Unblurring the lines: Exploring the images of women in Ghanaian rap music

Women have been portrayed in a variety of ways in Ghanaian rap music, popularly known as hiplife. These discursive constructions represent the subjective interpretations that artists assign to women based on societal gender stereotypes, which present women as inferior and subordinate to men. Using a qualitative content analysis of nine purposively selected hiplife songs released in the past decade, this paper explores the lyrical depictions of women's persona and roles in their relationships with men. From the analyses, three gender-related themes – women as sexual objects, women as ‘gold diggers’, and women as ‘heart breakers’ – predominantly prevailed. Going beyond the content analysis, this paper further underscores the paradox of hiplife music in the (mis)education of its growing listeners.