Hey CupcakKe!: Fighting Prejudice Through Positivity
CupcakKe’s songs and music videos have undergone harsh scrutiny by platforms like YouTube. Despite having her videos taken down and her music dismissed as overly sexual, CupcakKe remains a positive voice for change in the music industry.
Written by Kasey Clarke
Photo courtesy of Dazed
CupcakKe is the ideal star for the internet age. With the viral success of “Deepthroat” in 2015, CupcakKe, or Elizabeth Harris, has used Twitter to connect with her active and loving fanbase, jokingly named “Slurpers.” She is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, speaks out about the abuse she endured, and frequently donates to fans in need when they reach out to her.
Her authenticity and transparency is the perfect example of what is demanded of artists by young, socially conscious fans. Social media enables us to talk directly to artists, and we often expect them to talk back — not just to acknowledge us, but to provide their input on important issues. CupcakKe has stayed an independent artist so that she can live up to that expectation. She desires real connections with her fans, and her fan base reciprocates. They show their unwavering support through their hype for every selfie she posts.
Despite all of this, CupcakKe still struggles to make a name for herself outside of the raunchy rapper behind “Deepthroat.” While her independence and openness is intentional, CupcakKe’s career provides insight into what we ask for, and how providing tangible results can perform in the music industry. CupcakKe is doing everything right, but she still faces a lot of difficulties using Spotify and YouTube to distribute her music as a female rapper who raps about sex.
In March 2018, CupcakKe’s videos for “Deepthroat” and “Duck Duck Goose” were taken off of her YouTube channel because of nudity and sexual content. CupcakKe immediately took to Twitter, urging YouTube to reinstate her videos. YouTube complied and issued a comment: a YouTube representative told Billboard, “With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call. When it's brought to our attention that a video has been removed mistakenly, we act quickly to reinstate it.”
Although YouTube put the videos back up, the controversy spawned a conversation about double standards independent female artists face. YouTuber Jenna Marbles responded saying larger, label-backed artists such as Rihanna don’t face the same scrutiny when their videos feature nudity or explicit content.
The actual clips taken down feature CupcakKe showing her breasts through sheer fabric and playing with dildos. YouTube took these videos down even though many videos (think Tove Lo’s Disco Tits) are just as explicit, but celebrated for their humor and sexual freedom. Male rap artists’ videos show women in sexual ways, and yet male artists videos aren't often taken down. Additionally, male artists aren’t considered “raunchy” just for rapping explicit lyrics.
Not only do CupcakKe’s videos and music face more scrutiny — the content is also considered more offensive than those of her male counterparts. But in her videos, CupcakKe is choosing to portray herself in this way. Her videos show just her with her boobs out with colorful, plastic penises, yet this is considered more vulgar than 20 women stripping or dancing for male pleasure.
On a definitive list of the raunchiest rap videos, nine out of 10 of the videos are made by men and depict women as sexual objects, often kissing or twerking on the male artist. The fetishization of women as sex objects is commonplace, and these images are paired with lyrics that are just as objectifying. These videos don’t receive the same level of criticism as CupcakKe’s, even though she is in control of the sexual imagery.
Despite these setbacks, CupcakKe is nearing 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. She recently released a remix of “Old Town Road” which received attention from Nylon and Pitchfork. Her single prior to that, “Squidward Nose,” was loved by her fans, but controversy still brews between her and Youtube. When she posted a celebratory tweet for “Squidward Nose” reaching 1 million views on YouTube, a fan responded, “Surprised since YouTube wanna block it from search results.”
Even amongst her fans, she struggles to be seen as a multifaceted artist. In an interview with Out Magazine, she was asked why her music evolved from vulgar to more socially conscious. “Nothing changed,” she responded. “I do very versatile sh-t [...] My biggest songs is the freaky songs, so they just eat all that, but I do all types of music.”
In fact, CupcakKe’s discography covers a range of topics, both lighthearted and hard-hitting. Standouts include “Cereal and Water” that tackles abuse, the justice system, and colorism; “Pedophile” about a past relationship with an older man; and “Picking Cotton” about police brutality.
As a black, independent, female rapper, CupcakKe continues to forge a path in the industry that is uniquely her own. By refusing to compromise on or water down her “Marilyn Monhoe” persona, she serves as an inspiration to those who may feel conflicted between choosing what they see as a viable path to success and retaining full creative control of what they want to produce.