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Censorship
Recently we have been hearing a lot about the need for censorship of
television and recording industries. Whether it is the cartoon Beavis and
Butthead, the controversial television drama NYPD Blue or rap recording
artists, someone always s eems to arguing about their negative effects on
society and the need for government regulation.
Being a fan of rap, I am particularly interested in issues effecting
regulation of the recording industry and rap artists. Popular gangsta
rappers include Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dog, Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube, and Ice
Tea. Many are outraged at the explicit lyrics of the songs and the
lifestyles of these artists. Snoop Doggy Dog and Tupac Shakur are two of
the most publicized gansta rappers whose songs contain explicit lyrics
and who have been indicted for criminal activities.
Snoop Doggy dog is a native of Long Beach, California. His mother named
him Snoopy because of his long face and droopy ears. Growing up, Snoop was
a member of the Golgotha Trinity Baptist youth choir and an excellent
basketball player. However , shortly after his graduation from high
school, he landed in jail for possession of cocaine. Recently Snoop was
arrested for murder. On August twenty- fifth Snoop was driving his late
model Jeep in Palms, California. He met up with Philip Woldemar iam, who
according to Snoop's attorney, had a long history of threatening Snoop.
Snoop's bodyguard shot Woldermariam twice in the back, killing him. On
December eighth, Snoop was arraigned for murder, but later found innocent.
Many of the lyrics i n Snoop's songs degrade women, encourage the use of
marijuana and glorify violence against authority.
Another publicized case involves rapper Tupac Shakur. Many know him for
his starring role in the movie Poetic Justice with Janet Jackson. Tupac
Shakur's song Keep Ya Head Up contains such lyrics as
I wonder why we take from our women Why we rape our women Do we
hate our women? I think it's time we care for our women Time to
heal our women.
Despite the lyrics encouraging men to respect women, Shakur was recently
arrested for sexually abusing a woman in a midtown hotel. This arrest came
two weeks after Shakur was arrested for allegedly shooting two off duty
police officers after a traff ic dispute in Atlanta.
Proponents of rap feel that all rappers are protected under the first
amendment. They also feel that rap is a cultural art form, reflecting
ghetto life and that criticism of rap is another form of racism. One of
the men who has been influential in speaking out against gangsta rap, its
explicit lyrics and unworthy role models is the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Jackson states, Anyone, white or black, who makes money calling our women
bitches and our people niggers will have to face the wrath of our
indignation. The Reverend Calvin Butts, the minister of the Abyssinian
Baptist Church in Harlem, has also mounted a crusade against explicit
music. Last summer he held a rally at which he ran over offending tapes
and CDs with a steamrolle r. The vice- president of the United States
wife, Tipper Gore, has launched her own crusade. In her book, Raising PG
Kids in an X-rated Society , she takes the music industry to task for
glamorizing sex and violence in material targeted to kids. She has
encouraged record companies to label all albums and tapes that have
sexually explicit lyrics. Also, radio stations such a KACE-FM in Los
Angeles are adopting policies to ban all songs that degrade women or
promote drugs and violence.
RIP Tupac Amaur Shakur (1971-1996)
Word Count: 598
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