Real, Live Rapper Weighs In on Proper Use of the Word “Ho”

4/19/07, 6:05 pm EST

MIMS

Don Imus’ firing has seriously stoked the flames of the free speech debate in this country. While Russell Simmons and company discuss the future of hip hop in glitzy Manhattan apartments, musicians, comics, writers and basically anyone who tends to speak out in a public way about anything are weighing in on the ramifications of the Imus issue. We caught up with New York rapper MIMS who discussed everything from the so-called Imus situation to his perspective on misogynists/racists lyrics. Here are our favorite quotes:

  • Why’d Don Imus really get fired? Follow the money: “Let’s be real. Don Imus made a derogatory comment, and the reason why he suffers for that is because he may have the Freedom of Speech as an individual, but he’s also signed to a corporation that obviously doesn’t allow him to say what he said. The backlash from that is that he got fired, due to the loss of advertisement and investors in his show and the stations. That’s why he lost his job, not because of what he said.”
  • On his responsibility to avoid racist and sexist language in his lyrics: “I do think we have a responsibility and my responsibility is to relate to my audience…So sometimes if I want to reach out to a community I have to show that I understand the language, I understand what they go through. Do I think that it’s necessary to say ‘bitch,’ ‘ho,’ the n-word, each and every time? No. Even I, at some point in time, utilize it a little too much. But the difference between hip hop and Don Imus — and why I don’t think the two belong together — is because you’re talking about an art form that is already censored. If radio tells me tomorrow that I can’t use the b-word on air, that word in my song gets blanked out, the n-word gets blanked out…the h-word gets blanked out, we don’t have that option….When we put ‘Parental Advisory’ on our album, that sticker goes on there, that means that there’s content on the album that you might not like, and that’s no different than Rated R film.”
  • On his equal-opportunity perception of the word “ho”: “I would never call a woman a bitch. In my community, the word ‘ho,’ derived from a woman that’s promiscuous, and promiscuous might be the proper term to use, but you go to my community and say ‘this person’s being promiscuous,’ they might not understand what I’m talking about. So when I say: ‘She’s been sleeping around with a bunch of guys and she’s all about the money. She’s getting money from guys to sleep with them - that’s a ho.’ If a man sleeps with a whole bunch of females, in my opinion, he’s a ho too. I’m not biased. It’s not a male or female thing to me.”

Comments

kelvin | 11/5/2007, 2:25 pm EST

how do u rap

Clayperro | 4/26/2007, 11:44 am EST

i think mims has good points. that is why he’s hot and your not. lol big upz to mims

k-bones(a7xrox) | 4/25/2007, 3:54 am EST

relly im worn out about the whole rap thing i can’t wait for it to completly go away.its all the same

k-bones(a7xrox) | 4/25/2007, 3:49 am EST

oh and who the hell is MIMS anyway?rap music is a relic now iv never seen that guy in my life.
heres some thing 2 help you mr.rapper
things you can say instead of ho

(1. that woman dresses like a prostitute

(2. but she might just be copying the way us rappers portray women in are videos

now is it right to portray women as ho’s? no because not every one is like that

k-bones(a7xrox) | 4/25/2007, 3:32 am EST

i dont under stand why thay only call women ho’s cuse theres more men ho’s then women hos(i mean in the sense that they cheat more)but you know what i take that back cuse it doesn’t matter what sex you are it depends on what kind of person you are,there 4 no one should be calld ho unless you know that that indavigual person relly is one.RAP IS DEAD yet my fight to spell correctly is still alive.

brian wright | 4/23/2007, 10:44 am EST

hi.mims

brian wright | 4/23/2007, 10:43 am EST

hi. mims i like your music.

brian wright | 4/23/2007, 10:41 am EST

i like your music.

Dr. Ralph | 4/22/2007, 2:03 pm EST

Actually the proper use of ho is when you describe your job at the hotel. As in “I ho de do fo de guestusesss…”

emily | 4/21/2007, 4:52 pm EST

I’d love to see just one of his songs to call a man a ho- just one

david | 4/21/2007, 11:00 am EST

“On his equal-opportunity perception of the word “ho”: “I would never call a woman a bitch. In my community, the word ‘ho,’ derived from a woman that’s promiscuous, and promiscuous might be the proper term to use, but you go to my community and say ‘this person’s being promiscuous,’ they might not understand what I’m talking about. So when I say: ‘She’s been sleeping around with a bunch of guys and she’s all about the money. She’s getting money from guys to sleep with them - that’s a ho.’ If a man sleeps with a whole bunch of females, in my opinion, he’s a ho too. I’m not biased. It’s not a male or female thing to me.” LOL SO DAMN FUNNY!

have cake + eat cake =? | 4/20/2007, 1:27 pm EST

Oh the arbitrariness. How funny it would be watching so many frantically scrambling to try reasoning out the legitimacy of this whole spectacle, were it not for the fact that its not fictional, but happening right here.

Is it too soon to make jokes about the rappers being like the pot calling the kettle black yet?

I say | 4/20/2007, 1:06 pm EST

Many of these rappers don’t ever raise the bar because they don’t ever have to. They can make money saying ho all they want because the listeners don’t expect more. Of course it’s easier to say ho rather than explain what promiscuous means. But what does that say about yourself and the audience? That you’re lazy and worthless and don’t have any expectations for yourself or your community.

calling this guy a rapper, wow | 4/20/2007, 1:01 pm EST

talent calls this guy for a laugh

Mario Kart | 4/20/2007, 12:48 pm EST

I’m just waiting til’ some Yung Lil Lloyd clone drops “Imus” as a rhyme…
Rap is more prepackaged than a f’n Happy Meal.

Barry | 4/20/2007, 12:42 pm EST

Hip-hop became stagnant a while ago. I think rappers extending their vocabulary is something most of them aren’t interested in, because the industry isn’t based on whether or not they can rhyme promiscuous or, I don’t know, proletariat? Anyway, the audiences who buy rap/hip-hop aren’t concerned with that, so that’s not where it’ll go.

TheLawyer | 4/20/2007, 12:40 pm EST

The word hoe was first used to describe republicans

Nathan | 4/20/2007, 12:38 pm EST

Where the hell is rap music these days? Suddenly it’s disappeared like a six pack at an AA meeting.

Aries73 | 4/20/2007, 12:30 pm EST

MIMS makes some fair points, but a lot of current rappers seem to instinctively go for the low-hanging fruit rather than raise their game and extend their vocabulary and perspective.

I am not entirely for censorship of words that seem objectionable to a certain group of people. Nothing is gained ultimately from such action. Rappers, however, must respect the gravity of such words and use them only as the situation warrants. Most black women are not “ho’s”, not even a double-digit percentage. However, there a minute number of women who cause the stereotype to exist in the first place.

banana hammock | 4/20/2007, 12:24 pm EST

pretty sure that the word “ho” has not been around for hundreds of years

Smith and Hawken | 4/20/2007, 12:24 pm EST

Dear sirs,

I for one, use Ho’s and Spades quite often as I’m gardening on my Estate. What is the racial issue with this language?
The people of color on my staff at the Estate seem to be OK when I ask “Please get a few Ho’s and Spades and plant the Spring flowers.” Goodness gracious, can’t we all just get along?
Good day.

whazzzup | 4/20/2007, 10:06 am EST

OH who cares….look these words have been around for hundreds of years… these words will be around for hundreds of years… white, black, red,…doesnt matter no one SHOULD use them but some ppl always will!

lik roper | 4/20/2007, 12:05 am EST

the word ‘ho’ is okay if you are talking about twinkies and/or ho-hos…

Jake | 4/19/2007, 10:42 pm EST

So basically, white people can’t say “ho” but black people can. This tells me that segregation is still technically legal in this country, that black people still see themselves as a different kind of people than whites because of the color of their skin. With all do respect, Martin Luther King is probably rolling in his grave right now.

ishy | 4/19/2007, 7:57 pm EST

This wouldn’t even be an issue if hip hop weren’t in such a state of creative crisis.

In the past, with true hip hop artists, these terms were used but in service to a story. No longer.

And, btw? Its not art if its purely for commerce…I’m sick of that defense from Russell Simmons or whomever…

NaS? Common? OutKast? the Roots?
All true artists who have a point to their stories and their linguistic choices.

Young Jeezy? Lil’Flip? Young Joc? Tony Yayo?

These dudes are just in it for the money…most of ‘em can’t even rap (Jeezy don’t even rhyme) and use foul language and violent/materialistic imagery only to sell money.

Let us not forget, though, its us white folks who support this foolishness. McDonalds, etc. they make crappy product, too, which hurts people. Nobody can stop ‘em because it makes money (and I love me some Big Mac, from time to time). Same thing here…

MA | 4/19/2007, 7:48 pm EST

right, and that’s what some rap and Don Imus DO have in common…those women on the basketball team aren’t hos and neither is the generalized black woman discussed in so many rap songs. I dig artists like Talib Kweli because they take on an even bigger challenge than deep dickens set forth…they describe women who AREN’T hos.

deep dickens | 4/19/2007, 6:54 pm EST

Fair enough, but I think MCs should consider it a challenge to actually describe a promiscuous woman rather than just to label her. To just put down someone with a derogatory name is the true crime here. Be creative, and keep the language clean, sirs!

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