Should we demand politics from our musicians?

I don’t talk about being a woman in the music industry very often. If anything, it’s a subject I steer clear of, as I’ve noticed many female-identifying artists do. They want to be considered as “artists” alongside their male peers – not segregated because of their gender. Equally, I am a music critic, full stop. My gender has nothing to do with my work.

In the wider scheme of things, being female in the music industry is an incredibly important issue. Safe spaces at gigs, misogyny, sexual assault and harassment, artists grooming young fans… these are all subjects I’ve written extensively on. But from a personal perspective, my experience over six or seven years has been a largely positive one.

One thing that really does bug me, though, is the assumption that, as a woman, I know nothing about certain genres that consist of a largely male fanbase. If, as a woman, you dare to criticise a major artist, their fans will be there in a heartbeat; trawling your social media and forcing you to turn off your notifications to avoid the endless messages accusing you of knowing nothing, or throwing expletives your way.

Take, for instance, last month when I criticised Eminem for using a homophobic slur in his track “The Fall”. Many of the responses heavily implied that, as a woman, I was naïve and didn’t understand anything about Eminem’s art. His fans told me to “do my research”, to realise that homophobic slurs are commonplace in mainstream rap.

Perhaps that was the case 10 years ago, but listen to Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Travis Scott, Rapsody, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Drake, Childish Gambino, Kanye West, Chance the Rapper, Kid Cudi… some of the biggest and best rappers in the game right now. None of these talented and creative artists feel the need to use homophobic insults in 2018.

As culture shifts, the best artists keep up – and inevitably, some who used to be heroes fall behind. That’s what progress looks like. And nowadays, there is so much demand for an artist to talk politics that we’re acutely aware of where everyone stands; in the current climate, it’s impossible to ignore.

Are we right to castigate Kanye for his support of Trump, to demand that Eminem drop the homophobic slurs once commonplace in his genre, or to call out sexism and misogyny when we see it? I believe we are – music is such a powerful tool for spreading and challenging prejudice that we can’t afford not to hold our favourite artists to account. That’s why I strive to continue to do so, even when the artist in question is an international treasure, and even when some would rather we preserved the status quo.

Yours,

Roisin O’Connor

Music Correspondent