Hip Hop Journos Speak Out Against Sexism

Last month, Kim Osorio, former editor-in-chief of The Source, and Michelle Joyce, former vice president of marketing, filed charges of gender discrimination and sexual harassment against co-owners Raymond “Benzino” Scott and David Mays. In response to the allegations, Scott and Mays were quoted in interviews with AllHipHop.com alleging that Osorio engaged in sexual relationships with several rappers while employed by The Source.

Confused about the relevance of Osorio’s alleged affairs in connection with the law suit? If so, you certainly wouldn’t be alone. Established hip-hop journalists Elizabeth Mendez Berry, who recently wrote a controversial piece about hip-hop and violence against women for Vibe magazine, and Jeff Chang, author of "Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation," also failed to see the relevance.

A petition denouncing sexual harassment at The Source is now circulating on line. Mendez Berry and Chang, who, along with Joan Morgan, are behind the petition, discuss their reaction to allegations of sexual harassment at The Source and what prompted the petition.

PopandPolitics.com: What was your initial reaction to the allegations of sexual harassment at The Source?

Jeff Chang: I wasn't surprised. Sexual harassment at The Source and in the "urban music industry" has been a poorly kept secret for decades. As women have moved into leadership, particularly in hip-hop journalism, I think there has been more push-back. But we haven't reached the tipping point yet past which there's an open conversation and a trend towards changing the situation, so most women I see still suffer in silence.

PP: What was your reaction to the comments Mays and Benzino made about Kim Osorio's sexual relationships?

Elizabeth Mendez Berry: Part of me laughed. How oblivious can they be? Who are their lawyers? As far as I know, Mays initially tried to retract his statements about Osorio, but then the following day Benzino said the same thing about her, and soon after, Mays was reiterating it himself [on AllHipHop.com]. So they feel pretty comfortable with what they’ve said.

Their arrogance, and the fact that they had no idea that what they were saying was completely self-incriminating, really spoke to the level of entitlement that some men in hip-hop feel. And of course, these are two men who say that they are on a crusade to preserve the music, men who consider themselves community leaders. I also found it really interesting that Mays, a white man who was so invested in critiquing Eminem’s sexism against women of color, was so quick to jump back into the old “she’s a ho / she’s a bitch” paradigm when two women of color confronted him. Benzino was up there criticizing Eminem as well, but it seems like both of them were fair-weather feminists.

So that was kind of amusing. At the same time, I was really saddened: the idea that a woman bringing a suit would be subject to this kind of speculation is frightening for anyone who works in the business. Plus the fact that a significant number of people spent time on the Internet speculating about Osorio’s sexual history really reminded me of how sexist our community is.

PP: How did this petition come about?

EMB: The thing for me was getting it on the public record that what Mays and Benzino had said was unacceptable to other people who are part of the profession. Oftentimes in hip-hop, we get exasperated and furrow our brows and then we don’t do anything, so I wanted to present a clear response to their behavior that came from within hip-hop journalism, so that it would not be seen as outsiders wagging their fingers. I feel like we need to be clear that this is a profession and that people are expected to behave professionally. Just because it is hip-hop doesn’t mean people can get away with behavior that would never be tolerated in any other context.