Yes, a “Rape Carol”. This is a term introduced to me by my good girlfriend Alise of NaturallyAlise.com. A “rape carol” is a song usually sung by a man that lyrically suggests in one way or another that there will be sex going down and that the woman’s consent is either not needed, not wanted or at best, questionable. Most of the rape carols I know of have been in R&B music from the 80s and 90s, but I’m sure there have been songs like these across all genres and musical eras.
The other night while I was enjoying time on my newest favorite site, TurnTable.fm (if you don’t know about this site, click here and read what Butta from Soulbounce.com wrote about music lovers’ newest addiction), someone played the song “Don’t Be Afraid” by 90′s R&B sensation Aaron Hall. Aaron Hall was also a member of one of my favorite male R&B groups, Guy and had his solo career usurped by pissy ass R.Kelly, the other Rape Caroler. “Don’t Be Afraid” was featured on the 1992 soundtrack for the movie “Juice” starring Tupac Shakur. It also spent a week in the #1 spot on the U.S. R&B charts, making it Aaron Hall’s highest ranking hit.
It is also the rapey-est Rape Carol I’ve ever heard in life. I didn’t realize this until I was listening to the lyrics for real for the first time the other night. Cheese n’ Rice Superstar, this song is flippin’ SCAREY!!
I’m going to pull a few of the most disturbing lyrics of this song, but feel free to read them all here.
And I squeeze and hold you tight
Everything will feel alright
Don’t be afraid, baby
When you start to scratch and moan
And your problems are long gone
Let it happen right now
Yo. WTF is this? Sounds like somebody’s being held down and fighting to get away. But all the while, he’s saying “Don’t be afraid”.
No need to run and no need to hide
All the doors are locked baby and I have you inside
You can yell and you can hit me
It just makes me horny
Ain’t nothing but a love thing baby
Between me and you
So just give in baby, don’t worry about a thing
So, she managed to wrangle herself from his grip, but that doesn’t matter. He has all the doors locked, so she can’t get away. She’s yelling and fighting, but it’s only turning him on more. He thinks it’s “love” and she should just “give in” and not worry. REALLY, Aaron Hall?? Really??
When I get through with you
There’s nobody else you will want to go to
I put all men to shame
Remember babe, this is all a nasty man’s game
Nobody else she’ll want to go to? How about the police, you son-of-a-bitch. Just a game? Hmph. We’ll see about that.
The song goes on to what seems to be some sociopathic scene of them snuggling up after what he believes was an incredible evening of passionate lovemaking. All I can see is her lying there hoping if she just does what he wants until she can get away, he won’t strangle her to death.
I can’t believe that if we put a story of violent sexual assault on a hot track and couple it with an infectious hook it can become the most popular song in America. And still be considered a classic some 20 years later. If a DJ played this in a club today, the whole joint would be poppin’. I can’t believe I never listened to what the hell is going on in this song before just this week. After really paying attention to what he’s saying for the very first time, I will never be able to hear it the same again. I don’t know the history of this song. I wonder if there was any backlash or uproar due to its lyrical content. I hope somebody said something when it was burnin’ up the charts.
Shout out to everybody who has ever said “It’s just a song” and to those who will flock here to defend it.
Peace to all the survivors of sexual violence, and to those who didn’t.
Dedicated Readers: What other “Rape Carols” do you know? Any new ones I should be aware of? What do you think of the climate that makes these kinds of songs OK to record, let alone become popular?
~pbg
