GrungeCake Magazine Interview with Recording Artists MC Pig Pen and Dessa by Kosha Dillz!

Photo: Courtesy of Dessa

Photo: Courtesy of MC Pig Pen

Photo: Courtesy of Dessa

Blurb from Kosha Dillz:

I must say that whenever I attend a Hip-Hop show in NYC, the attire women wear is usually appropriate, in relation to the constant “video girl” that we get to feast our eyes upon in BET’s Uncut or VH1/MTV. If you do watch Shakira, her fame not only carves the great voice, but she does sound much better hitting high notes in flesh over-tone doing a split while singing on a basically… naked… hit song… or should I say hit… naked… song.

If sex sells, take a look at the latest video from Black Skeptik’s latest “Frankenstein Saves Hip-Hop” video. Not only does it appear underground, but Mary Shelley hired a hot nurse to strut around during the “experiment” to make Halloween that much bearable!

Let us ask questions from a national emcee perspective on the polar tip. I have Queens NYC, Salt Lake City, (Mormon Land) Utah.

GrungeCake: What’s the vibe you get from a Mobb Deep video in comparison to the Chingy videos and how have they translated into your life?

Dessa: To be honest, I don’t watch a lot of rap videos. If a friend suggests I check something out, I’ll track it down on the internet. The mainstream is host to some amazing artists, but the prevailing themes of materialism and sexism bum me out too much to pay very close attention.

MC Pig Pen: I have never seen a Chingy video to compare. I tried to watch one for this interview. Sorry couldn’t make it all the way through.

Photo: Courtesy of MC Pig Pen

GrungeCake: Is Hip-Hop different if you are in a relationship? Does that make things different for your music?

Dessa: I’ve been single during all of my tours, so I’ve dodged the bullet that touring can pose for romantic relationships. So far romance hasn’t changed my rap game, but I do expect rap will affect my love life. I know that some of my friends struggle to find ways to balance the travel with loves back at home. It’ll take a confident and trusting partner to stay involved with a touring performer.

MC Pig Pen: I’m sure for many people it is. I have friends that won’t get on a track if its like a jokey trying to get laid type of track, cause they say their girl will get mad. That has never been the case for me. I write what I feel at the time, and don’t let my girl’s opinion alter that.

GrungeCake: Do you think that Hip-Hop is behind in equal rights, as the fact that they’re no CEO ladies of record labels (Ms. Lior Cohen)?

Dessa: There are relatively few female CEOs in the largest companies in any field. Rap, like everything else, still has a bit of ground to cover before it can call itself egalitarian.

MC Pig Pen: I’m not really sure if any girls have really stepped up to try to become a ceo of a label. But I’m sure as with most big business there is some bias there. I don’t think its just Hip-Hop, just all big business.

GrungeCake: Have you seen women get treated differently at shows in comparison to men. What about women artists?

Dessa: Some rap shows can feel a little like a meat market—maybe because men there assume that the women in attendance must be comfortable with the overt sexuality that can be part of rap music. Performers can do a lot to affect the behavior in the crowd though; P.O.S is great at establishing a we’re-all-in-this-together vibe.

MC Pig Pen: Yes, but there is usually a type of girl that gets treated like a groupie and It’s usually cause they act like one. Plenty of girls just come to shows for the music and get treated with all the same respect as guys. As far as women artists in Hip-Hop, I think there is still a major hurdle they have to overcome, and I’m sure it is not easy.

GrungeCake: Does the lack of self-esteem, which runs in many artists, have much to do with the way Hip-Hop personifies the female?

Dessa: Zero. Hip-Hop is athletic and competitive and brash and aggressive. The idea of being alpha male is an attractive one to most emcees. It’s a drag (at least in my view) that a lot of male artists use women as instruments to try and emasculate other dudes. The message seems to be ‘I dare to treat fine women worse than you do— because I know I’ll can always get more of them. It’s one thing to say that you’re successful with the ladies, or even that you can fuck all night. Seems like harmless boasting to me. But to brag about lying and cheating women, about forced sex, or about how little you think of the women you bang— that sucks. Women don’t end up being sex objects, they end up being disposable.

MC Pig Pen: Funny you ask that, cause there truly is a lack of self-esteem in Hip-Hop artists. And yes, it probably affects the way that they treat people in general including women.

GrungeCake: Any ideas on how can we change our current cultural deformity?

Dessa: Zero. As a Hip-Hop practitioner, the only way that I know how to influence the culture is to make the best music that I can. In January, I’ll be releasing my latest album called, A Badly Broken Code. On it, I tried to be as an honest as I could. I don’t think I could make a compelling record that preaches to listeners about sexism. That’d be transparent. And probably really annoying. The best thing that I can do as a feminist is be honest about my experience as a human— sometimes goofy, sometimes in love, sometimes looking for a fight. As a hip hop listener, I’m a fan of a technique used by the Groove Squad. When you’re at a house party or a club and the DJ plays a track with some really foul lyrics, get your ass of the floor. And convince all the girls to go with you. It takes bravery and self-discipline to do it—no one wants to look like their preaching at a party. But I can’t think of a faster way to train a DJ.

MC Pig Pen: Well, the dancing half naked booty short video hoe in all the videos doesn’t help. But its funny cause if you go to clubs, all the girls seem to be trying really hard to be just like that. I think in the underground Hip-Hop scene there is a lot less of the kind of rappers that get down like that and a lot less of those kind of club hoes. Just one more reason I’m shocked as to why what is popular is what’s popular.

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