Rev. Al Sharpton on Rap lyrics
Has self expression among rappers reached an apex of tolerance for morality? Rev. Al Sharpton would certainly believe so, as he recently has began a campaign to literally ban the broadcasting of violently suggestive songs and s*xually provocative videos. Rev. Al Sharpton believes that the black youth are killing each other and there is no intervention to halt this genocide. While not immediately naming any names the likes of Queens rapper 50-Cent and Yonkers rapper Jadakiss, and also Bronx rapper Fat Joe headlined this sudden movement to discontinue airing violent lyrics on the radio and TV. Also notable is BET's programming Uncut, a hour-long program that exclusively airs s*xually suggestive videos in the wee hours of the night. What is you take on this sudden movement to rid the industry of s*x and violence, where do you stand??
I don't think that this is so sudden of a movement, it's just the natural progression of music. Whenever a certain genre seems to be reaching the peak of it's popularity, people always tend to attack it as well as it's artists. It happened in the 50's with Little Richard and Elvis when rock and roll was gaining popularity. Do I think that some rap songs glorify promiscuity and violence too much? Yes. But I also believe that the burden can't be placed solely on the artists who make the music. The people ask for it, listen to it, and try to mimic it. And if they have a problem with a song or artist, no one is forcing them to listen. I think there is already a pretty good handle on spreading awareness of potentially offensive music and radio stations and television networks do their best to keep things as clean as possible, so there shouldn't be any further intervention. These things happen with the acceptance into mainstream media and it'll pass eventually.