[Dixielandjazz] Violence and Degradation in Music - The Congressional Hearings.

[Steve Barbone]

Note the comments by the CEO's of Warner Music, and Universal Music Groups.
Money rules their worlds, but then, that should be no surprise. What is
surprising (to me at least) is that these Congressional Hearings were
convened by a Liberal.

Ah, for the good old days when Jazz was THE sexy music.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


Hearing Focuses on Language and Violence in Rap Music

The New York Times - By JEFF LEEDS - September 26, 2007

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 ‹ What a difference a week makes.

Last week, the purveyors of rap music cheered as new CDs from Kanye West and
50 Cent burst onto the top of the Billboard chart. But on Tuesday, rap
artists and entertainment executives found themselves fending off
Congressional criticism that they exploit violence and sexism for profit.

In a hearing convened by Representative Bobby L. Rush, Democrat of Illinois,
lawmakers asked music industry executives about their companies¹ role in the
production of explicit rap, at one point inviting them to read aloud from 50
Cent¹s lyrics. The lawmakers also asked whether marketers were doing enough
to shield young listeners from graphic content.

³This hearing is not anti-hip-hop,² said Mr. Rush, a former Black Panther
who several years ago fought a challenge from a then little-known Barack
Obama to hold on to his House seat. Still, he said, violence and degradation
have ³reduced too many of our youngsters to automatons, those who don¹t
recognize life, those who don¹t value life.²

Mr. Rush, echoing comments of others on the panel, praised freedom of
expression but asked the chief executives of two music companies whether
they would consider a ban on certain words considered derogatory.

³We don¹t think that banning expression is an appropriate approach,² said
Edgar Bronfman Jr., chairman of the Warner Music Group. Tasteless language,
he added, ³is in the eye of the beholder.²

Under questioning, Mr. Bronfman and Doug Morris, chairman of the Universal
Music Group, stood by the industry¹s existing method of handling explicit
content, including the voluntary labeling of graphic CDs with
parental-advisory stickers. Though they defended the industry¹s practices,
Mr. Bronfman and Mr. Morris lamented that efforts to restrict young
listeners¹ access to explicit music had become futile amid the proliferation
of copyrighted songs and videos online.

The hearing, before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, reflected the
continuing debate that has swept the rap world since CBS fired Don Imus, the
radio host, for making derogatory comments about the Rutgers women¹s
basketball team. Mr. Imus¹s ouster prompted discussions about performers¹
use of misogynous or violent language in songs and music videos.

All of that culminated in the hearing on Tuesday. It touched just lightly on
the Imus case, in which a white radio host insulted black women. Instead,
the spotlight fell on a panel of white executives defending music
principally recorded by black men, and in some instances considered
offensive to women. The focus was not only on record labels. Also questioned
were executives from Viacom, the parent of MTV and BET; Radio One; and the
video-game maker Take-Two Interactive Software.

At least one performer at the hearing told lawmakers that rap music had been
unfairly singled out as a scapegoat for deeper social problems. ³Gang
violence was here before rap music,² said David Banner, a rapper who records
for Universal Music and whose real name is Levell Crump. ³I 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.²

A different note was sounded by Master P, previously a dominant force in
rap, who has recently struggled to find a hit. Master P, whose real name is
Percy Miller, said rap artists needed to consider how fans might be affected
by their music. While societal woes contribute to violence and other
problems, he said, ³we are inflaming this problem by not being responsible.²
He said he had devoted himself to producing cleaner music with positive
messages.

Mr. Miller also apologized to ³all the women out there,² and added, ³I was
honestly wrong.²