The Johnny Bravo cartoon followed the life of the cocky and dimwitted yet loveable mama's boy Johnny Bravo. He was extra muscular and gave you straight Elvis with his voice and movements.
Before writing this I had no idea just how long Johnny Bravo had been on air. It went from 1997 to 2004. It was originally created by a man named Van Partible. He had mad a short animated show and showed it to a friend of his that worked for the Hanna-Barbera company. You know the company that brought us classics like the Flintstones, The Jetsons, and The Yogi Bear Show. SO anyways his friend was all you should make some shorts of this character for us and as any fresh out of college individual would say Partible said - sure, why not. Sidenote - he worked alongside the creators of The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory when he first started. Oh and he also worked around this other fresh out of college talent you've probably never heard of - Seth MacFarlane!
Van Partible Voice over cast
Even though he was mad cocky Johnny taught us somethings especially when it comes to confidence and persistence.
Plus he had great one liners
So, what's your favorite Johnny Bravo quote? -Buttercup
There are very few truly influential female rappers. Everything about rap culture makes women sidepieces, not respected individuals. It's not surprising then that the number of famous XX rappers can be counted on one hand, two if you know your pop culture history.
The music industry has always been a male dominated world. Until the eighties there weren't a lot of legendary female music icons. The Beatles put the focus of the American public on a group, while Madonna brought it back around to the individual. Until that point Diana Ross was the only legendary performer. You can make arguments for other singers: Donna Summer, Patsy Cline, Patti LaBelle. But, the truth of the matter was that men dominated pop culture. By the time the eighties came around you had Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby all as instantly recognizable male singers.
Rap has yet to split the airwaves with the women. It is a relatively new format with a lot of its mainstream successes stemming from the nineties. That still doesn't explain why the women were excluded.
By 1988 rap had already seen the formation of N.W.A.'s classic Straight Outta Compton. From this you got Dr. Dre's and Ice Cube's hugely successful solo careers. Let's also not forget the success of LL Cool J as a rapper.
It wasn't until 1992 that girl group TLC released Ooooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip. It's not even as if they count as a girl rap group. Their rapper Left Eyes famously had problems for her lack of creative input and it wasn't until CrazySexyCool's Waterfall that Lisa Lopes had any rap memorable to the general public. Even after Waterfall's success, TLC didn't use her rap for No Scrub's on the radio or album version, and the music video said that's funny.
Despite all that Miss Lopes ranks as a pioneering rapper simply for her public profile and her one solo venture Supernova in 2001. Fellow female rapper Kreayshawn even references in rapping “I'm going to burn the house down like I'm fucking Left Eyes”. Even with her tragic death in 2002, she always be remembered as the creative force behind TLC who got made enough to burn her boyfriend's house down.
After 1994 we get the first truly successful female rapper with Lil' Kim's Hard Core. Not that we are displacing Queen Latifah's own commercial success Black Reign, however Lil' Kim is still known for her hit singles “Crush on You” and “Not Tonight:, while Queen Latifah's “U.N.I.T.Y.” is simply a hip hop relic. Lil' Kim carried this on into a decade long career of success.
However, I stopped feeling Lil' Kim right around the time she did her Notorious K.I.M. album. Yes, we get it you were having an affair with Notorious B.I.G. Thanks for making that loud and clear Kim. Very classy. Let's also not forget that she recorded a song with the fabulous RuPaul for this album entitled “Bad Girls” (It even samples the Donna Summer classic), but she decided to be a diva and admittedly Ru's weave is much better then hers. Lil' Kim may also be the sole reason there is little respect for female rappers. She proved everyone right. All, Lil' Kim ever talked about was how good she was and how tight it was. The answer to her question is that there are indeed to many licks for a ratchet woman like that.
The success of Hard Core did give another fabulous female rapper otherwise known as Missy Elliot a valid step at stardom. Supa Dope Fly was commercially viable, critics loved it, people bought it. Despite her lack of output as of recently, Missy Elliot is still an in the know female rapper. Never forget that before Missy Elliot sang “Work It” and stood uncomfortably by while Madonna and Britney had a makeup session, Missy Elliot wrote and produced music. The people she has worked with would , make you jealous. Raven Simone (Did you know she rapped as well?), Beyonce, TLC, Nas, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Aaliyah. The list is literally endless and I for one am jealous of a fine working woman.
These women laid the ground work. But here in beautiful 2014 it does not look that much better for our women rappers. We've got Nicki Minaj.
That's it.
Sure, there are a string of other female rappers, but only a few of merit. And, they exist on the fringe of society's radar. Other, then “Paper Planes” and flipping off America at the Superbowl what do you know about M.I.A.? Kreayshawn had her moment with “Gucci Gucci”, but still where has that gotten her?
If Azalea Banks wasn't always coming for people before she got famous, she could have become big. But, no she has to attack everyone. It doesn't matter how good you sound, look, or write music. If you are rude people will not buy your music. Please no one bought “212” and that song is literally my life description about how I feel about haters.
The only other woman then Nicki making a go at it is Iggy Azalea, who I'm sure most people are too white for. I'm fairly sure Iggy is too white for herself. So, far she's got “Fancy” dominating the world, but we shall see how we feel about her in a year. It's too early to tell if we love Iggy or if she's another passing bought in the night.
Now for a list of women who rapped, but you didn't know it.
Gwen Stefani might not come as a shock to you if you think back to when “Sweet Escape” dominated back in the day. But, do not be fooled that cute speed rap wasn't just a one time thing. Multiple times over her second album you pause and say “Yes... I think she is rapping.” Notable examples are “Orange County Girl” (Below) and “Yummy” featuring Pharell.
Yes, you know Rebel Wilson has a fun loving Fat Amy and her questionably hit sitcom Super Fun Night but did you know that she raps? Occasionally you will see her upload videos of her alter ego Rebellicious. Something most certainly to be explored in Pitch Perfect 2.
No one will admit that Queen Goddess Beyonce raps, but have you listened to her music recently? The best example of her rapping is in her song “Haunted”. But, she has most certainly done it before most notably in her duet with Lady Gaga that you might have heard of. It's called Telephone.
Who Paul? RuPaul! Yes, the queen of the drag has taken the time out of his busy wig schedule to drop a few rhymes. On his album Redhot, he sexed up his songs “Kinky, Freaky” and “Just a Litle In Out” with a one off rap. I thought he had dropped it, but low and behold when I buy his latest release Born Naked to find him dominating like Al Capone, talking about Geronimo, made those boys fall like dominos. His intention is cloudy, but it's quality is infectious.
Madonna. The Queen of Reinvention took some time out of her busy life to jot down some of her thoughts. “I drive my Mini Cooper and I'm feel super duper. Yeah, they tell me I'm a trooper” are just one of the many lyrical ponderings of her “hit” single “American Life”. I have come to appreciate her rapping skills, but most of the world has yet to agree with me (Make your own judgments below). I thought her foray into rapping was a one time thing until 2012 when she traded verses with Nicki Minaj on “I Don't Give A...” I must say it was one of the happiest days of my life.