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Hip Hop Under the Microscope: Congressional Hearings Convene in Washington
posted on Sep 26, 2007
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Rap artists
and entertainment executives found themselves fending off Congressional
criticism that they exploit violence and sexism for profit at
yesterday's unprecedented congressional hearings on hip hop. Members
of the House
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection heard testimony
from music label
executives, rappers, and others such as Edgar Bronfman Jr., chairman of
the Warner Music Group, Doug Morris, chairman of the
Universal Music Group, rappers David Banner and Percy "Master P"
Miller, and author
Michael Eric Dyson.
Titled "From Imus to Industry: The Business
of Stereotypes and Degrading
Images," the
hearing was spearheaded by Subcommittee Chairman Bobby L. Rush (D-IL),
to examine and target "stereotypes and degradation" of women - black
women in particular - in the media. "I want to engage not just the
music industry but the entertainment industry at large to be part of a
solution," Rep. Rush told Variety. "I want to look at not only the
problem caused by misogynistic
content in some hip-hop music but also some of the pain that emanates
from this degradation."
Enough
is Enough, a national group campaigning for "Corporate Responsibility
in Entertainment," held a rally outside the hearings. For
two weeks, the group, led by Rev. Delman L. Coates, Ph.D., has held
peaceful demonstrations outside the home of BET CEO Debra Lee.
In her opening remarks, Rep.
Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) posed a rhetorical question to all hip-hop
artists: "Where and how did society fail you that you would choose to
write such filth?"
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) went after
Viacom-owned BET.
Markey said the cable net appealed to "the lowest common denominator"
via "cheap, tawdry" videos and other "questionable programming."
Lawmakers asked music industry executives about their companies’ role
in the production of explicit rap, and whether marketers
were doing enough to shield young listeners from graphic content. The executives described the complex process of balancing an artist's right to free expression
against the company's responsibility to community.
Rush asked Bronfman and Morris whether they would
consider a ban on certain words considered derogatory. Both said no.
“We don’t think that banning expression is an appropriate approach,”
said Bronfman. Tasteless language, he added, “is in the eye of the
beholder.” Though they defended the
industry’s practices, both Bronfman and Morris did lament that efforts
to restrict young listeners’ access to explicit music had become futile
amid the proliferation of copyrighted songs and videos online.
Banner (real name: Levell Crump) told lawmakers that rap music had
been unfairly singled out as a scapegoat for deeper social problems.
“Gang violence was here before rap music,” he said. “I
can admit that there are some problems in hip-hop, but it is only a
reflection of what is taking place in our society. Hip-hop is sick
because America is sick.” Banner described a
poverty-stricken childhood pervaded with hopelessness, racism and
violence. "This is horror music," Crump said. "There's nothing in my
music that you don't see in my community." Miller -- who
made millions as gangsta rapper Master P but in recent years has struggled to find a hit -- has recently devoted himself to producing cleaner music with positive
messages. He urged other rap artists to put "positive" images and words into music and apologized “to all the women out there.” “I was honestly wrong,” he said.
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