Soc. 3251W Race, Class, and Gender

I agree with your point about the power of language and media as a reinforcement of advantage and disadvantage.
However, why is it that hip hop is always the first to be attacked?
It roots in jazz and gospel, and if you really listen there is a lot of hip hop that can be extremely positive. Bad language and race referances are very much apart of the poeticism and honesty of a hip hop song.
Another issue with censoring "bad" language or "curse" words on records is where will the lines be drawn in defining what words are okay and which are not? Positive media reinforcement would most likely help us all out socially, but it isn't the place to start.In a time of such progress we can not hide from foul language or bar disadvantage from others. To improve our language we would have to improve our social situation as whole.

Here are some hip hop artists you could check out that comment on our social situation and is very positive are
De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, Jurassic Five, The Coup, Mr. Lif, Time Machine, People Under the Stairs, and hmmm there are so many...

I didn't read over what I wrote carefully enough so I am just gonna make some points a little clearer...
When I said bad language and race referances are apart of the poeticism of hip hop, what I was trying to say was that the feelings and words in a hip hop song are poetry. In the sense that poetry is an expression of self that is styled more freely then that of other writing.
How then can we expect there to not be a large chunk of hip hop artists out there who are vulgar or swear or degrade women? Degredation and inequity are all huge social problems and it is no surprise that sexism and racism can be heard on the radio. They are around every corner and instilled into our social structure. I believe censorship is a way to silence the problem and the solution. It is best to let artists be artists. Sorry, I don't think I made my point very clear in the first post. i hope this makes more sense.

Surely language is a powerful tool for expressing meanings and putting on labels on people in society. I do not know much about music, and I always try to avoid listening to musics that contain "bad lyrics" and even so, I still hear them in a non-purpose situation such as from web-site, radio, or friends. You can see how powerful the media is, even you try to avoid it purposely, you can still get a low level of exposure to it.

I agree that youth is the age group that is mostly impacted by these lyrics. Some kids don't even know what they're singing... they just follow what the singer sings and thought it is okay... as long as it sounds cool. Prolong exposure will eventually become their daily habit and incorporated into their language, and very likely to carry throughout their adulthood as well. I wish the trend is geared more toward the elitist view rather than a populist view... this will produce a higher quality musics for everyone rather than musics that could lead to suppression and even violence.

I would like to look at this argument from a feminist viewpoint and also go back to referencing this article being issued so close to the Don Imus article as well. When we look lyrics in hip-hop and rap, we can see that these lyrics are often very racist and misongynstic. When these types of lyrics and in the Don Imus case, public outbursts, occur repeatedly and how not suppressed or even prevented, then their reoccurence is perpetuated. The behavior of misogyny and racism occurs and starts a vicious cycle. I would say that this happens especially with women. Women who hear these kinds of lyrics in music at a young age and are constantly subjecting themselves to the ideas behind these lyrics, will view themselves the way that these lyrics portray them. If lyrics in hip-hop, and not only in the music itself but also in the hip-hop culture such as the music videos, etc. continuously portray women in a negative way or in a sexually subjective way, then women will start to accept themselves this way if they accept hip-hop's messages.

I agree with the whole idea of changing the language however it’s not something that is going happened soon. The fact is that some of the young artiest grow up in this kind of language so it will take sometime. Even if the record industries change their rules there will be some labeling words that will be used across the country by millions of people. Therefore people like Simmons or other rap arts should sponsor using awareness programs that will promote positive images and attract young audience. Again ever since this whole movement the public seems to be getting confuse about hip-hop, because not every artiest used offensive words and categorizing hip-hop music and rating it like that is big offensive itself. For many of us hip-hop is not just music rather it’s culture, art, poetry which carries rich heritage that travels back to generations.

I hate to play devil's advocate here, but I feel that someone has to point out that it is an artist's right, through the first amendment, to free speech. Although the language that they use may be offensive, there is no constitutional right to stop them. There is also however, the right of activists, political and social leaders, and even parents to prevent audiences, especially youth, from hearing these offensive lyrics.
I agree with the idea that children should not assimilate the words some hip-hop artists use, and that the majority of the time they do not even know what these words mean. There needs to be a social change that transforms what children think of themselves, other races, and other genders. Still, hip-hop and the music industry as a whole is not the only incriminating influence on the youth. As someone has already pointed out, some children grow up in areas where these words and ideals are used everyday and it is thought of as normal that women subject themselves to men and races are not equal.
For real change to occur, action has to reach down to the individual level. Somehow, the language needs to be eliminated without destroying the hip-hop culture as a whole.

Sorry, I think that I forgot to put my name on that last post.

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