Yandy and Mendeecees’ nationally televised wedding has sparked controversy for not only being possibly staged, but the possible publicity stunt is also raising the question, “does marriage still exist in hip hop?.” It’s a widely known fact that divorce rates are going up and the number of people committing to marriage is going down every day, but what is the current climate in hip hop? It speaks volumes that an occurrence as ordinary as a wedding was able to rack in hundreds of thousands of views, especially considering the people getting married were B List celebrities from entertaining but slightly ridiculous phenomena, Love and Hip Hop.
In this day in age, it’s almost just as common for a woman to be pregnant as it is for her to get married. That characteristic isn’t exclusive to hip hop as it seems to be a generational shift. With the meaning of marriage becoming distorted, the need to have a piece of paper to validate a relationship is becoming obsolete. The movement of straying away from marriage is regularly seen in hip hop and in the puzzle pieces that make up hip hop.
For example, Diddy just openly spoke out about his view on marriage. Even though he is in an open and exclusive relationship with Cassie he says he doesn’t want to get married. In his opinion marriage is too messy. Although he isn’t willing to jump the broom with the model/ singer he is willing to take the initiative to make sure she is taken care of financially if anything were to happen to him. It seems as though his marriage to her in spirt trumps any paperwork that could legally validate their bond. Are people dating with a purpose anymore or is dating with monogamy the end all, be all? The pressure of the “put a ring on it movement” is fading a way and a new narrative is emerging. There is a noticeable change in social media, instead of publically claiming once significant other some people are taking a step back and keeping the intimate details of their life’s private in order to avoid public scrutiny and people getting between a happy relationship.
Social and societal standards are changing every day. The needs and wants of the public are devolving rapidly. Hip Hop is a huge fragment of what’s occurring in the media so I say, be the change you want to see… If marriage is your goal, work towards that but if it’s not don’t shame happy and content couples into crossing over into marriage because of society’s standards. What do you guys think?
Check out the gallery for couples that are infamous for dating without tying the knot.
