Hip Hop is music by dudes, for dudes...

... but not about dudes, says Ta-nehisi.

There's a lot of hip-hop that communicates being into girls, because it impresses your friends, but not as much that communicates being into girls because, uhm, you're heterosexual. I think that's because the expression of want, the communication of deeply felt need, implies vulnerability. It implies the possibility of failure, of disappointment. Hip-Hop is at its best when it gives in to that vulnerability, but that's never been the norm.

[...]

..."Wolf Like Me," "Lover's Day," "Poppy" etc. Music aside, "Wolf Like Me" and "Lover's Day" perfectly describe the filthy, impolite thoughts that flood men daily, and simply overrun them when they see that girl...

[...]

It's true hip-hop has a problem respecting women, but this is a symptom of deeper truth--the music doesn't respect men. It doesn't respect that essentially male moment, when standing at the bus stop, when sitting in English class, when in that sales meeting, a dime-piece floats past, and cognition stops. It doesn't respect the exhilarating terror of being attracted to a woman. To cop to that violates the pimp ethos. One can't be out of control, and be the player president.