For me, the statement, "Manhood in a Bottle" is an indirect way of expressing how male musicians in the hip-hop business are trapped inside of a stereotype. Rap culture was born in the South Bronx ghettos, where people could express their emotions and anger through music and dance - which further formed gangs, and exploited violence. In this 'rap culture,' male rappers feel as if they need to uphold a certain standard, act tough, and call women "bitches and hoes" in order to get this point across. It is their way of showing their power and dominance in the culture. They just want to be successful, like everybody else - they all have dreams, ideals, and aspirations. Who doesn't?
But do rappers themselves really believe that by degrading women in their lyrics in order to create a 'masculine shield' is gaining any respect by others outside of their community? The rest of the country - or the world for that matter?
Maddy has some strong points in here, but rappers, whether they believe it or not, need to push this masculinity and disrespect towards women to be successful in this culture or music. It's a terrible cycle, but one that is hard to break. The only way to fix it (how I see it) is to get everyone (or at least the majority) to make a stand and change the ways of going about the hip-hop and rap culture. This is obviously a difficult thing and hasn't been done, so in the mean time, people make little changes and try to make a difference.
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