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Megan's Rule: Being exceptional doesn't make you the exception | Louder Than A Riot, S2E1

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In December 2022, one of the biggest trials of the year unfolded in LA. Tory Lanez was facing more than 20 years in prison on charges of shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, and the internet was intensely divided: You were either pro-Tory or pro-Megan, and there was nothing else to say about it.

Tory was found guilty of assaulting Megan and now awaits sentencing. But the words of Megan's tearful testimony and what is now her almost three-year fight to be believed is somehow still a subject of debate in the culture. And no matter how you saw the case, the rifts online reveal how deep those tensions run in hip-hop. We are left with so many questions: Has the culture really changed? Is this verdict really a resolution? What will it take to make Black women feel safer in hip-hop? What is clear is that the force being weaponized in the courtroom was the same thing that fueled all of the online hatred: Misogynoir, or the sexist prejudice that Black women and people read as Black women face.

Illustration by Amanda Howell Whitehurst.

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LOUDER THAN A RIOT’s second season unpacks just how deeply misogynoir is embedded in the fabric of the hip-hop culture that we love. How did issues of masculinity play into the tensions between ILoveMakonnen and Drake, or Saucy Santana and the industry? How did Rico Nasty's community mobilize for her when she was targeted by Playboi Carti fans? Why did Megan Thee Stallion's reputation get put on the stand for a trial where she was the victim? And why does the culture antagonize rap beefs that reinforce the idea there can only be one queen of rap?

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