Excelle

I was just listening to The Rhyme on XM and they were having what they call a Town Hall Meeting where they talk about hip hop news and controversy. Today they brought up the subject of censorship. Artists like Immortal Technique, Talib Kweli, and Nas are being asked to clean up their act and stop referencing sex, violence, and drugs in their music.

Should hip hop artists be forced to change their lyrics to be comforting and soothing and not expose the listener to true life stories and tales of violence and drugs?

Good point but we have been reading books for years that talk about sex, drugs, and violence, so should we censor those as well? Books and music are both forms of art. Should we really censor art? Or should we censor the violence we hear about in newspapers and newscasts?

I agree with Rasika there is a limit that needs to be placed on the use of language used in music. Also, at some time or another books have been banned in parts of the US for sexual and language content. Just to name a few:

Catcher in the Rye, Everybook by Henry Miller, Uncle Tom's Cabin, To Kill a Mockingbird, Almost every Stephen King book, Harry Potter books, Some of Shakespeare work, etc.

Only the above I can remember from the top of my head, but some are current writings and were at some point highly successful in film. Now available for reading because times have changed.

Yes, in hip hop some artist need to clean up their work. When I go to listen to music of any genre I do not want to hear a woman being called a name that is something they would not call their mother, sister or daughter. I certainly do not want my children, nieces and nephews to hear it either. Nor read it, see it on tv, play in a game, etc.

then don't listen! Freedom of speech and expression is important. You have a right to say you do not like it by not buying it. We to not live in a police state!

you all say it so beautifully! I'm just a street girl from the ghetto - Tacoma - that town in the Seattle discussion people would not want to live in! Smile

It is the parents duty to protect their children from stuff that they should'nt get exposed to but that's only possible to an extent what about ouside the home...can parents put censor on the music that their kid might listen to outside their home?Sure...everyone is entitled to express what they want to express but saying/writting it by using bad language..does that paint a more realistic picture for the listener?And as far as freedom of speech goes..dont you think one should also bear in mind the effect of what one has said/written might have on people of all age groups?....after all music is universally heard.

And yes..if you have all your sensibilities in place..then you may not get influenced by the unpleasant things you hear/read but can you account the same for everyone...especially young impressionable minds?

I think this discussion runs parallel to the discussion about violence in video games which keeps coming back again and again; nobody has been able to prove any real relationship between violence in video games and violence in the real world.

However, ideals and beliefscanbe shaped by video games, just as they can be shaped by any media. This is where it really gets interesting. We can't prove or assume that a kid playing a violent shoot-em-up is likely to perform physical violence on any kids in school - but if a child is consistently exposed to lyrics which dehumanize women, he will pick up that specific language more easily.

For me, the biggest danger isn't actually the words themselves, but the context of how they are used. There is a real difference between a rapper saying "F*** everybody who hates black people" and "I will F*** you up, B****".

And sometimes, the most dangerous ideas don't even need swear words to be conveyed. Is anybody familiar with the band "Screwdriver"? G.G. Allen? Way, way more dangerous than these rappers.

Artisst said:

Absolutely NO CENSORSHIP!! in any genre of music or art, politics or life...period "you" have the choice not to listen to, read, watch, witness or take part in anything you disagree with or that offends "you" "your family, your culture, your taste, your ideals, and or "your sensibilities, period. When you adhere to any form of censorship, it starts us going backwards and allows our liberties to silently be withdrawn as they are currently happening...this is never progressive...as a people or society...