Censorship Of Music Essay, Research Paper

Recently we have been hearing a lot about the need for censorship of television

and recording industries. Whether it is the cartoon Beavis and Butthead, the

controversial television drama NYPD Blue or rap recording artists, someone

always seems to arguing about their negative effects on society and the need for

government regulation. Being a fan of rap, I am particularly interested in

issues effecting regulation of the recording industry and rap artists. Popular

"gangsta rappers" include Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dog, Tupac Shakur, Ice

Cube, and Ice Tea. Many are outraged at the explicit lyrics of the songs and the

lifestyles of these artists. Snoop Doggy Dog and Tupac Shakur are two of the

most publicized "gansta rappers" whose songs contain explicit lyrics

and who have been indicted for criminal activities. Snoop Doggy dog is a native

of Long Beach, California. His mother named him Snoopy because of his long face

and droopy ears. Growing up, Snoop was a member of the Golgotha Trinity Baptist

youth choir and an excellent basketball player. However , shortly after his

graduation from high school, he landed in jail for possession of cocaine.

Recently Snoop was arrested for murder. On August twenty- fifth Snoop was

driving his late model Jeep in Palms, California. He met up with Philip Woldemar

iam, who according to Snoop’s attorney, had a long history of threatening Snoop.

Snoop’s bodyguard shot Woldermariam twice in the back, killing him. On December

eighth, Snoop was arraigned for murder, but later found innocent. Many of the

lyrics i n Snoop’s songs degrade women, encourage the use of marijuana and

glorify violence against authority. Another publicized case involves rapper

Tupac Shakur. Many know him for his starring role in the movie "Poetic

Justice" with Janet Jackson. Tupac Shakur’s song "Keep Ya Head

Up" contains such lyrics as "I wonder why we take from our women Why

we rape our women Do we hate our women? I think it’s time we care for our women

Time to heal our women." Despite the lyrics encouraging men to respect

women, Shakur was recently arrested for sexually abusing a woman in a midtown

hotel. This arrest came two weeks after Shakur was arrested for allegedly

shooting two off duty police officers after a traff ic dispute in Atlanta.

Proponents of rap feel that all rappers are protected under the first amendment.

They also feel that rap is a cultural art form, reflecting ghetto life and that

criticism of rap is another form of racism. One of the men who has been

influential in speaking out against "gangsta rap", its explicit lyrics

and unworthy role models is the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Jackson states,"

Anyone, white or black, who makes money calling our women bitches and our people

niggers will have to face the wrath of our indignation." The Reverend

Calvin Butts, the minister of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, has also

mounted a crusade against explicit music. Last summer he held a rally at which

he ran over offending tapes and CDs with a steamrolle r. The vice- president of

the United States wife, Tipper Gore, has launched her own crusade. In her book,

Raising PG Kids in an X-rated Society , she takes the music industry to task for

glamorizing sex and violence in material targeted to kids. She has encouraged

record companies to label all albums and tapes that have sexually explicit

lyrics. Also, radio stations such a KACE-FM in Los Angeles are adopting policies

to ban all songs that degrade women or promote drugs and violence. To determine

the views of students here on the need for censorship of the recording industry,

I conducted a survey which posed the following questions: 1. Do you listen to

Rap music? Seventy percent of the respondents indicated that they listened to

Rap music on a regular basis. 2. Do you own any Rap CDs or tapes with explicit

lyrics? Forty percent of those surveyed indicated that thy did. 3. Do you think

Rap lyrics are a bad influence on society? Seventy-five percent believed that

the lyrics had a negative influence on society. 4. Do you think that the

government should censor Rap recordings? Only five percent of the respondents

believed it was the government’s responsibity to censor Rap. One thing is clear

and that is that there are strong opinions on both sides of the issue. In my

opinion, the worst solution would be to allow the government to legislate what

can be written, what TV shows can be aired and what music can be produced. I

believe the consumers and producers should be charged with the ultimate

responsibility of censorship. Consumers are free to boycott literature, records

and programs that they deem unacceptable and producers will be quick to respond

when profits are diminished.