With R&B singer Ciara’s release of her post baby weight, weight loss body surfacing on the net. I was inspired to think about her relationship with southern Hip-Hop artist Future and the logic behind why their engagement may have been called off.

R&B Songstress Ciara, recently released photos of herself posed in Calvin Klein underwear and it made me think about what men say and do in Hip-Hop. I know it seems like a giant leap from scantily clad photos of an R&B singer to what male rappers do in Hip-Hop, but Ciara recently broke up with Hip-Hop impresario and father to her son, Future. What does one thing have to do with another, you might ask? Well when Future and Ciara split it was allegedly due to his infidelity. Having a harem of women who are at your beck and call sexually and mentally is the image most often portrayed within Hip-Hop. To be a P.I.M.P. is just as glorious a profession as the Mack, Willie Dynamite and other 70s Blaxploitation films have suggested it to be in the minds of both male and female rappers. For the men it is more explicitly and literally spelled out like in 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.” single from his debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” For the women in Hip-Hop, the exploits and the narratives that they craft are as descriptive and vivid as their male counterparts when it comes to having multiple sexual partners and receiving monetary and material gains from their conquests. Again, what does Ciara and Future breaking up has to do with anything? It all comes down to the slogan, “bitches ain’t shit.”

The rhetoric and the sentiment behind the slogan “bitches ain’t shit” is one filled with hatred and contempt for women of a certain ilk. These women are often depicted as hoes or t.h.o.t.s. (that hoe over there) and the vilest of all…the “baby momma.” These stereotypes of women, who give credence to the slogan “bitches ain’t shit” in the minds of rappers, are always vilified in juxtaposition to the mythical “ride or die chick/bitch.” The “ride or die chick/bitch” is always talked about as the one who is really going to support their man and to be the quintessential mate who performs her duties to the highest standards. These women are also known as “down-ass bitches” and are not to be confused with the bitches in the slogan “bitches ain’t shit.” If a woman whom a male rapper confides in and is then betrayed by, that “bitch ain’t shit.” If a woman whom a male rapper is sexually active with, but not exclusively involved with, goes on and sleeps with another partner, that “bitch” may not be shit, and that “hoe” may not be loyal such as the ones Chris Brown sings of in his song “Loyal.” A woman can be a bitch who “ain’t shit” to a male for a myriad of reasons and none of which are surprising because if she was that untrustworthy and that conspiratorial towards these rappers, why deal with her in the first place? This flawed logic makes absolutely no sense what so ever, but is justified in the rhetoric and songs of many of our popular male Hip-Hop artists. This leads me back to Ciara and Future.

One can assume that if the tales of his quest to find love in his music are true, then Future desires a good women/ “ride or die chick/bitch”/“down-ass chick/bitch” to complete him and he’s “looking for her too” because he’s had several “baby mamas” in real life. All of these relationships have failed causing Future to “need love and affection.” Ciara by all accounts fits the description of a good women/“ride or die chick/bitch”/“down-ass chick/bitch” and was willing to provide these things as she has never been apart of any major scandals, least of all her being the aggressor, with most of her unfortunate situations concerning men revolve around her being the victim of infidelity. If we can assume that Future wants a good women/“ride or die chick/bitch”/“down-ass chick/bitch” and if the rumors of infidelity on his part are true, one is only left with the question as to the reason behind his cheating. Why? Why would you seemingly find someone who fits the mold of what you want in a relationship so much so that you not only impregnated her, but also proposed marriage to her, only to disrespect her by cheating on her? Why get all that you want, only to then disregard it? The logic is totally unsound.

For the life of me I cannot understand the cognitive process behind cheating. In the world of Hip-Hop, male rappers are the first to suggest that besides having the latest in luxury items, women too are a commodity to be sought after, and not just any woman, but a hoe. Just think Jay-Z’s “Money, Cash, Hoes.” The songs hook is about obtaining wealth and women and makes them of equal importance. The “hoes” are the “bitches” that “ain’t shit.” If “bitches ain’t shit, but hoes and tricks” suggesting that the unscrupulous women are little more than conniving and lascivious by nature, then why deal with them at all? I guess it is male rapper logic to go through as many “hoes” and “ain’t shit” “bitches” until he finds himself a good women/“ride or die chick/bitch”/“down-ass chick/bitch” who will make all the pain and strife of having relations with “hoes” worth it once found. If we are to assume that this is the case, then why do these same rappers have wives and significant others of whom they will cheat on and treat like the “hoes” they despise? “The problem is, you dudes treat the one that you loving with the same respect that you treat the one that you humping.” I guess in this since “bitches ain’t shit”… and apparently every other woman is too.