Released June 25, 2012 Recorded 2012 Label 1st & 15th, Atlantic | Format Digital download Length 4:51 | |
Genre Hip hop, alternative hip hop, conscious hip hop | ||
"Bitch Bad" is a song performed by rapper Lupe Fiasco. 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 and 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.
Contents
Music video
The music video was released on August 22, 2012 on MTV'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 in America". MDMA 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, who even posted the video on his Twitter. The song, however, was not well received by Spin Magazine, 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 Twitter rant and also led him to encourage fans to boycott the magazine.