Sloppy Toppy: Travi$ Scott's Twisted Gender Portayal

This is pretty explicit. Consider this your disclaimer.

Since its infusion of gangster rap in the 90’s, hip-hop has bore a bad reputation. Partially deserved, partially a result of old white people who can’t stand the genre, rap music has often been villainized as a corrupter of the youth, a vile aspect of pop culture that makes young men want to commit crime, stack paper, and disrespect women. This label isn’t overarching; artists like Kendrick Lamar, Killer Mike, Mick Jenkins (hailing from Chicago!) and other lyrical monsters create music that is more fitting as poetry than anything else, throwing off the themes of misogyny for story-telling. However, their voices don’t stand alone of the forefront of the ever evolving hip-hop frontier. Up- and- comer Travis Scott (stylized as Travi$ Scott) has proven himself as a force to be reckoned with, receiving a cosign from Kanye West and dropping a critically acclaimed album in the past year. However, while Scott’s raw talent as both a producer and vocalist shine through on his work, his lyrical content is of the essence mentioned earlier; largely misogynistic, objectifying, and full of overt vulgarity. One stand-out example of these themes is his song “Sloppy Toppy.” Containing features from Atlanta rap group “Migos,” Sloppy Toppy is about as bad as it can get content wise; the whole song brags about receiving fellatio and obtaining currency. While the song very obviously objectifies women as simply sexual pleasure sources, the unidimensional portrayal of men the music also objectifies them, thoroughly demeaning both genders, albeit at different levels.

The blatant objectification and over-sexualization of women through the song’s lyrics is the most noticeable (and most concerning) point of address. Right off the bat, Travi$ is quick to establish the role of women in this work. ““But the little bitty told me sloppy toppy was a hobby; so she gave me sloppy toppy like the sloppy toppy goddess,” he cries over the hard hitting instrumental. The diction here is more interesting than one takes it for at first; the choice of the word “bitty” is a softer way of saying “bitch,” carrying the same connotation in this context, yet lighter and less alarming to the listener. Very troubling as well is the title “sloppy toppy goddess.” Although typically, goddess would be used as a term of respect and authority, it does the opposite here; the women is only a goddess sexually. If that trait is what makes her a goddess, it is shown as her most important quality, crafting an over- sexualized woman figure that isn't fit for anything other than sexual favors. Further examples of this are almost too abundant to weed out; the entirety of the song is constructed around a single sexual act. It really is ridiculous that nearly four minutes of music can occur without saying much at all.

While much less in- your- face obnoxious, men are no white knights in this work. Similarly to women, they become a sexual object. Takeoff, one of the featured artists on the song, declares, “Worth 100 mill, people can’t talk to me. Get sloppy toppy but you givin’ currency.” Here begins the money obsession; Takeoff believes he is a superior human being because of his money, both better than other males and an irresistible presence to the ladies. Rather than tell a story of any sort, Takeoff opts to this self- objectification, deepening the detrimental gender portrayals of the song. Other lines reiterate Takeoff’s views, such as when Quavo spits, “I know that we call her the sloppy toppy, my pockets so sloppy; pull out the whopper, the chopper, just know that’s who shot ya.” He covers both aspects of the male objectification here, talking about himself as the receiver of fellatio and a walking stack of cash.

Sadly, “Sloppy Toppy” doesn't stand alone in its negative message. Objectification, subordination, and depreciation of women is a long- standing theme of popular culture that seems as if it will never leave. Sure, both genders are objectified, but the patriarchy is preserved through the presence of agency among men; yeah, they might be walking sex objects, but they are in control of their female counterparts, they are superior. The work is in no way feminist; anyone in their right mind would cringe looking at the implications and themes of the song.

Attached is a video of the song being performed (not all verses are performed since Travi$ is the only one present). It's lit.