Serena Williams’ dominance as examined through a feminist critique of Memphis Bleek’s video for ‘Do My...’

On its face, Memphis Bleek’s 2000 effort “Do My...” exists solely for superficial celebratory purposes. This is a song replete with glossy Just Blaze-lite production and a call and response chorus; its entire purpose is to give people in a club something to sing real loud at a member of the opposite sex while spilling any of a number of liquors featured in its video. It is the yang to the yin of reality rap, a necessary example of the dichotomy of hip-hop and a bit of rap catharsis. It’s a good time song.

You don’t think too deeply about good time songs because one shouldn’t devote too much time to the inherent objectification of lyrics, “do my ladies run it/fat asses and flat stomachs” because it is apparent in its flippant superficiality that Memphis Bleek didn’t spend more than five minutes on writing those words. I have yelled that line in celebratory drunkenness at times of both flat-belliedness and in stomach boom times and thought nothing of it either way because EMPOWERMENT.

This is the difference between blithe objectification and the much more dangerous misogyny perpetrated by an actual sportswriter who criticized Williams’ physique under the guise of actual expertise.

“With a reduction in glut, a little less butt and a smidgen more guts, Serena Williams would easily be as big as Michael Jackson, dwarf Tiger Woods and take a run at Rosa Parks.”

Yep, that’s a real thing written by someone whose job it is to cover professional sports. Funny how time works, though. Serena’s butt might actually be bigger now, her trophy case surely is, and Michael Jackson and Rosa Parks are dead and Tiger Woods’ career might as well be.

Two years after appearing in Bleek’s video, Williams went on to achieve the Serena Slam, winning all four Grand Slam titles in a row, though not in the same calendar year. This is a feat that she’s poised to repeat this year, without the asterisk, having already laid claim to the Australian and French Open titles and fought to Saturday’s Wimbledon finals, making hers a reign that has outlasted many of the hallmarks of the Roc-A-Fella Records era, including:

Let’s take this time to remember that Shawn Corey Carter went from wearing a Glen Rice jersey in this video, to a Latrell Sprewell one in the video for Izzo, to an infamous “the city is under new management” tweet as partial owner of the Brooklyn Nets, to becoming a sports agent.

Which is not to say that “Do My…” is not bereft of timeless Roc imaginings which would hold up in the modern Serena era. Memphis Bleek as a consoling locker room waterboy is a thing that could only strengthen the Wimbledon player community as he’d no doubt provide a sympathetic post-match ear for Maria Sharapova. Also, Damon Dash as chair judge would be phenomenal and end any dispute in a more entertaining and decisive manner than Hawk-Eye, as anyone in the Def Jam offices can attest.

Predictably, there has been much disposable rap music made over the period of Serena’s dominance. She’s spanned the Jiggy era to the present day trap movement, and in that span inspired so many examples of rapper thirst that one could reasonably create a thirst trap music subgenre which would feature efforts from such artists as:

Ludacris, “My Chick Bad”

Petey Pablo, “She Got That”

Camron, “Purple Haze”

Common, “The Game”

Drake, “Worst Behavior”

J. Cole feat. Drake, “In the Morning”

J. Cole, “Young Simba”

Though the actual Memphis Bleek hit has become an afterthought in popular imagining, the video -- like Serena -- remains culturally relevant to this day. Its ladies vs. dudes concept would resonate in 2015, recast for an update. Out are the Teresa Weatherspoon-Lisa Leslie-Chamique Holdsclaw trio, replaced with Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner and Roc Nation Sports’ own Skylar Diggins (after rehab, of course). Replace the dodgeball-throwing adolescent from 15 years ago with Mo’Ne Davis. The flag football game from the video’s second act could instead turn into a Roc vs. USWNT soccer match.

And as ever, Serena Williams would still flame serves at Jay Z in an airplane hangar filled with private planes (swap the Cristal for Ace of Spades). Presciently, on the chorus of the song Memphis Bleek asked us all to “throw a hand in the air if it’s the year of the woman” a request that, thanks to Serena, can always be met in the affirmative.