Hip Hop And Censorship

Hip hop, and the larger African-American community, has always had an uneasy relationship with controversial lyrics. Now, galvanized by the Imus debacle, more cultural leaders are calling for a ban on misogyny, violence, and the “N-word” in hip hop lyrics. Al Sharpton, one of the more prominent civil rights leaders in the black community, led a march in New York City on May 3rd to protest “dirty lyrics” in hip hop. He said:

We’re not asking for censorship, but there’s a standard in this business. It appears that people are more enraged and more outraged than we thought.

While Sharpton has never had much hip hop “street cred,” more prominent hip hoppers have also called for similar bans. Russel Simmons, one of the most successful hip hop producers and promoters in history, has called for an industry-wide ban on certain lyrics.

“We recommend (they’re) always out,” Simmons, the pioneering entrepreneur who made millions of dollars as he helped shape hip-hop culture, said in an interview Monday. “This is a first step. It’s a clear message and a consistency that we want the industry to accept for more corporate social responsibility.”

Predictably, there has been a lot of outrage from a wide variety of people who are against this self-enforced ban. Recently, Snoop Dogg has argued that Imus’s comments and rap lyrics are two completely different things.

“[Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We’re talking about ho’s that’s in the ‘hood that ain’t doing shit, that’s trying to get a nigga for his money. These are two separate things.”

Both sides have a point. However, neither is getting it right. The rappers and the activists have to take a look at some realities about music, culture, and race in America to really understand the issue. They need to stop defining hip hop in terms of certain words and controversies, and start appreciating hip hop as an art-form.

Censorship Is Not The Answer: A Message To Sharpton And Co.

You cannot regulate music via censorship, self-imposed or otherwise. For any genre to be a viable art-form freedom is required. Hip hop would most certainly not have become as popular as it is without the unrestrained and controversial lyrics of Public Enemy or N.W.A. “Fuck The Police” was revolutionary not only for its controversy, but for the fact that it spoke about a real situation developing in Southern California. It was real music for real people, and I’m happy to display it for your listening pleasure below:

These lyrics are inflammatory, sure, but they are also well thought out. Every word in that song was carefully chosen, and should stand as a pillar of artistic intent. Because these words were chosen for a reason, they deserve to stand. Without these words, the piece loses its artistic impact. In short, to force artists to censor would immediately rob hip hop of all creativity and clout. With censorship, hip hop would really be dead.

Not that it will ever come to all of this, because a wholesale censoring of hip hop lyrics would be all but impossible to pull off. Beyond a federal ban on certain words, which would never make it through Congress, much less the court system, even an “industry wide” ban on “dirty lyrics” would fall flat. Independent labels would spring up to fill the niche left by the retreating majors. On top of that, hip hop has a big culture of underground mix tape releases, which would no doubt flourish under a censored society. Censorship is clearly not the answer to this problem.

Take Responsibility: A Message To Rappers Who Speak “From The Streets”

It would do rappers well to admit Sharpton and Co. have a point, even if they come up short when searching for a solution. Hip hop lyrics do shape public perception of black women and black culture, especially among whites. While black culture is as vibrant and diverse as any other race’s, other people’s view of black America is predominantly based off of hip hop and its surrounding hype machine. Let’s face it, I don’t know many white people who watch Oprah. Hip hop is, for better or for worse, the main lens through which everyone else in the world views black America. Rappers should keep that in mind when writing their lyrics.

However, hip hop lyrics don’t have their effect solely on outsiders. While rappers love to say they “speak from the streets” and controversial lyrics represent what is going on in America’s ghettos, hip hop affects what is going on in those ghettos at the same time it comments on it. While at one time hip hop was solely about reflecting on the situation in poor black communities in America, now hip hop has a huge influence on those very same communities. Hip hop is now responsible for perpetrating the very same stereotypes it purports to comment on. Some black women see their peers on TV and aspire to the very same booty-shaking “ideals,” while some black men want nothing but the thug life. Hip hop must acknowledge this power and, to take a page from Spider Man, this responsibility.

Also, both sides need to realize that the popularization of these words and ideas is not without side effects. There is a double standard present when a white radio shock jock gets fired for the same word that made Snoop Dogg famous. While Snoop might argue that the hos he is talking about deserve the slur, I’m sure even the immortal d-o-double-g has used the word to describe an upstanding woman at least once. Plus, when was the last time you heard Snoop say something positive about a woman? Rappers, if you use these words a lot, others will use them too, and that includes wack ugly white guys on the radio. Tough shit, that’s how it goes.

Where To Go From Here? In my humble opinion:

First, black leaders might want to concentrate less on hip hop. They might even want to go so far as to actively take hip hop out of the limelight. Hip hop should not speak for black culture to the rest of the world. We, the outsiders, need a more nuanced view, and black leaders are uniquely positioned to give it to us. When hip hop stops speaking for the majority of black Americans, then “dirty lyrics” won’t be such a big deal. With many other worldviews and role models to choose from, things won’t seem nearly as desperate. Hip hop can go back to being an art-form, as it once was and truly should be.

On the other side, rappers should step up to the plate and be responsible for their lyrics. I’m not calling for censorship, just a sincere commitment to portraying all sides of the issue. If rappers realize that their images influence the streets as much as they are influenced by them, they can take the time to build a different kind of product, one that sells while promoting a more balanced view of women, crime, drugs, and bling culture. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy to say rappers write about bitches and guns because that is what sells. What really sells is a rapper’s confidence and charisma, and that can be focused on a myriad of topics. Hip hoppers, recognize the power you have over the streets and actively try to “keep it real” by promoting what is really going on. It ain’t all booty, blam, and bling; there is more to African American life than that.

Moving On

When white America tires of the hip hop fad, and there are already signs that things are slowing down, hip hop will need to rediscover its purpose. It will need to start making real music for real people again. It will need to start creating art instead of pop. It will need to gain back corporate control over the music and wrestle the money-making apparatus away from stockholders and executive boards. This doesn’t mean hip hop will have to clean up its act. On the contrary, rock music was built on similar controversy. However, rock grew up and refused to let itself be defined by that controversy. Hip hop needs to swallow the same pill. The core of hip hop is not what words it uses or what image it promotes. Hip hop is more elemental than that. It is about street movements, real people, and the writing on the wall. To say hip hop wouldn’t be hip hop without the “dirty lyrics” is to severely underestimate this art-form. As Chamillionaire, a successful rapper who has recently dropped all profanity from his lyrics, said:

People are not even gonna know it. I guarantee if I don’t go out and say it in the media they’re not even gonna realize that.

That’s exactly the point. Hip hop does not begin and end with these words, and Sharpton and Snoop Dogg both are letting the art-form down by defining it in these terms. If hip hop strives to move beyond words and image and get to the message, then it will be able to flourish. Hip hop is not black America, and it shouldn’t be black America. The sooner everyone realizes this, the sooner rappers can get back to making real music and having a real impact.

Your thoughts are appreciated. Are you for censorship in hip hop? Leave your comment below.

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