"Bitch Bad" is a song by American rapper

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...

. It is the second single off his album '' Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1''. It was released on June 25, 2012. "Bitch Bad" tackles misogyny in hip hop culture, the use of the word "bitch" in rap music, the effects of these things on society and children, and the psychological concept of the

Madonna–whore complex In psychoanalytic literature, a Madonna–whore complex, also called a Madonna–mistress complex, is the inability to maintain sexual arousal within a committed, loving relationship. First identified by Sigmund Freud, under the rubric of ''psychic ...

Music video

The music video was released on August 22, 2012 on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's RapFix Live and premiered on YouTube the same day. The video was directed by Gil Green. He dedicates the video to Paul Robeson and the "many black actors who endured the humiliating process of

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

in America".

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in Tablet (pharmacy), tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for Recreational dru ...

made a cameo appearance singing his lines in the end of the video.

Critical reception

The song has garnered praise from artists such as Janelle Monáe, Talib Kweli, Jill Scott, and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, who even posted the video on his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. The song, however, was not well received by

Spin Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. Histor ...

, who wrote that the song and the video were " mansplaining...half-baked conscious hip-pop...muddled, measly-mouthed missive...reckless social commentary...poorly thought-out grab for attention", and claimed that Lupe has a "moronic lyrics-over-everything attitude" which led him on a

rant and also led him to encourage fans to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

the magazine.

Charts

References

{{authority control 2012 singles Lupe Fiasco songs Music videos directed by Gil Green Protest songs Songs about the media Songs with feminist themes Song recordings produced by the Audibles 2012 songs Atlantic Records singles Songs written by James Giannos Songs written by Dominic Jordan Songs written by Poo Bear