughts on the impact of female rappers here.

READ: Keldamuzik Voices Out on The Impact of Female Rappers

Since the 70s, hip-hop has been known to be heavily dominated by men, thanks to the likes of Tupac, Drake and Kendrick Lamar.  The popular rap stars were generally men and surrounded by male teams, producers and managers.  Although women were not to be excluded, the likes of Missy Elliot and Queen Latifah paved the way and boldly entered an area where women were scarce.

Since hip-hop was mostly male-occupied, it was known for objectifying women and promoting sexism.  Then came the female rappers to put things right in order and make more awareness against misogyny and sexism.

One of the unacceptable truths is that times have changed, and the rise of female rappers has never been better.  Currently, more female artists are ahead of their male counterparts in areas like entertainment and being more lyrical.  After the late 90s, the era of Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliot, there was hardly any female representative for the rap industry.  Then the arrival of artists like Nicki Minaj changed the demographics; while starting her rap career during the mid-2000s, she did not gain any popularity or traction until 2009 due to the album release then.  With the likes of Taylor Swift winning the best video of the year and Nicki Minaj winning best hip hop artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, I can proudly say the female rap community has come so far.

The likes of Nicki Minaj and Cardi B have given rise to more confident rappers like Bia, Young Ma, me (Keldamuzik), and Dream Doll.  I believe the new and the current female rappers are more confident and have dominated the rap industry more.  They are known to have had a very high positive impact on how women should be treated and have made a very arguable awareness of female rights and power.  I am so happy with the improvement in the industry and the current support given to female rappers.  With the likes of the internet and social media still in place, female rappers will continue to strive and compete in the male-dominated genre.