I know that the Imus thing is old news but the debate had brought up issues of the lyrics used in the popular music of these genres. Being an older guy that doesn't really listen to or buy this stuff, I really know little of this topic.

I saw this take today and it really was quite interesting. I actually learned something!!

Quote:Throughout 2006, Essence magazine ran its "Take Back the Music" series, in which a diverse cross-section of writers called on the music community to change course when it came to lyrics that characterized women as two-dimensional sex objects. The grass roots organization Black Girls Rock works to counteract negative stereotypes of black women in popular culture. In every black barbershop, church, and college dorm, the issue is discussed on a regular basis.

Quote:Many young African American professionals, myself included, have mixed feelings about the debate. We're uncomfortable placing ourselves on the side of stifling free expression and artistic freedom, but at the same time can't intellectually reconcile ourselves with the reality that a lot of the music that we hear in clubs we patronize, radio shows we listen to, and videos that we watch degrade women and glorify drug dealing and thugging as a way of life. It's a conversation that happens all the time at my house. My wife, a moderate, young, black, upwardly-mobile corporate type, will turn up the radio in the morning when a song she likes, such as Rich Boy and Polow Da Don's "Throw Some D's" (currently #21 on the Billboard Hot 100) comes on, and I will chuckle and ask her if she knows all the words -- she usually doesn't. It's because rappers have become skilled at coding sexually explicit material without running afoul of the FCC's lists of banned terminology.

Quote:black people don't run the cable networks, black people don't own the major music retail outlets, and it wasn't black people who made the bafflingly lame decision to give the 2006 Academy Award for song in a motion picture to "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp." The unspoken implication that African America sits back and passively accepts destructive and degrading rap lyrics and images is bogus. The problem is compounded when those commenting lack the breadth of knowledge about hip hop culture and music to give a balanced analysis.

Interesting read which gives me pause to think. Reminds me of an old Firesign Theatre Album - "Everything You Know is Wrong."

What Hypocrisy?