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Rap
Danny Tejada
DanielTejadaJr@hotmail.com
http://hiphoponmymind.blogspot.com
Skidmore College
Senior Seminar in American Studies
December 10, 2008
My Senior Seminar paper will discuss the censorship of Rap music over its lifetime. The
issues of sexism and the N-Word have been an important part of the criticism of Rap music. I
will explore how various groups tried to censor Rap directly and indirectly, the amount of
censorship that occurs today, male and female Rappers’ use of the word “bitch,” sexual themes in
the music, and Rappers wanting to start conversations on the N-Word. With all of these subjects
addressed, I make the point that the censorship that occurs today, while appropriate, is enough.
There needs to be an understanding between those in the industry and those who are trying to
limit the music regarding reasonable restraints that do not go too far in terms of limiting First
Amendment rights.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Professor Gregory Pfitzer, Sarah Magida, Samantha Levine and
Amy Proulx for all of their help with the paper. Without them, the paper would not have
developed into the form that it is in now. I thank my uncle Robert Markman for getting me
interested in writing about Hip Hop Culture. He helped me fulfill a fantasy of mine which was to
be involved in something I loved. I thank Kathy Simpson for helping me develop the idea of Hip
Hop Alliance and teaching me how to lead a discussion. I thank Mariel Martin for helping me
take Hip Hop Alliance to the next level. I thank Professors Joshua Woodfork and Lei Bryant for
making the Hip Hop Culture class possible. I thank the executive board of Hip Hop Alliance for
making the club as great as it is. Without them, Hip Hop Alliance would not exist.
I thank Professor Winston Grady-Willis for his teachings and advice. I thank the
American Studies department for their support and advice. I thank everyone who reads my blog
and interact with on the internet. I thank all of the artists and producers with whom I have
worked. I thank NaS, Mickey Factz, Ice Cube, Kanye West, KiD CuDi, 2pac, Ludacris, The
Game, T.I., Lupe Fiasco, Joell Ortiz, Saigon, Joe Budden, The Incomparable Shakespeare, BK
Cyph and Charles Hamilton for their music which inspires me to live, think and act. I thank my
family and friends for their support. I also thank everyone who has had a positive impact on my
life. Without any of these people, I don’t know where I would be.
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Table of Contents
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..43
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Why I Have Chosen My Topic
Hip Hop Culture means so much to me. I know very little about Breakdancing and
Graffiti Art, but I am very familiar with DJing and MCing. My research, hobbies and personal
enjoyment all tend toward the music of the culture, Rap. I love everything about it, the beats and
rhymes. When I was first introduced to Rap, I did not know that there was a difference between
positive and negative Rap. I experienced Rap music for the first time just like every other kid
today. I listened to what was current on the radio and television. 1997 is when I heard my first
track. It was Diddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You” from the album No Way Out.
It was the first time I had experienced any genre of music. It was amazing to me. As I got
older, I heard other Rappers like 2pac whom my father played a lot. In college, I was able to
listen to Rap that came out before 1997. When I first heard those records, I was blown out of the
water because I could relate to the experiences expressed in the music. They were timeless. I also
started to listen to Rappers like Kanye West and a sub-genre called Conscious Rap.
I loved the fact that Kanye West and other Rappers were communicating important and
meaningful messages about their lives and/or injustice. All genres of Rap contain important and
meaningful messages, but Conscious Rap always has included a message. While listening to this
genre, I was introduced to my number one favorite Rapper, NaS. He is an amazing Rapper to me.
I look up to him. I am inspired by him. When he started out, he rapped about his environment to
educate people. As NaS’ music became more mature his messages were clearer. That is what I
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Not only do I listen to and study Rap music, I am a part of it. I am a mixtape DJ.
Mixtapes are street albums that are used for promotional purposes. I have a mixtape series called
Underground Hustle in which I showcase unsigned talent. I also host and promote mixtapes with
underground Rappers. The underground scene is really different. When I started to listen to
Underground Rap, I was really impressed by what I heard. I wondered why these Rappers were
not being recognized by everyone. My role was (and still is) to help those Rappers get their
music out to the masses. When I talk to them, I always encourage them to come up with
something meaningful for the people. I do not see anything wrong with being a gangsta Rapper1
which I can relate. It gets me thinking about various issues that I normally do and do not think
about. I receive encouragement and hope from the music that I can achieve my goals. If it was
Skidmore has also given me a chance to share my love of Rap through Hip Hop Alliance
and a radio show I host. I created Hip Hop Alliance in the Spring of 2006. The club is dedicated
to educating the Skidmore College community on Hip Hop Culture, its elements and history, as
well as its many issues with race, class, gender, sexual orientation and more. We do this through
events such as concerts, discussions and lectures. In the past, we have held discussions on the N-
Word, Homophobia in Hip Hop, and Sexism in Hip Hop. Last year, we organized Skidmore's
first Hip Hop Culture Week with Chuck D from Public Enemy as the keynote speaker without
being a chartered club. Today, we are a chartered club, and I am still the President. We continue
1
A Gangsta Rapper is a person who Raps about committing violence, dealing drugs, and having sex.
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For this paper, I will discuss Rap music and censorship over its 30 year lifetime. Before
you read anymore of this paper, I want to let you know that the language might be offensive to
some people. If you are one of these people, then I advise you not to read it. The turning point for
me to writing this paper was the controversy over my favorite Rapper NaS wanting to name his
last album “Nigger.” I thought that it was very interesting to see the uproar it caused. I wanted to
be able to examine that. With this paper, I will show the reasons for the censorship and the
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What is Rap Music?
Various groups inside and outside of Rap music have tried to minimize or eliminate the
genre because of certain words and themes in it. These groups have censored music directly and
indirectly. Censorship does limit the music as a whole, since it affects not only the lyrics but also
the issues that Rap music confronts. Even artists themselves indirectly pushed back against each
other, undercutting the industry. The two major issues that the groups take on are sexism and the
use of the N-Word in the music. Despite these tendencies, Rap has triumphed because youth have
rebelled successfully against the adults who tried to restrict them. The amount of censorship that
occurs today is enough. There is no need for anymore. It is already difficult to understand and
Thirty years ago, the construction of a major highway in the Bronx divided rich and poor
communities. Being cut off, the people of the poor community started to unite. One major thing
that united them was Rap music. During this time, Rap was not affordable for everyone, but Disc
Jockeys (DJs) had their hands on records. To showcase the music and get people together, DJs
threw parties in the streets (also known as block parties) by plugging their equipment into street
lamps and electrical outlets in people’s homes. It was at these parties that Rap music was
introduced to people.
Rap music is an art form that allows people to express themselves with fast spoken word
poetry over various types of instrumentals. When Rap started, it was about unity within the poor
communities and meaningful messages. The first Rap record to go mainstream was Sugar Hill
Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979. It was marketed to the masses on various radio stations
because it sampled a popular disco record called “Good Times” by Chic. After this, Rap music
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started to get recognized all over the world. As time changed, Rap changed along with it.
Gangsta Rap and other sub-genres were introduced. Rap started to get homophobic and sexist.
Traditional Rap became known as Conscious Rap. It was pushed to the back of the bus while the
Today, the media and many people attack Rap because of certain words and themes. A lot
of people, including Rappers, forget about what the music stands for, which is uniting to fight
against things like injustice and educating people. Artists like NaS get overlooked by the masses
today because they do not conform to the mainstream. While these attacks on Rap occur, the
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There are Limits on Speech?
One of the devices that is used to limit or eliminate Rap music is censorship. As soon as
one introduces the term censorship, First Amendment rights are raised. The First Amendment
states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”2 In
theory, the language of the amendment would indicate that the government can not do anything
to limit any form of speech. In practice, however, limitations are imposed, especially with
Music has been impacted directly by this debate on free speech. Jeffrey L. L. Stein, in his
essay “Music Lyrics: As Censored as They Wanna Be,” said “Music is considered speech and as
such is protected by the First Amendment…The ban on limiting freedom of speech also extends
to the individual states through the Fourteenth Amendment.”3 The idea here is that since music is
considered speech, it should be protected in the same way as free speech. Stein also referred to a
sentence from section one of the Fourteenth Amendment which says, “No State shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
2
“Bill of Rights Transcript,” The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration,
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html (accessed November 9, 2008).
3
Jeffrey L. L. Stein, “Music Lyrics: As Censored as They Wanna Be,” Bleep! Censoring Rock and Rap Music, ed.
Betty Houchin Winfield and Sandra Davidson (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999), 74. He is the McElroy Chair
in Communication Arts and Executive-in-Residence at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
Tejada 10
States.”4 The First and Fourteenth Amendments theoretically ensured that no one would get
penalized for their speech. States could not completely ban speech, but limitations were allowed.
Since the creation of the Bill of Rights and additions to it, the First and Fourteenth
Amendments have been challenged. Stein said, “The ability to express one’s self, free from
Amendment does have some limitations. One limitation is obscenity. There is no constitutional
protection for speech that is termed obscene.”5 People can not say anything they want. Defining
The United States has been grappling with obscenity laws since 1842, when a
tariff act banned “importation of all indecent and obscene” paintings and
photographs. During the Civil War, in 1865, Congress passed the first law
outlawing the mailing of obscene matter in the North because Union soldiers were
reading such scandalous books as Fanny Hill, also known as Memoirs of a
Woman of Pleasure, by John Cleland. In 1873, Anthony Comstock, a moral
crusader from New York, helped push the first national obscenity bill through
Congress by using the slogan of “Morals, not Art or Literature.”6
Books, paintings and photographs were the first to have speech limited. Comstock wanted to
protect people, especially young people, from obscene art and literature. At the same time, art
4
“The Constitution of the United States: Amendments 11-27,” The U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration, http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html (accessed
November 9, 2008).
5
Stein, 74.
6
Stein, 78.
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These restrictions required a more complex definition of what obscenity was with respect
to language. In response, United States courts started using the Hicklin test to deal with
The test called for a total ban on things that would corrupt minds. The government determined
what was acceptable for everyone not just people at risk, and this represented an important
departure from First Amendment tradition. It did not stop there for the American government.
The U.S. courts added a twist to this rule, making a bad rule worse. The American
addition was the “partly obscene” test: If any part of a work was obscene—if any
part had a tendency to corrupt minds that are open to immoral influences—then
the whole work could be considered obscene.8
This meant that a few words in a piece of work were enough to get the entire production banned.
In this sense, the American government provided more restriction than England in the matter of
censorship.
It was in 1957 that the Supreme Court overruled the Hicklin test in the first decision on
Justice Brennan, author of the Court’s opinion, wrote that “sex and obscenity are
not synonymous.” In fact, according to the Court, “Sex, a great and mysterious
motive force in human life, has indisputably been a subject of absorbing interest
to mankind through the ages; it is one of the vital problems of human interest and
public concern.” Then the Court turned to the Hicklin test and expressly overruled
it. “The Hicklin test,” the Court said, “might as well encompass material
7
Stein, 78.
8
Stein, 78.
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legitimately treating with sex, and so it must be rejected as unconstitutionally
restrictive of freedoms of speech and press.”9
This was an important step because it was the first time obscenity was addressed on a national
level. The justices felt that the Hicklin test did not address the country’s current problem during
that time which they believed was sex. The test also limited people’s freedom to express
Five of the justices created a new test to deal with obscenity which said, “Whether to the
average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the
material taken as a whole appeals to prurient10 interest.”11 This meant that if a body of work was
The Roth test was eventually challenged nine years later in the case involving the book
Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (also known as Fanny Hill) by John Cleland. The book was a
problem again for America (as mentioned before it was an issue during the Civil War). This time
the book was being labeled obscene under the Roth test. A three-Justice plurality12 created a new
test called Fanny Hill for this case. In order for a body of work to be considered obscene, three
9
Stein, 79.
10
According to Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1), prurient means “having, inclined to have, or characterized by
lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires, etc.” http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prurient (accessed November 9,
2008).
11
Stein, 82.
12
“In a plurality decision there is no majority agreement; the highest number of agreeing views wins. In this case,
the number was three.” Stein, 85.
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c. “the material is utterly without redeeming social value.”13
Fanny Hill met the first two requirements, but it did not meet the last one. Since it did not, the
When this decision was made, this definition of obscenity was not a major issue. This
…the United States had gone through the Vietnam War, with protests, “free love,”
and even a nude musical, Hair, playing on Broadway. In short, attitudes toward
portrayals of sexual matters had changed. In the face of these changes, the Court
was becoming more and more divided on obscenity matter.14
Under the Fanny Hill test, all of these things and more would have been considered obscene.
This made it more difficult for the Supreme Court to define obscenity. That same year another
case dealing with obscenity came to the Supreme Court: Miller v. California. The case was about
a man named Marvin Miller who sent unwanted sexually explicit materials to various people as a
way to promote his products.15 The result from that case created another test known as the Miller
test. It was a revision of the Fanny Hill test which was intended to make the requirements for
13
Stein, 82.
14
Stein, 80.
15
“Miller v. California,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, November 6, 2008,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_v._California (accessed November 10, 2008).
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2. “patently offensive representations or descriptions of masturbation, excretory
functions and lewd exhibition of the genitals.”16
The second requirement allowed the States to deal with defining obscenity on their own terms.
The justices recognized that some of the bodies of works being considered obscene were great
works of art. The third requirement moved away from the social value aspect as stated in the
Fanny Hill test. This new test protected many works of art.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was created in 1934 to regulate radio
and television broadcasting.17 Sandra Davidson, in her essay called “Stern Stuff: Here Comes the
The [FCC] polices broadcast airwave—with the help of the public. Instead of
monitoring the airwaves, the FCC responds to complaints by listeners. Then the
FCC can haul out a heavy arsenal of weapons against what it considers broadcast
indecency. Often the result is steep fines against broadcasters for raunchy words
—whether spoken or sung.18
This is interesting because the list of raunchy words is unclear to many people, even
broadcasters. Also, people’s definition of indecency differs. This creates a lot of unwanted and
unfair complaints. The FCC’s definition of indecency is “[l]anguage or material that, in context,
standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory activities of organs.”19 This meant that
16
Stein, 82-83.
17
“Federal Communications Commission,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, November 6, 2008,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Communications_Commission (accessed November 10, 2008).
18
Sandra Davidson, “Stern Stuff: Here Comes the FCC,” Bleep! Censoring Rock and Rap Music, ed. Betty Houchin
Winfield and Sandra Davidson (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999), 51. She is an associate professor of
journalism and adjunct associate professor of law at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
19
Davidson, 51.
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there was no set definition. It depended on a collective group of people to make a push for a
In 1973, the FCC started to get more involved with regulating radio and television
broadcasting because George Carlin’s 12 minute monologue called “Filthy Word” was aired in
the afternoon on a New York radio station. A father made a complaint to the FCC after he heard
it with his son.20 The words mentioned in the monologue were “shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker,
motherfucker, and tits”21. This case went up to the Supreme Court and was called FCC v.
Pacifica (the radio station that aired the monologue). The Court decided that the FCC was right
in not allowing the monologue to be broadcasted.22 The time of the day this monologue was
being played made these seven words unacceptable to be aired. The interesting part of the
decision is the words were not considered obscene. They seem not to fit within the Miller test.
They did not please sexual desire. They did offend people, but it was comedy, an artistic form.
Despite the words not passing the Miller test, the decision gave the FCC the right to
block them from being broadcasted. Although such words change overtime (“pussy” and “bitch”
are being used more often), the Court suggested that there were standards that certain industries
We have long recognized that each medium of expression presents special First
Amendment problems…And of all forms of communication, it is broadcasting
that has received the most limited First Amendment protection.
The reasons for these distinctions are complex, but two have relevance to the
present case. First, the broadcast media have established a uniquely pervasive
presence in the lives of all Americans. Patently offensive, indecent material
presented over the airwaves confronts the citizen, not only in public, but also in
20
Davidson, 52.
21
“Seven Dirty Words,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, November 6, 2008,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_dirty_words (accessed November 10, 2008).
22
Davidson, 52.
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the privacy of the home, where the individual’s right to be left alone plainly
outweighs the First Amendment rights of an intruder….Because the broadcast
audience is constantly tuning in and out, prior warnings cannot completely protect
the listener or viewer from unexpected program content. To say that one may
avoid further offense by turning off the radio when he [or she] hears indecent
language is like saying that the remedy for an assault is to run away after the first
blow.
Second, broadcasting is uniquely accessible to children, even those too young to
read….Pacifica’s broadcast could have enlarged a child’s vocabulary in an
instant.23
Since anyone, especially children, can come in contract with the words, it was considered a
violation of rights if these words were being broadcasted into the privacy for their home.
Davidson said, “Until 1987, however, the FCC took a narrow view of what it considered
‘indecent.’ So long as broadcasts did not contain Carlin’s ‘seven filthy words,’ the FCC left the
broadcasters alone.”24 During this time, new words that offended people were being used more,
and Gangsta Rap music started to become mainstream. The FCC had to add words circulating
regularly in this subgenre to the list of words that were not allowed to be broadcasted. Today, this
has expanded to sexual and violent themes. In the September 2008 issue of XXL Magazine,
Editorial Assistant Starrene Rhett interviewed Rapper and G-Unit member Tony Yayo about
I just feel like it’s crazy. You can’t do anything anymore. Everything is censored.
There’s so many blanks spots in [“I Like the Way She Do It”] that people can’t
really enjoy the song. Sometimes I think [when] it comes to G-Unit, we get extra-
censored. [Black Entertainment Television] made 35 changes to the video, [but]
we just [have to] live with it.25
23
Davidson, 52.
24
Davidson, 52.
25
Starrene Rhett, “Interview with Tony Yayo,” XXL Magazine (New York: Harris Publications, Inc., September
2008), 41.
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Tony Yayo is right about the G-Unit record “I Like the Way She Do It.” Before the video was
submitted to BET, the station created new standards for videos. The major change was that
videos could not show a woman’s backside. This is what caused the 35 changes in the video to “I
As Tony Yayo mentioned, there are many blanks spots in the record. It is even difficult to
understand the chorus which was performed by Rapper and G-Unit’s leader 50 Cent (the bolded
I like the way she do it. She put her back into it.
Then she drop it low, to gets the dough.
I said I like the way she do it. She put her back into it.
Let her ass drop, like my ’64.
I said I like the way she do it. She put her back into it.
Then she drop it low, to gets the dough.
I said I like the way she do it. She put her back into it.
Let her ass drop, like my ‘64.26
The verses of all three Rappers, 50 Cent, Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks, faced the same kind of
censorship. Without the words that were censored, the purpose of the record, which is to serve as
a party record, was lost. The record can be seen as sexist, but it does represent many Rap records
which do get censored to the same degree. Since this record is mainstream, this causes the
records that are not to suffer even if they are informative. A record could contain sexual theme,
but it could contain a message that speaks against rape. It can be a possibly that the record would
be censored to the point where the message is lost. The record could even be censored indirectly
by the radio and television stations choosing not playing those records.
26
G-Unit, “I Like the Way She Do It,” Clean Music Video, T.O.S: Terminate on Sight, G-Unit Records/Interscope,
2008, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXOmPVVs5i8. Explicit Music Video,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em2E2ubI6Vs (accessed November 10, 2008).
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Censorship operates on direct and indirect levels, although both forms are ultimately
indirectly is a quiet way of controlling and getting rid of records. Betty Houchin Winfield, in her
essay “Because of the Children: Decades of Attempted Controls of Rock ’n’ Rap Music,” said,
Beyond legal controls, censoring music can be indirect. Consumers have been
urged to boycott concerts and to refuse to purchase the music that parents and
other adults have publicized as detrimental. Businesses and discount chain mega-
stores respond to public pressures and refuse to carry the offending music,
especially the music labeled obscene or violent.27
This can be helpful in preventing music that conveys a negative message, but parents and adults
can also misunderstand certain music and unfairly condemn it. Winfield explained this:
Despite court rulings that such music and other cultural expressions are protected
under the First Amendment, the reality is that many American adults, particularly
Caucasian adults, have historically disliked non-European sounds, especially
when they first heard them. Historically, the Afro-rhythmic sounds were alien and
the words are shockingly suggestive to Euro-centric ears. In the historical
progression of the blues-jazz-rock-rap songs, critics, especially those of European
heritage, accused such music and their composers of causing disruptions to
cultural values, of inciting violence and being detrimental to society.28
When Jazz and Blues was introduced, it was not accepted by the White masses either. It was not
considered respectable, but it did not stop the music from selling.
teenagers sought not just new musical sounds but voices and words to speak to
them individually as they forged adult identities. The music was ever-appealing.
Adolescent upheavals also meant surviving stress about sexuality, romance,
morality, parents, authority and government. The emerging new forms of…rap
music can speak personally to these older children.29
27
Betty Houchin Winfield, “Because of the Children: Decades of Attempted Controls of Rock ’n’ Rap Music,”
Bleep! Censoring Rock and Rap Music, ed. Betty Houchin Winfield and Sandra Davidson (Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press, 1999), 11. She is a professor of journalism and adjunct professor of political science at the
University of Missouri-Columbia.
28
Winfield, 10.
29
Winfield, 10.
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Parents might disapprove of the music, but their children wanted to connect to the music because
they enjoyed and /or could relate to it. The music was filling a void that parents could not fill.
Ironically, warning labels on albums only made teenagers want to buy the albums even more.
When albums were labeled with those stickers, it meant that there were suggestive and indecent
lyrics. Teenagers felt that there was something on these albums their parents did not want them to
hear. This is what made Rap music achieve mainstream success, since the forbidden was actively
Tejada 20
One of the major issues adults and various groups protest against is sexism in Rap music.
especially discrimination against women” and “attitudes, conditions, or behaviors that promote
stereotyping of social roles based on gender.”30 Degrading images and words are examples of
this, but the definition does not explain the potential seriousness of sexism. Rape, physical and
mental violence, and unfair treatment in the workforce, justice system and more are some results
Sexism in Rap music derives in part from its history in the Black community which dates
back to slavery times. In the introduction to the chapter called “The Body Politic: Sexuality,
Violence, and Reproduction,” from her book Words Of Fire: An Anthology of African-American
Black women’s bodies have been sites of contestation since Europeans first set
foot on African soil to appropriate free labor for the brutal system of slavery.
Myths about black female sexuality, born on the African continent, would follow
black women to the “New World” and help to justify their sexual exploitation for
generations thereafter.31
White Europeans created myths about Black women, and these carried to America when Black
women were brought over and sold into slavery. Some of these myths were designed to control
Black women. In “Mammies, Matriarchs and Other Controlling Images,” from her book Black
Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment, Patricia Hill
Collins wrote:
The dominant ideology of the slave era fostered the creation of several
interrelated, socially constructed controlling images of Black womanhood, each
reflecting the dominant group’s interest in maintaining Black women’s
30
“Sexism,” Dictionary.com, The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004), http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sexism (accessed November
23, 2008).
31
Beverly Guy-Sheftall, “The Body Politic: Sexuality, Violence, and Reproduction,” Words of Fire: An Anthology of
African-American Feminist Thought, ed. Beverly Guy-Sheftall (New York: The New Press, 1995), 359.
Tejada 21
subordination. Moreover, since Black and White women were both important to
slavery’s continuation, controlling images of Black womanhood also functioned
to mask social relations that affected women.32
Controlling images were used to keep slavery going and to justify White slave owners’ actions
towards enslaved Black women. One of these controlling images was the Jezebel.
The Jezebel was created to associate Black women with sex objects who were “asking for it.”
bell hooks, in a chapter called “it’s a dick thing: beyond sexual acting out” from her book We
Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity, said that “If black women were raped in slavery it was
because they were licentious and seductive, or so white men told themselves.”34 The enslaved
Black women could not protest this characterization because they feared being killed. Those who
did speak up were shut down by the justice system. Darlene Clark Hine, in her essay called
“Rape and the Inner Lives of Black Women in the Middle West: Preliminary Thoughts on the
Tejada 22
It is important to note that before these controlling images were imposed on Black
women by the institution of slavery before they were brought to America against their will,
black male bodies were not coming to the new world obsessed with sexuality;
they were coming from worlds where collective survival was more important than
the acting out of sexual desire, and they were coming into a world where survival
was more important than sexual desire.36
Black men were not sexist from the beginning; they were forced into a White-dominated society
where sexism already existed. And these sexist values have persisted to the present day. The
legacy of slave culture is that Black women have been seen by others including Black men as
We know from slave narratives that black males and females found the white
colonizers’ obsession with sexuality strange. Naturally, they feared white sexual
obsessions would lead them to be target of sexualized radicalized rage. For black
women, to be a target meant rape and mutilation; for black men, lynching and
mutilation.37
Acceptance of these sexist conditions was the only way that most enslaved Black people felt they
could stay alive. Black men started to believe that these notions were true. Over time, they
expressed these notions in the public through music and more. Rap music became one of the
Before Rap music became what it is today, a group named 2 Live Crew brought sexism to
…2 Live Crew’s song “Hoochie Mama” takes Black women bashing to new
heights. In this song, the group opens with the rallying cry “big booty hoes hop
Tejada 23
wit it!” and proceeds to list characteristics of the “hoodrat hoochie mama.” The
singers are quite clear about the use of such women: “I don’t need no
confrontation,” they sing. “All I want is an ejaculation cos I like them ghetto
hoochies.” The misogyny in “Hoochie Mama” makes prior portrayals of jezebel
seem tame. For example, 2 Live Crew’s remedy for “lyin” shows their disdain for
women: “Keep runnin ya mouth and I’ma stick my dick in it,” they threaten.38
2 Live Crew degraded Black women with many tracks like “Hoochie Mama.” They promoted
negative things in their music like having sex with many women and cheating on women. It was
not until their third album As Nasty As They Wanna Be that they started to become popular
because they were in the media constantly. The album sold three million records, and it was
banned in Florida. The cover for the album had four women showing off their behinds in
swimwear with the four members of the group between their legs. Collins said,
In the United States, guarantees of free speech allow 2 Live Crew and similar
groups to speak their minds about “hoochies” and anything else that will make
them money. The issue here lies in African-American acceptance of such images.
African-American men and women alike routinely do not challenge these and
other portrayals of Black women as “hoochies” within Black popular culture. For
example, despite the offensive nature of much of 2 Live Crew’s music, some
Blacks argued that such views, while unfortunate, had long been expressed in
Black culture.39
2 Live Crew was entitled to do what they did, but people could have challenged them. Some did
when 2 Live Crew was taken to court because of the content in their album. They won the case
because the Miller test had not been wrongly applied. Their album was declared that it did
redeem artistic value. The group spent many years producing and performing the same type of
music. In addition to making sexist music, they led by example. At concerts, they would act out
sexual actions with women from the crowd. The group disbanded, but the group’s actions created
38
Collins, 82.
39
Collins, 82.
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Today’s Jezebel is the “bitch”, “hoe” or “slut.” She is the one in the music video who is
semi-nude. She moves in promiscuous ways while bowing down to the male Rapper. The Rapper
is the one who refers to the woman as a “bitch” in his music. He also creates a picture where the
woman in the video is nothing but his sexual object. Some of these videos can be seen as
pornographic. This brings back the Jezebel image because the Rapper appears to be the master
When it comes to personal opinion, most Rappers have their meaning of what a “bitch,”
“hoe” and lady is. Rapper Scarface from Houston, Texas is an example of this. In 2007, he
released an album called Made. On the album, there is a bonus track called “‘B’ Word.” He
started it by saying:
Scarface makes people realize that he is not a self-righteous person like Al Sharpton. He tries to
make the case that there is a difference between a hoe and a lady. Some Black men would agree
with his statement, especially if they listen to mainstream Rap music. Examples of this can be
seen in the documentary Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. As for what a “bitch” is, Scarface
explained:
Tejada 25
And she don’t give a fuck about a ring,
The kid, the 15 years this brings.
She’ll fuck you in your house in the bed ya brought,
Leave the sheets full of drip stains, wash her pussy off
then bounce. Now, you at home with a soft dick,
Feeling bad, try to shake this bitch.
But you scared of the outcome, she might tell
or get drunk, feel guilty, come by and try to sell it
to your wife like it's your fault, duck at all costs.
And if that ain’t a bitch, what's a bitch? I'm lost.
A hoe will jump dick to dick to get paid.
But a bitch fucks your shit up so just wait.
Can't nobody else prosper, she live for the gossip,
Hates to see the next bitch happy so she knocks her.
She hates your man and hates your friends.
But a bitch is a bitch is a bitch in the end.41
According to Scarface, a “bitch” is a woman who has no respect for herself and the people
around her. She is willing to break people up to get what she wants. She hates it when others
around her are happy. Scarface reminds his brothers to stay away from her.
Dating back to the 1980s, female Rappers, like Roxanne Shante, would respond to male
Rappers, like Scarface. Today, female Rappers take a different approach. In “Hip-Hop Soul
Mate? Hip-Hop Soul Divas and Rap Music: Critiquing the Love That Hate Produced,” from her
book Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture, and the Public Sphere,
Some feel that the reclamation of the word bitch, like the reclamation of the word
nigger or nigga, is an empowering act. Indeed, listening to the lyrics of Lil’ Kim
as she forcefully raps “I’ma stay dat bitch” exudes a certain sense of power. She
comes off as a woman in control—assertive and sexually assured. She is tough,
not someone to mess with.42
41
Scarface, “‘B’ Word.”
42
Gwendolyn D. Pough, “Hip-Hop Soul Mate? Hip-Hop Soul Divas and Rap Music: Critiquing the Love That Hate
Produced,” Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture, and the Public Sphere (Boston:
Northeastern University Press, 2007), 183. She is an Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of
Tejada 26
Lil’ Kim can be seen as a positive role model because she takes charge of her own life and does
not let anyone tell her what to do. People would believe that she is too sexual and a bad influence
on little girls. The majority of those people oppose her without knowing about her life. She had a
difficult upbringing. She left her parent’s home at a young age. She also felt that the people
around her were not giving her the attention she needed. In reference to her rough upbringing,
Pough said,
Any critique of Lil’ Kim, her sexualized image, and her explicit lyrics must take
both of her public images into consideration. The things that come out in her
interviews about her abusive father, relying on men for food and shelter, and not
feeling pretty complicate our understanding of the things she says on [records]
and require that we look at her in a more critically engaged way.43
She dealt with things most people would never face. Being a Rapper gave her the power she
wanted. She did not have to rely on men because she had her own money. She demanded sex
instead of looking for it. She told men what to do. She felt beautiful. To understand why she
made the records she did, her whole life has to be examined. There were many female Rappers
before (Salt-N-Pepa) and during (Foxy Brown) Lil’ Kim’s career who challenged the status quo.
She has the right to use “bitch” because she used it to show that she was what she always wanted
to be, which was in power. Today, the number of female Rappers is decreasing mostly because
the female Rap icons are retiring, going to jail or just very busy. In many cases over the years,
they have been replaced with women who appeared in music videos and on stage at concerts just
Tejada 27
At most concerts, women are objectified in public. Sometimes, there are dancers on stage
who are almost wearing nothing. Other times, women from the crowd are brought on stage to
dance in sexual ways. This happened at a Ghostface Killah concert at Skidmore College.
Ghostface Killah performed a track called “Back Like That (Remix).” In the track, he says:
Ghostface is saying that it is OK for him to cheat, but it is not OK for the woman to cheat. He
also describes another woman’s body in an inappropriate manner. While he was rapping this
verse, he looked at all of the women on stage instead of people in the crowd. This could imply
that he saw these women as the ones he was rapping about. By implying this, he referred to them
as “bitches” and “hoes.” He even said the word “trick” which is on the same level as “bitch.” The
In some cases at concerts, women are soaked with water. In other cases, dangerous things
happen like women getting abused, sexually harassed or raped. At most music video shoots,
some of the same things occur. Some music video models, who appeared on a VH1 special
which discussed women in videos, discussed how they were asked by Rappers and directors to
44
Ghostface Killah Featuring Ne-Yo and Kanye West, “Back Like That (Remix),” More Fish, Def Jam Recordings,
2006.
Tejada 28
have sex. If they didn’t, they would get black listed and would not be able to get any job in the
industry. Other video models, in the VH1 special, admitted to using sex to get ahead. Some were
not ashamed of it, and did not care what others thought about them. They would be willing to be
The Enough Is Enough Campaign is led by religious clergy people. The purpose of the
The focus of the group is to get the corporations to change strategies and tactics with respect to
marketing and production. They feel that the corporations are responsible for the images that are
displayed in the media. They believe that the media does have an influence on people.
The group started their protests in September 2007. The first one was in front of the home
of Debra L. Lee, chairman and chief executive of Black Entertainment Television (BET). BET
has been cited as one of the television stations which have issues with inappropriately presenting
adult messages and stereotypes to children.46 During March 2008, Enough Is Enough, along with
others, did a study on adult content shown on two BET shows, which were marketed to children.
45
Enough Is Enough Campaign, “Purpose,” http://enoughisenoughcampaign.com/purpose.html (accessed November
24, 2008).
Tejada 29
They found that there was one instance of adult content (drugs, sex and violence) every 38
seconds.47
The group has been criticized for their efforts. Some people have seen their actions as the
same forms of censorship that tried to stop Rap many years ago. Debra L. Lee noted about
Enough Is Enough’s extreme efforts when she met with the main organizer of the group, Rev.
Delman L. Coates. She felt that he wanted to program the whole network.48 She was more
accepting of groups like Russell Simmons’ Hip Hop Summit Action Network, which have been
praised because they work with Rappers on the same issues brought forth by Enough Is Enough.
Black women have been objectified for many years since the slavery era. Male Rappers
stand strong in their beliefs about women, using them behind the scenes of music videos in
exploitive ways. Female Rappers try to counter the effects of words like “bitch,” but they often
fail to do so because it is difficult for them to suggest the subtle distinctions of usage that make it
okay for them to use the term but not for others to do so. Records sell because of the sexual
themes presented in them. Some groups who try to make change seem to be too extreme because
they don’t try to meet people halfway. The current changes being made with various networks
46
Felicia R. Lee, “Protesting Demeaning Images in Media,” nytimes.com, November 5, 2007,
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/arts/05enou.html?pagewanted=print (accessed November 24, 2008).
47
Teresa Wiltz and Paul Farhi, “BET President Resigns,”washingtonpost.com, September 12, 2008,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/11/AR2008091103380.html (accessed November
24, 2008).
48
Felicia R. Lee, “Protesting Demeaning Images in Media.”
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Niggers, Niggas & Niggaz
The N-Word is a word that evokes various emotions and opinions from many people.
Jabari Asim, deputy editor of the Washington Post Book World, wrote a book on the word called
The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t, and Why, in which he considers the origins of the
The origin of the [word] can be traced all the way back to 1619, when Jamestown
colonist John Rolfe noted in his diary the first time African captives came to live
Tejada 31
and toil in British North America, “Twenty negars,” he wrote, had arrived on a
Dutch man-of-war.
The year 1619 is when the selling of enslaved Africans was noted for the first time. Although, the
word appeared during that year, it is still unknown when it started to be used as a slur.
Billy X. Sunday, a blogger for XXL Magazine’s website, wrote an essay called “Whites
Were The Original Niggers…” In this essay, he said that the N-Word became a slur when Black
people started to become educated and land owners. He also said that the word came from
“negger” which is what plowmen were called in Germany. Plowmen were White men who were
responsible for the growing of crops. They were considered the backbone of the community.
Their job was very dirty because they had to stand behind animals that fertilized the land. Since
they had this job, they could never eat inside the house. These White men did the job that
enslaved Black people eventually performed in the New World.50 Sunday notes that “negger”
was respectable when used in the context of these White laborers before it was turned to “nigger”
to degrade Black people who were performing these and other tasks.
Although the origin of the N-Word is not clear, people speak out against it and for it.
Today, it is used a lot in Rap music. It is also a part of the everyday language of young people,
not just young Blacks. Many people believe that no one should say it at all, while others argue
49
Jabari Asim, The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t, and Why (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 2007), 10.
50
Billy X. Sunday, “Whites Were The Original Niggers…,” XXLMag.com, October 20th, 2007,
http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=15178 (accessed November 21, 2008).
Tejada 32
that only Black people have the right to use it. Still others claim that anyone can use it. These
opinions are not specific to one group of people. They come from people of all backgrounds
(Black, White, Hispanic, etc.) and professions (scholars, Rappers, activists, etc.).
The argument of Asim and others respecting the use of the term among African
Americans is cased in notions of encoded language grounded in shared experience. Today, the
word is even used as a sign of love or friendship. Some people who use it know the history
behind the word and choose to say it because they believe repetition takes power away from the
word. A well-known unsigned Brooklyn Rapper named Sha Stimuli made a record called “The N
Word Song” for the mixtape Hip Hop Dock-Trine 2 (The Saga Continues) [Hall Of Justus
Nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger. I try not to say it, but I feel
much bigger. Nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger. Oh but please pardon us. But, where
my brothers at? It doesn’t sound hard enough. So, nigger, nigger, nigger, nigger,
nigger, nigger, please. Nigger, nigger, nigger. It comes out with ease. So, I keep
saying it. I guess I got to figure you can look like my brother, but I can call you
my nigga.51
He evokes many strong emotions from just the chorus. He implies that hearing the word over and
over again can have damaging effects, since a young Black person could be encouraged to just
use it many times in one day or even a single conversation. The point of the chorus was to show
how casually it is used. Stimuli showed how hard it is not to use the word, in fact. He also
demonstrated more acceptable usages, such as when the word is used to refer to others as their
brother.
51
Sha Stimuli, “The N Word Song,” Hip Hop Dock-Trine 2 (The Saga Continues) [Hall Of Justus Edition] (2007).
Tejada 33
Stimuli also have Black people take a look at themselves when he talks about White
people’s use of the word, especially in the absence of Black people. He was saying that Black
people who complain about White people saying the word should not be mad because they use it
as well. On his MySpace blog, he explained the idea behind making the record about the word:
The idea of “Nigga” came when my homie Angie had me speak at a panel [on]
racism at St. Vincent Youth services for young black males in foster care. The N-
word came up[,] and I heard different ideas about the word. One kid said [that] we
took the [offensive] and negative connotation out of the word. Sort of like “queen
bitch” or “superho,” we turned “nigger” into “nigga.” I get that one. And we
really did. We made “nigga” a cool word that replaces “friend,” “guy,” “dude[,]”
etc. Another person said [that] he uses it[,] and when he’s around other people of
different ethnic backgrounds[,] they use it and it’s ok. My Spanish nigga, my
Chinese nigga. We’re all minorities. I get that. Then another man said he didn’t
use the word at all because he grew up during the civil rights movement and the
word still stings so there’s no way to take the negativity out of it. He was there
during segregation and Jim Crow. His parents cleaned houses for white folks.
“Nigga” was always poisoning to his ears. I couldn't argue with that.52
This panel suggested that the word has many different meanings when used in alternative
contexts. Here was a clash of all of these generations coming together disagreeing with one
another. The younger generation felt that using the word was a way to take the power away from
it and to unite all groups of diverse people. Members of the Civil Rights generation disagreed.
The word recreated horrible memories for them. They felt that it could never be reversed. It was
considered “the greatest child that racism ever birthed.”53 That generation even went as far as to
The NAACP conducted this funeral that took place in Detroit. The organization started
the funeral with a march. Two horses pulled a plain wooden casket which had fake black roses
52
Sha Stimuli, “The ‘N Word’ Song, More Shameless Plugs & NEW MUSIC LINKS!!!!,” MySpace.com Blogs,
October 25, 2007,
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=37078481&blogID=322185988 (accessed
November 21, 2008).
53
Associated Press, “NAACP delegates ‘bury’ N-word in ceremony,” msnbc.msn.com, July 9, 2007,
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19680493/ (accessed November 24, 2008).
Tejada 34
on it. The casket symbolically represented the N-Word which was being put to rest. The plain
condition of the casket and the fake black roses showed that the NAACP did not respect the
word. Plain caskets have a long history especially with multicultural soldiers who were killed in
the line of duty and were often buried without ceremony or a proper funeral. In some cases, they
did not have tombstones; even if they did, their names were not on them. In the burial of the N-
Word, there was a tombstone.54 The point of the event was to get rid of the word forever.
This funeral event was more directed towards Black people who used the word. Sha
Then there was a question that made me think of myself. I play ball with
Caucasian dudes every week and when me and my boys toss around the N word[,]
I cringe a little because I know one day one of my [Caucasian] boys may slip and
use the word[,] and of course we would all want to fight. Is that justifiable?
Maybe but who’s to say? I actually have some Blanco friends that admit to
dropping the N-bomb as they like to call it…So like I was saying the question
arose would you be upset if a Caucasian used the word[?] Everyone said yes and
it kind of amazed me. Well[,] not really[,] but I didn’t hear anyone defend our
stupidity with intelligence enough to say that if we made the word cool then why
can’t they.
He is saying that most White people today say the word because Black people made it acceptable
in their interactions with other Black people and in Rap music. His point is that if we don’t want
anyone to use it, we should start with ourselves. Then, in the N-Word record and his blog,
Stimuli talked about how people hang on each lyric of Rappers like Jay-Z. He made the assertion
that if those Rappers were to stop using the word then maybe everyone else would follow.
NaS is a Rapper who took the discussion of the N-Word to another level. During a
performance in October 2007, he told the people in attendance the name of his next album would
54
Associated Press, “NAACP delegates ‘bury’ N-word in ceremony.”
Tejada 35
be “Nigger.” The following week well-known Black leaders addressed NaS’ choice. Vic Bulluck,
executive director of the NAACP’s Hollywood bureau, said, “The NAACP believes in free
matter who uses it — even if it's to sell records. It shows a real lack of creative imagination.”55
The NAACP’s stance was clear especially since its membership has “buried” the N-Word. The
Reverend Jesse Jackson said, “The title using the ‘N’ word is morally offensive and socially
distasteful…[NaS] has the right to degrade and denigrate in the name of free speech, but there is
no honor in it.”56
Jesse Jackson clearly does not know NaS’ music. He has been known by many Rap fans
to inspire and uplift people. A great example is the record “I Can” which encourages kids to
believe they can be whatever they want and to learn about their history. Defending his choice to
name his album “Nigger,” NaS said, “It’s not an attack on white people at all…It’s knowledge;
it’s understanding for all people. It’s not an attack on any race…It’s about the attacks that have
happened to blacks, whites and all ethnicities.”57 With this album, he wanted to educate people
not offend them. In the March 2008 issue of XXL Magazine, former Associate Editor Jack Erwin
interviewed NaS about his album. NaS discussed what he hoped might come out of the album:
I think this record can help us have these conversations more. If I can do that, then
God get the glory, and I’m satisfied until the next thing. I don’t know. One day at
a time. And if you hear me screaming this shit out, then you have a responsibility
—we all have a responsibility—to contribute what we collectively can to handle
what we need to handle. To get together and raise the attention in places that need
to understand. We can do anything we want, nigga, me and you.
55
Catherine Donaldson-Evans, “Record Label Denies Rap Star Nas’ Claim of Forthcoming Album Called ‘Nigga’,”
FOXNews.com, October 16, 2007, http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,302348,00.html
(accessed December 3, 2008).
56
Catherine Donaldson-Evans, “Record Label Denies Rap Star Nas’ Claim of Forthcoming Album Called ‘Nigga’.”
57
Shaheem Reid, “Nas Exclusive: MC Reveals Details, Song Titles From Controversial Upcoming LP,” mtv.com,
November 29, 2007, http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1575258/20071128/nas.jhtml (accessed December 3, 2008).
Tejada 36
The thing is, I’m not Malcolm [X]. I’m not trying to be the Mr. Right Man. I’m
not trying to be the man that knows the answers to all this shit…I’m learning as I
make the record what I even feel about it. I don’t know—I never had to deal with
this before. I’m forcing myself to deal with it, taking responsibility. They always
point the finger [at hip-hop]. Me, as a serious, serious fan of hip-hop music, I’m
taking responsibility. That’s all I’m doing. I don’t know how people [going to]
take it. I wish some good comes from it. But however it [goes], I just [want them]
to hear me.58
NaS does not see himself as a professor. He sees himself as taking responsibility when other
major label artists will not. He feels it is his responsibility to get people to have serious
conversations about the word. He also thinks that people should take responsibility to start
In April 2008, NaS released a record called “Be a Nigger Too” to get people ready for the
album. The chorus was taken and redone from a 1977 Dr. Pepper commercial called “I’m a
I’m a nigger. He’s a nigger. She’s a nigger. We some niggers. Wouldn’t you like to
be a nigger too? To all my kike niggers, spic niggers, guinea niggers, chink
niggers, that’s right, y’all my niggers too.59
It caught some people by surprise because NaS linked all of these slurs together. By saying we
are all “niggers,” NaS really meant that we are all one people. The record was intense with the
lyrics and the images in the video. NaS wanted to get people to listen and watch all of the things
they feared and refused to acknowledge. The point of the record was to recognize the issues that
are present in society and get people to unite. Even after this record was released, the same
people who did not respect his choice before still felt the same way.
NaS felt increased pressure about the title of the album. He spoke about it:
Record stores are [going to] have a problem in this day and time selling a
record with that title…Who knows what’s [going to] turn out and be on
58
Jack Erwin, “’Cause I’m Black,” XXL Magazine (New York: Harris Publications, Inc., March 2008), 53.
59
NaS, “Be a Nigger Too” (2007), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfz7wVxzuoE (accessed December 4, 2008).
Tejada 37
that title? Who knows what that title will be? It was important to me to let
the fans know what the album would be musically...Everybody is trying to
stop the title. It’s just people being scared of what’s real. Somebody is
trying to open up dialogue for people to talk. People [that are] high up,
[who don’t] really understanding what I'm doing, are scared. They're
scared for reasons.60
One of the biggest stores, Wal-Mart, was one of those that refused to sell the record. All of the
criticism did not make sense since comedian Richard Pryor released a popular album called That
Nigger’s Crazy in 1974. There weren’t noticeable backlashes like the ones NaS received. Many
people in the music industry, including the chair of NaS’ label, Def Jam, supported NaS. But, he
was faced with the fact that the album might not be able to reach the masses. He could have just
released it himself on the internet, but he would have to answer to the label since he did use the
In May 2008, NaS announced that the album was not going to have a title. In a statement
he said,
It’s important to me that this album gets to the fans. It’s been a long time coming.
I want my fans to know that, creatively and lyrically, they can expect the same
content and the same messages. It’s that important. The streets have been waiting
for this for a long time. The people will always know what the real title of this
album is and what to call it.61
He wanted people to hear the album. The title was a minor change because he promised that the
content in the album was going to be the same. He made a statement by leaving his album
untitled; it was a sign that he was not going to give in. He also chose to portray the word
“Nigger” on the album’s artwork. It is a picture of just his back with whiplashes in the sample of
60
Shaheem Reid, “Nas Previews Controversial Album For MTV News: ‘I’m Here To Rap About What I Feel’,”
VH1.com, May 14, 2008, http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1587428/20080513/nas.jhtml (accessed December 4,
2008).
61
Simon Vozick-Levinson, “Nas changes controversial album title,” ew.com, May 19, 2008,
http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/05/nas-title-chang.html (accessed December 4, 2008).
Tejada 38
the letter “N.” The idea came from many photographs of enslaved Black people with the same
Despite all of these efforts, the album suffered. The release date was pushed back many
times. “Be a Nigger Too” did not make the album because of a sample clearance issue,62
although, some people believe that the various slurs in the record prevented it from being on the
album. The album did not have success within its first week of release. Two months later, the
Recording Industry Association of America gave the album gold certification, which meant that
five hundred thousand units were shipped.63 NaS did achieve his goal of getting the album out to
the masses and people to talk about it. Many print and online media outlets helped carry the
conversation.
Today’s America still does not seem to be ready to accept the N-Word. With NAACP’s
“burial” and the pressure NaS faced, America seemed to be stricter even when NaS tried to get
an important message across. He was going to be censored if he did not change the title of his
album. Sha Stimuli made an intense record that started conversation online, but it did not go
beyond that because he was still an unsigned Rapper. He did not have the same appeal as NaS
did, which turned out to be a form of indirect censorship. The origin of the word is unknown, but
that does not stop people from having their own opinions on it and acting out on their opinions.
62
In some Rap records, samples of other songs are used. The label producing the Rap record has to gain the rights to
use the sample.
63
“Untitled Nas album,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, December 4, 2008,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untitled_Nas_album (accessed December 4, 2008).
Tejada 39
Enough is Enough: the Conclusion
Rap music has endured a lot of pressure from various groups who wanted to censor it.
They claimed that the music was damaging to young people. Some of them found it offensive.
Their problem was with certain words and themes. The major issues were sexism and the N-
Word. These groups protested in the streets and in front of the homes of network executives to
get their point across. They boycotted the music to censor it indirectly. The groups’ efforts failed
because they did not stop the youth from buying the music. Rap music succeeded because of this.
Obscenity has been difficult to define for America. According to various court decisions,
something obscene must offend people but can’t be a form of artistic expression. This is
Tejada 40
confusing because who is to say what art is and who is to be offended by it? One person can be
offended, but a group of people may not be. The FCC also has trouble making determinations
about obscenity because it depends on people to submit complaints to the commission. This is
Most Rap songs do contain troubling lyrics, but they are already censored for children
thought warning labels and clean records played on the radio and television. The censorship
today has reached a point where it is difficult to understand certain Rap songs that are played on
the radio and television. If there is a sexual theme in a song, various words, even those beyond
words designated as profane, will get censored. Once that is done, there is no point to having a
Various groups still push to clean the airwaves and even get rid of Rap. The level of
censorship today is enough. Parents should be stricter with their children when it comes to the
radio, television, internet, and music to which they listen. There shouldn’t be a total ban on
certain words and themes. There is a time and place for these things. Rappers, music executives,
media executives, and the protest groups need to have civil discussions to understand the reasons
behind why the people in the industry produce troubling themes and why the protest groups fight
against those themes. Once that happens, both sides can gain an understanding of each other and
some positive things will result. First Amendment rights will be preserved, and Rappers will be
able to express their opinions with the world in ways that are meaningful to them and their
audiences.
Tejada 41
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