Women in 20s-30s heaviest hip-hop consumers

[fabulousdoll.livejournal.com]

What started out as a subculture street movement in Africa-American communities in New York in the 1970s has now become a mainstream music genre enjoyed by young women of Korea.

In Korea today, hip-hop is taking over mainstream pop charts and, surprisingly, women in their 20s and 30s are the biggest consumers of the genre once considered subversive.

Hip-hop artist Dean (right) performs at the Jisan Valley Rock Music & Arts Festival on July 23. (CJ E&M)

Those present at recent hip-hop shows may have noticed the masses of 20- to 30-something women with snapbacks backwards on their heads outnumbering their male counterparts: At rap team Dynamic Duo’s Itaewon concert on July 23-24, 64 percent of tickets were reserved by women in their 20s and 30s, according to online ticket vendor Interpark.

On average, women account for over 70 percent of upcoming hip-hop concert reservations, according to Interpark figures, with some shows booked nearly 90 percent by women.

More than 89 percent of those who booked tickets for “Brother,” a joint concert featuring Zico, Dean and Crush -- arguably the three trendiest, chart-topping rap artists in K-pop today -- slated for Sept. 3 in Gwangju, are women. Of that 89 percent, more than 60 percent are in their 20s and 30s.

A similar trend is seen at the High Hip-Hop Festival, set for Aug. 20 in Seoul and featuring rappers San E, Loco and Baechigi, where 89.5 percent of those who reserved tickets so far are women, including 72.7 percent in their 20s and 30s.

Self-expression, self-satisfaction

Hip-hop’s embrace of self-expression is one of the reasons behind its popularity among women, culture critic Jung Deok-hyun noted
“There’s tension between genders in our society right now,” he said. As a group, women have grown more sensitive to hints of discrimination and are more resistant to pressures to be demure, he noted.

Boy band BTS, for example, drew flack earlier this month when their song “Miss Right” sang about women who should “hold my hand instead of luxury purses” and “appreciate character rather than jealousy or envy.” Comments posted on online forums showed that female fans were outraged at being told to “act in a certain way.”

“Hip-hop is defined by communication and its usefulness in sending a message,” said Jung. “It attracts people who want to overcome stereotypes,” he added.

If hip-hop decades ago met the needs of African-American males in the U.S., the genre now seems to meet the needs of young Korean women resisting being boxed into conservative roles -- like the contestants in the female-only rap audition show “Unpretty Rapstar,” the third season of which kicks off Friday.

Rapper C Jamm, who recently competed on the rapper audition program “Show Me the Money” season 5, performs to a full crowd at the Jisan Valley Rock Music & Arts Festival on July 23. (CJ E&M)

According to the show’s producer Ko Ik-jo, the program spotlights female rappers “with personality” who are outspoken and honest, often brutally, about their opinions. This season is set to be “more ferocious than ever,” he said at a press conference last week.

Meanwhile, some point to the difference between the “brand” of hip-hop popular in Korea and the original hardcore gangster rap origins of hip-hop. It is seen less as a tool for defiance and more as a symbol of “trendiness” -- hence its popularity, according to Kim Ji-yoon, 25, a fan of Zico.

“His songs are softer, chic and addictive,” said Kim about the rapper, whose song “Boys and Girls,” like most other hip-hop tracks on local charts, has a cheery melody and bouncy beats. “There’s this image that you’re free-spirited and know how to have fun if you like hip-hop,” Kim added.

According to analysis by Interpark, the site’s VVIP customers consist, on average, of women office workers aged 36.7 years old who spend some 3 million won ($2,700) per year on tickets to 35 concerts.

Though female consumers have traditionally held sway over the entertainment industry, the influence of women in their 20s and 30s on trends has become more marked than ever, according to a Samsung Securities report released in May.

Female consumers who were teenagers when the first generation of K-pop boy bands took the country by storm in the 1990s have recently entered their late 20s, 30s and even early 40s, the report noted. Now equipped with purchasing power, these women, who are willing to spend money for self-gratification and have a penchant for cultural activities, are largely driving the concert industry today, the report said.

By Rumy Doo

Source: kpopherald, photos as tagged

Comments

[bunica1990.livejournal.com]

I'm actually not that surprised. Looking at the SMTM and UR audiences, there were always a lot of young women present.

[cafetin99.livejournal.com]

The same thing happens with the movies, and in that field, be have a little less place and diversity* of roles compared with the (hh) music.

*at least in blockbuster films

[lizanka23.livejournal.com]

It doesn't sound like women in Korea in this article are using hip hop to address their needs tbh. Men dominate hip hop in America and the same can be said in Korea. There are also plenty of misogynist lyrics too as evidenced by those gross bts lyrics. If it were dominated by women artists in Korea then I could see it addressing their troubles wrt sexism and gender stereotypes. The fan testimony sounds more accurate. The mainstream artists are more soft sounding and rap a lot about love or having fun so that probably appeals more to pop consumers

[fabulousdoll.livejournal.com]

I think they are talking about being more female rappers here: "Hip-hop’s embrace of self-expression is one of the reasons behind it's popularity among women", while at the end of the article they focus on the women who just listen to it.
I have seen some songs around by female rappers that talk about sexism and misogyny, but the problem is that those don't get enough attention.

[confuqued.livejournal.com]

I was watching SMTM clips yesterday and this was one of the things I noticed.

[jeliza]

"original hardcore gangster rap origins of hip-hop"

Wut. I mean... the Sugarhill Gang were not an *actual* gang...

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

I wish people who know nothing about hip hop would stop spreading misinformation.

[jeliza]

Seriously. 20 seconds of google on "origins of hip hop" and you don't even have to read more than the excerpts. I e-mailed the author, but who knows if they'll change it. It seems like a dogwhistle for "scary black people" to me.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

I had the same thought, definitely code for scary black thugs. Who knew block parties were considered organized crime.

[xlovexlessxtyx.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't say hip-hop started with the Sugar Hill Gang.

[jeliza]

Well, no, but as a public mainstream reference point for early hip-hop it's solidly early & not gangster, and I couldn't resist the wordplay. :)

[pastelpinklace.livejournal.com]

I wish more female rap artists were successful

[milkmp3.livejournal.com]

ia!

[milkmp3.livejournal.com]

khh is like the slimy scum and mold at the bottom of a garbage can you don't care to ever clean out PLEASE 👏 LOVE 👏 YA 👏 SELVES 👏

[elisaorange.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting.

Yeah, I noticed a lot of women were attending hip hop events and listening to the music.
On those SMTM articles, you can see the Naver gender stats and women are basically 50% of the comments if not more....
I remember a couple years ago, some rapper made a diss track toward Zico about his female fans hogging hip hop concerts, the guy asked "do you think all of those women are actually into hip hop?". But recently I happened to see a video of Cjamm, Vasco and whoever else and they were shirtless performing to a crowd of women so pretty sure the "underground rapper" fanbase is not much different.


By the way, BTS seem to get into issues with lyrics often... "Appreciate character rather than jealousy or envy.” Excuse...?

[atelierlune.livejournal.com]

*Looks for Cheetah, Tasha, SOMEONE, but no, leaves sadly*