Reclamation and the Possible Tragedy of Mulatto

“The inaugural winner of Jermaine Dupree’s The Rap Game is incredibly talented and an artist with what seems to be a bright future, but Mulatto’s stage name is interlocked with an incredibly dark history. The 21 year-old rapper identifies as biracial, which is an identity that is explored both in academia and today’s hip hop arena. Some of the genres most successful rappers have explored the topic in song, however there is a possible difference in the way Mulatto is exploring her identity. Unlike the term biracial, the term mulatto, in the American context, is intimately connected to negative stereotypes that were used against Black Americans. What do hip hop audiences expect of an artist’s reclamation of antiquated epithets?

Mulatto is aware that the term is derogatory and attaches the pain of the term to the pain of her personal insecurity regarding her race. The Atlanta rapper discussed how her being biracial led to bullying and confusion as a child and that her reason for using the term as her name is to turn the pain into a positive. Mulatto is seeking reclamation, which is common in oppressed communities in America. This can been seen in the LGBTQIA community with the term queer which was once an epithet that has been fought for by the community it was once used against. This has also been seen in music, for example the Asian American rock band The Slants fought a Supreme Court case over their name and ability to reclaim epithets used against the Asian community. Reclamation is not foreign to hip hop either, we merely have to look to the legendary group NWA to find an example. Thus, it is not the act of reclamation that is at question, but the tools for reclamation.

Women’s sexuality is hyper policed in every patriarchal society; the question of how to deal with this sees a generational divide in women’s movements, layering racial identity on top of an already complicated matter may further complicate the tools audiences find acceptable for reclamation. As a man, it is not my place to present a normative statement of what is the right view, instead my only goal is to compare Mulatto’s sexual lyrics to the hypersexualized stereotype of the Tragic Mulatto and ask how it effects the audience’s perception of her reclamation efforts. However, before going further it is important to recognize the schism between second wave feminists and third wave feminists on the topic of sexuality. The latter has prioritized sexual empowerment and freedom as key to women’s liberation. However, the former has critiqued the way that this intersects with capitalism. Second wave feminists offer the critique that while women may feel empowered by sexual freedom in popular art forms, these art forms are often controlled by men and as such are benefitting the patriarchal corporate system more than uplifting women. This fits into a hip hop context by examining how sexualized lyrics, which many women fans view as empowering, disproportionately benefits the label rather than the artist. The empowerment of women’s sexual agency and how it intersects with capitalism is a complicated question, for which I as a man present no opinion, but it is this complication that is at the root of Mulatto’s reclamation.

Understanding the sexualization of the Tragic Mulatto stereotype is key to understanding the question herein. The racist stereotype presents a caricature of a person who has gained ambition and intelligence through the myth of white genetic superiority. However, the Tragic Mulatto’s Blackness holds them back from achieving and as such turns the caricature into an amoral being (an example of this usage can be seen in The Birth of A Nation, in which the KKK “saves” a town from a biracial man rising to power). This antiquated stereotype expresses itself in biracial women often through sexuality. Where this stereotype presents a biracial man as an immoral power hungry fool, the biracial woman is treated as a temptress which uses her sexuality as the key to her success. The limitation of women to sexuality makes an already incredibly offensive stereotype more derogatory. However, it is this connection between the sexuality of the Tragic Mulatto and the Second wave feminist critique that makes me wonder whether Mulatto’s subject matter will be seen as a sufficient tool for reclamation.

Mulatto’s artistry balances a similar supposed dichotomy as Lil Kim introduced in the 90’s: sharp and shocking punchlines, hard beats, and an unrelenting flow coming from a pretty girl persona. Similar to the legendary Queen Bee, some of Mulatto’s lyrics are sexual in nature and made grandiose by the artist’s imagination. While Kim was able to become hip hop royalty using this formula, does Mulatto shoulder a different responsibility by attaching herself to the reclamation efforts of a hypersexualized derogatory term? Is the Second wave feminist critique, which as a movement had issues with race, appropriate for Mulatto? At worst Mulatto is feeding into a stereotype for a financial gain that disproportionately benefits men. At best Mulatto is empowering the sexual agency of women while simultaneously uplifting biracial women. Or both things may be true.

I earnestly can say that I do not have an answer to this question and would much rather hear a person much more qualified than I (read woman) thoughts on this. I really love Mulatto’s music, her recent Gucci assisted track Muwop should be a celebrated moment in hip hop. This piece was largely written as a way of addressing my recoil upon hearing her name while knowing she wants to reclaim the term. In discussing this with my wife she told me to stay out of women’s business and maybe I should, but I just want to know if I can play the Atlanta rappers music without the guilt that I currently feel.”