Rap and porn aesthetics in pop culture: the turning point of How Many Licks?

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size

Marco Rovaris

Editor, FareFilm.it

Notes

1. These lyrics are thoroughly analysed on the Genius website. Accessed September 30, 2014. http://rapgenius.com/Lil-kim-how-many-licks-lyrics

2. This music video (with uncensored lyrics) can be seen on the Daily Motion website. Accessed September 30, 2014. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2apcf_lil-kim-ft-sisqo-how-many-licks-unc_music

3. Lawrence’s productions can be considered a symbol of contemporary pop aesthetics. See, for instance, his music videos Bad Romance (Lady Gaga, 2009) and Play (Jennifer Lopez, 2001), and the blockbuster The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013).

4. ‘How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a Tootsie Pop’ is the catch phrase of the commercial, first introduced in 1969. The commercial can be seen on YouTube. Accessed September 30, 2014. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UYvsk6_foc

5. These are explicit references to the infamous Lil’ Kim cover on XXL magazine, which pictured her in a bath tub; many other hip-hop artists, such as Mya and Nicki Minaj, have since reprised this image on other magazine covers.