I mean, there had to be someone from somewhere who criticized Prince for the creation of this group. They were basically a realization of his sexual fantasies, right? Either that or a way to show up Rick James.

But with all the X-rated goodness in the mix, it's hard to figure out why Prince didn't really take much heat from that. Maybe he did, I don't know. I mean, therein lies the PMRC.

hell, he WANTED to name her VAGINA.

Anxiety said:

Yeah, they was supposed to be The Hookers with Vagina on lead vocals, so it could have been a lot worse.

I was listening to this record a few days ago. There is some serious new wave going on there. I love it.

of course he got backlash for it, i don't think he really cared at this point though....

sextonseven said:

and thats why he probly aint get no heat 4 it....who the hell gon get offended by some chicks named vanity 6? now think how many people would b offended by Vagina and the hookers..

Yeah, but that was the 80's...people got away with more then. It's only now that Prince derides his "ghost bands"...

Oh, Prince DEFINATELY got some backlash for Vanity 6...mostly from women's groups.

sextonseven said:

Great stuff!!!!

It was easy to get away with it back then. The whole "hooker" thing was totally in style back then.

LaBelle put out a song about hookers called "Lady Marmalade". Donna Summer dressed like a hooker and hung out with hookers in the fold out cover of her "Bad Girls" album. Rick James sang about hookers. Cheri put out a song called "Working Girl" which is about the life of a hooker. Divine Sounds did a song called "What People Do For Money" and the dub side featured a hooker talking. Grandmaster flash made remarks like "Man look at those bad girls they got working the corner" toward the end of "New York, New York".

Movies were full of pimps and hookers...."Street Walkin'", "Little Ladies of the Night", "Night Shift", etc. Sitcoms had episodes about hookers...."Facts of Life" and "The Jeffersons".

Hookers were in style big time back then. I've never had a problem with hookers, whether some of them are strong women or not, I love to see women that will talk freely about the men the have had sex with and even make fun of some of them. Hey, men have talked about women like for years.

vainandy said:

True dat.

Listen, Prince got away with Vanity/Apollonia 6 the same way Snoop Dogg has gotten away with his shtick and "Girls Gone Wild" -- the world is all too accommodating, when it comes to the exploitation and abuse of (young) women.

ThreadBare said:

And who's playing the starring roles in these things?

sextonseven said:

I agree totally. I love the Vanity 6 album. I only got a copy of it this year so I'm listening to it a lot. Favourite track is definitely "If A Girl Answers (Don't Hang Up)". Fricking hilarious!

And I really miss the new wave element of Prince's music. I guess it would sound dated today, but with all of the new bands reviving the new wave sound maybe Prince will take another shot at it?

ThreadBare said:

whos abusin and exploitin them? noones puttin a gun to there head and sayin do this! do that! say this! say that!

Snap & MoonwalkerJR, replace the faces of Denise Matthews, Susan Moonsie and Brenda Bennett with those of any female teen relatives or other loved ones you might have, and consider whether your thoughts don't take a more protective turn.

If my niece or cousins told me they were going to be in a comparable group, I'd have a lot of misgivings about it.

Secondly, consider the sexual-power constructs between the genders -- heck, start at what many women will do for the men they love (Prince had relationships with 2/3 of the 6) -- and the picture gets clearer.

The proverbial "gun" you both referenced (however implicitly) can take on many forms.

Ultimately, VAnity 6 and the Time got away with a lot of clichés because they were overt caricatures, done with humor. Most rap acts that exploit hooker looks don't have that dimension, so it's a different story altogether.

Christ, compared to whats out today, Vanity6 is tame, and more sophisticated. The Vanity6 album was so tongue in cheek its hard to get offended by it.

Moonwalkbjrain said:

true dat. It's funny how girls these day are always talking so much shit about the way they are exploited, yet the majority of them u could walk up on them pimp slap them and call them your bitch and they would want to have your baby. and won't leave you . believe me. It's almost like self esteem and worthiness of respect has been takin out of most of their genetic make-up.

Respect them and not get laid, yeah right

Moonwalkbjrain said:

What world do you live in? That's the entire workday of a typical pimp.

Snap said:

Its not like these young women aren't getting paid
and if they didnt want to do it than they didnt have to.

PS I Love Vainity6 if only for Nasty Girl alone!!

I really want their CD but I cant find it to save me

ThreadBare said:

Tom said:

of course! It's hard to get offended by it now...but twenty years ago....some things were still a shock

[/quote]
of course! It's hard to get offended by it now...but twenty years ago....some things were still a shock[/quote]

Exactly. Remember Tipper Gore going ballistic over Darling Nikki?