04/24/07 - Russell Simmons: Ban 3 epithets consistently in clean music

robby84 · 04-24-2007, 12:15 PM

By MARCUS FRANKLIN
Associated Press Writer

April 24, 2007,

NEW YORK -- Offensive words often are scrubbed out of rap songs in so-called clean versions, but there is no uniform standard for deleting such words, according to hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons.

Suggesting a start toward creating a standard, Simmons said Monday that the recording and broadcast industries should consistently ban three racial and sexist epithets from all clean versions of rap songs and the airwaves.

Such epithets are currently banned from most clean versions, but record companies sometimes "arbitrarily" decide which offensive words to exclude, Simmons said.

The recommendations drew mixed reaction and came two weeks after some began carping anew about rap lyrics after radio personality Don Imus was fired by CBS Radio and NBC for referring to the players on the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."

Expressing concern about the "growing public outrage" over the use of such words in rap lyrics, Simmons said the words "bitch," "ho" and "******" should be considered "extreme curse words."

"We recommend (they're) always out," Simmons, the pioneering entrepreneur who made millions of dollars as he helped shape hip-hop culture, said in an interview Monday. "This is a first step. It's a clear message and a consistency that we want the industry to accept for more corporate social responsibility."

Last week, Simmons called a private meeting of influential music industry executives to discuss the issue. However, no music executives were associated with Monday's announcement by Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.

Telephone calls by The Associated Press to Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Atlantic Records were not immediately returned Monday. The Recording Industry Association of America and Warner Music Group declined to comment.

Reaction to the announcement was mixed.

Bakari Kitwana, who has written about rap in books such as "Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop," said it was a step in the right direction. Kitwana said there needed to be uniformity in removing obscenities from music. He pointed out that in some songs curse words are replaced with clean words, while in others, epithets and curse words are merely covered up by silence, allowing listeners to infer from context the edited words.

"It shows that people in the industry are realizing that the pendulum is swinging and that there's a national conversation that they don't want to be on the wrong side of," Kitwana said of the recommendations. "This is further along than we could have expected them to go 10 years ago. But there has to be more. I think they can do more around the question of content."

Writer Joan Morgan said the announcement amounted to "absolutely nothing." She called the recommendations "shortsighted at best and disingenuous at worst." They were, she said, an "anemic, insufficient response" that failed to address homophobia and other issues in certain strains of hip-hop culture and rap music.

Morgan, author of "When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down," said calling for the removal of the three epithets assumes "all of the violence, misogyny and sexism in hip-hop is only expressed in" those words.

"It says, 'Let's take the responsibility away from people creating the content and put it back on the corporations,"' said Morgan.

The recommendations also included forums to foster dialogue among entertainers, hip-hop fans and executives and the creation of a mentoring program for entertainers. Another recommendation called for the establishment of a coalition of music, radio and television executives to advise those industries on "lyrical and visual standards."

The announcement cautioned against violating free-speech rights but said that freedom of expression comes with responsibility.

"Our discussions are about the corporate social responsibility of the industry to voluntarily show respect to African-Americans and other people of color, African-American women and to all women in lyrics and images," read a joint statement from Simmons and Benjamin Chavis, the network's executive director.

SOURCE:

G Bird · 04-24-2007, 12:27 PM

Ah fuck that shit, FREEDOM OF SPEECH BITCHES!! They're always trying keep what rappers wanna say out of songs and on albums. Look at Prodigy's verse on "Pearly Gates" for example. Interscope blurred out words on the DIRTY VERSION!! How fucked up is that? And they also wouldn't let Young Buck's song "Dead Or Alive" (a.k.a. Fuck The Police) be on Buck The World either. Freedom of speech is looking like a thing of that past lately, we need to bring it back!!

tonychilufya · 04-24-2007, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G Bird

Ah fuck that shit, FREEDOM OF SPEECH BITCHES!! They're always trying keep what rappers wanna say out of songs and on albums. Look at Prodigy's verse on "Pearly Gates" for example. Interscope blurred out words on the DIRTY VERSION!! How fucked up is that? And they also wouldn't let Young Buck's song "Dead Or Alive" (a.k.a. Fuck The Police) be on Buck The World either. Freedom of speech is looking like a thing of that past lately, we need to bring it back!!

shut up Nigga

G Bird · 04-24-2007, 01:59 PM

^^ Fuck you, I'm speaking the truth!!

sushtsi · 04-24-2007, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G Bird

Ah fuck that shit, FREEDOM OF SPEECH BITCHES!! They're always trying keep what rappers wanna say out of songs and on albums. Look at Prodigy's verse on "Pearly Gates" for example. Interscope blurred out words on the DIRTY VERSION!! How fucked up is that? And they also wouldn't let Young Buck's song "Dead Or Alive" (a.k.a. Fuck The Police) be on Buck The World either. Freedom of speech is looking like a thing of that past lately, we need to bring it back!!

Freedom of Speech is still there, you just arent looking at it correctly. Buck has the right to Freedom of Speech, he can put the song out on his own, through the net or on the streets. However, to release it through the record company, it has to be in accordance with their views. The record company is the one releasing the music, it is their freedom of speech, and they have the freedom to tell Buck that they dont want those types of verses. No one forced Buck to sign with them , and no one stopped Buck from leaking the song to the net/streets. No one has lost the Freedom of Speech.

BRizzle · 04-24-2007, 02:42 PM

i use to like rap because it was really punk rock, songs about selling drugs and killing cops, shit that the public would automatically hate. why the fuck does anyone care? rap music would be much better if less people listened to it and it went back underground. mainstream taste is garbage and i can't wait for some rapper to just come out publically and say "go fuck yourself".

Talk Of New York · 04-24-2007, 04:03 PM

props. they shouldnt ban it cuz we do wat we do, we dont offend ne body, if we did, no1 will listen to songs that have the word bitches n hoes and all that

Mail Man · 04-24-2007, 06:27 PM

ive never heard thoes words on the radio ant ways

MC B STREETZ · 04-24-2007, 07:11 PM

fuck russell he thinks he knows everything

Mez Siah · 04-24-2007, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MC B STREETZ

fuck russell he thinks he knows everything

stfu Russell Simmons has done more for hip hop then yayo and the whole G_unit

But seriously russel simmons is my hero but its kinda hypocritical cuz if u watch runs house he curses all the time

riverside909 · 04-24-2007, 08:12 PM

fuck russel simons

GMNRecordsCT3 · 04-24-2007, 08:46 PM

They can't ban it... it's too late.

KRYSIECENT · 04-24-2007, 08:49 PM

THIS IS NEVER GONNA END. BUT IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO WATCH THIS. I KNOW DEFINITELY ARTISTS LIKE 50 CENT COULDN'T GIVE A FUCK AND WILL NOT APPRECIATE THE ATTEMPTED CENSORSHIP.

Gttm303 · 04-24-2007, 09:00 PM

Well i guess its a good idea but it aint like we aint gonna go on the internet and listen to the dirty version anyways so it dont really matter to me, i dont even listen to the radio for rap mostly oldies

JKO · 04-25-2007, 02:45 AM

Russell Simmons has Officially become more gay than what he was before

El Scorpio · 04-25-2007, 07:59 AM

read this in the newspaper today, damn I've lost all my respect for this fag

Rascit · 04-25-2007, 08:19 AM

i don't think they should ban it but some songs go way over the top when there is no need

Ceelo · 04-26-2007, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -B.K.-

stfu Russell Simmons has done more for hip hop then yayo and the whole G_unit

But seriously russel simmons is my hero but its kinda hypocritical cuz if u watch runs house he curses all the time

i agree all he dus is cus in runs house

04-24-2007, 12:15 PM	#1
robby84 Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Queenz Bred, livin life in Y.O. Posts: 8,583 Repped: 3,247 Repped 13,913 Times in 1,127 Posts Neg Reps: 12 Neg Repped at 8 Times in 8 Posts	04/24/07 - Russell Simmons: Ban 3 epithets consistently in clean music 04/24/07 - Russell Simmons: Ban 3 epithets consistently in clean music By MARCUS FRANKLIN Associated Press Writer April 24, 2007, NEW YORK -- Offensive words often are scrubbed out of rap songs in so-called clean versions, but there is no uniform standard for deleting such words, according to hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. Suggesting a start toward creating a standard, Simmons said Monday that the recording and broadcast industries should consistently ban three racial and sexist epithets from all clean versions of rap songs and the airwaves. Such epithets are currently banned from most clean versions, but record companies sometimes "arbitrarily" decide which offensive words to exclude, Simmons said. The recommendations drew mixed reaction and came two weeks after some began carping anew about rap lyrics after radio personality Don Imus was fired by CBS Radio and NBC for referring to the players on the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." Expressing concern about the "growing public outrage" over the use of such words in rap lyrics, Simmons said the words "bitch," "ho" and "******" should be considered "extreme curse words." "We recommend (they're) always out," Simmons, the pioneering entrepreneur who made millions of dollars as he helped shape hip-hop culture, said in an interview Monday. "This is a first step. It's a clear message and a consistency that we want the industry to accept for more corporate social responsibility." Last week, Simmons called a private meeting of influential music industry executives to discuss the issue. However, no music executives were associated with Monday's announcement by Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. Telephone calls by The Associated Press to Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Atlantic Records were not immediately returned Monday. The Recording Industry Association of America and Warner Music Group declined to comment. Reaction to the announcement was mixed. Bakari Kitwana, who has written about rap in books such as "Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop," said it was a step in the right direction. Kitwana said there needed to be uniformity in removing obscenities from music. He pointed out that in some songs curse words are replaced with clean words, while in others, epithets and curse words are merely covered up by silence, allowing listeners to infer from context the edited words. "It shows that people in the industry are realizing that the pendulum is swinging and that there's a national conversation that they don't want to be on the wrong side of," Kitwana said of the recommendations. "This is further along than we could have expected them to go 10 years ago. But there has to be more. I think they can do more around the question of content." Writer Joan Morgan said the announcement amounted to "absolutely nothing." She called the recommendations "shortsighted at best and disingenuous at worst." They were, she said, an "anemic, insufficient response" that failed to address homophobia and other issues in certain strains of hip-hop culture and rap music. Morgan, author of "When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down," said calling for the removal of the three epithets assumes "all of the violence, misogyny and sexism in hip-hop is only expressed in" those words. "It says, 'Let's take the responsibility away from people creating the content and put it back on the corporations,"' said Morgan. The recommendations also included forums to foster dialogue among entertainers, hip-hop fans and executives and the creation of a mentoring program for entertainers. Another recommendation called for the establishment of a coalition of music, radio and television executives to advise those industries on "lyrical and visual standards." The announcement cautioned against violating free-speech rights but said that freedom of expression comes with responsibility. "Our discussions are about the corporate social responsibility of the industry to voluntarily show respect to African-Americans and other people of color, African-American women and to all women in lyrics and images," read a joint statement from Simmons and Benjamin Chavis, the network's executive director. SOURCE: __________________ Most loved/Hated Moderator "Stop Bitchin" - Robby

04-24-2007, 12:27 PM	#2
G Bird Travis G Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Midwest 715 Posts: 8,092 Repped: 3,493 Repped 1,860 Times in 224 Posts Neg Reps: 4 Neg Repped at 53 Times in 22 Posts	Ah fuck that shit, FREEDOM OF SPEECH BITCHES!! They're always trying keep what rappers wanna say out of songs and on albums. Look at Prodigy's verse on "Pearly Gates" for example. Interscope blurred out words on the DIRTY VERSION!! How fucked up is that? And they also wouldn't let Young Buck's song "Dead Or Alive" (a.k.a. Fuck The Police) be on Buck The World either. Freedom of speech is looking like a thing of that past lately, we need to bring it back!! __________________ "I went in for an interview, for delivery / "Locked up, felonies?" now the dude quizzin me / I'm workin on my future, why you need to know my history? / All he did was Google me, no big mystery"

04-24-2007, 01:59 PM	#4
G Bird Travis G Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Midwest 715 Posts: 8,092 Repped: 3,493 Repped 1,860 Times in 224 Posts Neg Reps: 4 Neg Repped at 53 Times in 22 Posts	^^ Fuck you, I'm speaking the truth!! __________________ "I went in for an interview, for delivery / "Locked up, felonies?" now the dude quizzin me / I'm workin on my future, why you need to know my history? / All he did was Google me, no big mystery"

04-24-2007, 06:27 PM	#8
Mail Man Veteran Join Date: May 2006 Location: C-bridge Posts: 2,488 Repped: 174 Repped 263 Times in 92 Posts Neg Reps: 7 Neg Repped at 11 Times in 7 Posts	ive never heard thoes words on the radio ant ways __________________ [IMG]<a href="http://www.rewards1.com/index.php?referrer_id=16074" target="_blank"><img[/IMG]

04-24-2007, 07:11 PM	#9
MC B STREETZ YAYO'S ADVOCATE/HYPE MAN Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: FIND ME IN YA CRIB WIT DA NINA WHERE DA MONEY AT Posts: 18,199 Repped: 3,566 Repped 21,973 Times in 2,200 Posts Neg Reps: 58 Neg Repped at 51 Times in 45 Posts	fuck russell he thinks he knows everything __________________ "I'M A LOUDMOUTH NIGGA BUT MY RUGER SILENT" -TONY YAYO A.K.A TALK OF NEW YORK "ALL YAYO ENEMYS ARE ALL OF MY ENEMYS" - MC B STREETZ A.K.A YAYO'S NINJA

04-24-2007, 02:42 PM	#6
BRizzle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: SRQ Posts: 527 Repped: 43 Repped 0 Times in 0 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	i use to like rap because it was really punk rock, songs about selling drugs and killing cops, shit that the public would automatically hate. why the fuck does anyone care? rap music would be much better if less people listened to it and it went back underground. mainstream taste is garbage and i can't wait for some rapper to just come out publically and say "go fuck yourself".

04-24-2007, 04:03 PM	#7
Talk Of New York Yayoooooooooooooooooooooo Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 1,463 Repped: 683 Repped 546 Times in 113 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	props. they shouldnt ban it cuz we do wat we do, we dont offend ne body, if we did, no1 will listen to songs that have the word bitches n hoes and all that

04-24-2007, 08:12 PM	#11
riverside909 Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 124 Repped: 24 Repped 5 Times in 3 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 1 Time in 1 Post	fuck russel simons

04-24-2007, 08:46 PM	#12
GMNRecordsCT3 Macaroni wit the Cheeesse Join Date: May 2005 Location: Wash Heights, NYC Posts: 17,613 Repped: 6,784 Repped 2,309 Times in 618 Posts Neg Reps: 202 Neg Repped at 50 Times in 40 Posts	They can't ban it... it's too late. __________________ myspace.com/bummydavis - soundclick.com/gmnproductions "The name on my car insurance is YOUR FUKIN FAULT!!"

04-24-2007, 08:49 PM	#13
KRYSIECENT .I'M BLESSED. Join Date: May 2005 Location: SOUTH BRONX Posts: 3,905 Repped: 45 Repped 17 Times in 1 Post Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	THIS IS NEVER GONNA END. BUT IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO WATCH THIS. I KNOW DEFINITELY ARTISTS LIKE 50 CENT COULDN'T GIVE A FUCK AND WILL NOT APPRECIATE THE ATTEMPTED CENSORSHIP.

04-24-2007, 09:00 PM	#14
Gttm303 Taking a big risk Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Long Beach,California Posts: 8,975 Repped: 2,012 Repped 25 Times in 8 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Well i guess its a good idea but it aint like we aint gonna go on the internet and listen to the dirty version anyways so it dont really matter to me, i dont even listen to the radio for rap mostly oldies

04-25-2007, 02:45 AM	#15
JKO Jay Knocks Out Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bronx, NYC Posts: 5,378 Repped: 989 Repped 2,742 Times in 384 Posts Neg Reps: 15 Neg Repped at 15 Times in 11 Posts	Russell Simmons has Officially become more gay than what he was before __________________ Play ur cards right and dont throw down that "Ace" and stop frontin like ur "2 Fresh" because we know ur shit is ROTTEN!

04-25-2007, 07:59 AM	#16
El Scorpio Veteran Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Switzerland (but from UK) Posts: 8,922 Repped: 1,350 Repped 867 Times in 279 Posts Neg Reps: 2 Neg Repped at 3 Times in 3 Posts	read this in the newspaper today, damn I've lost all my respect for this fag

04-25-2007, 08:19 AM	#17
Rascit Philthy Rich Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2,840 Repped: 744 Repped 42 Times in 5 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	i don't think they should ban it but some songs go way over the top when there is no need

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