Put It to a Beat - Part I
By: Ccep
dews_ccep@yahoo.com
www.myspace.com/ccepvanity
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia defines freedom of speech as a “right, as stated in the 1st and 14th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, to express information, ideas, and opinions free of government restrictions based on content.” Similarly, freedom of expression covers any medium such as clothing, banners, dances, etc. As far as censorship goes, Britannica defines it as the “act of changing or suppressing speech or writing that is considered subversive of the common good.” So basically we are all given the right to express ourselves in any form as long as it is not subversive, meaning it does not systematically “attempt to overthrow or undermine a government or political system.”
…Where is the line that determines the appropriateness of content and as far as the music industry goes, how far is too far for hip to hop?
Censorship prohibits but is not limited to personal or product-targeted defamation, obscenity, perjury, profanity on television, hate speech, noise pollution, copyright infringement, insults, fighting words, treason, and blasphemy. Our freedom of speech has so many restrictions that one wonders what there is left to speak about.
When it comes to freedom of speech and freedom of expression, I’m torn. The artist in me refuses to be silenced and feels that censorship is a way for judgmental, inhibited individuals to control society. On the other hand, our children are being exposed to explicit content at an earlier age, which will affect the rest of their lives. So where is the line that determines the appropriateness of content? And as far as the music industry goes, how far is too far for hip to hop?
My introduction to censorship came about during the 2003 controversy over Nelly’s uncut “Tip Drill” video. Honestly, I don’t remember the song whose chorus proclaimed, “It must be yo a*** ‘cause it ain’t yo face. I need a tip drill.” However, with the recent premiere of BET’s “Hip-Hop vs. America,” the subject of Nelly’s video popped up again. Was one video enough to stigmatize his career? I decided to watch the video so I’d be able to draw my own conclusion. I found it on a foreign website since it had been removed from sites such as YouTube and MySpace.
Seven minutes and twenty-nine seconds after I clicked play I drew two conclusions: 1) my opinion of Nelly hadn’t changed and 2) it did affect me enough to make me take notes, research more, and begin to write this article. With songs such as “E.I.,” “Hot In Herre” and the way music in general has been going, I would expect a rapper to have scantily clad (if at all dressed) women in an uncut video. I didn’t, however, expect to see the rapper stooping between the legs of a young woman baring body parts that are usually covered by g-strings and thongs. In the end, my issue wasn’t with Nelly, the video’s producer or BET. My issues lay with the young ladies who agreed to bare all, touch and be touched in the video, and I wondered who was going to smear each of their names until they had no more self-esteem and self-respect.
…why do people who belittle hip-hop culture site “protecting our youth” as their reason instead of just admitting certain subjects make them uncomfortable?
Nowadays, sexuality is so glamorized that overly dressed men and barely covered women have become the music video norm. And though Esther Baxter, a well-known video girl turned entrepreneur, attempts to maintain some level of self-respect by titling herself a “video model” as opposed to “video vixen,” I don’t see the difference. Does her appearance in Mystikal’s “Shake It Fast” video differ from the other females in it because she didn’t shake as much and her top came close to her belly button? I think not.
Why do songs and videos like this continue to get air time, yet we censor one comment about President Bush in Jadakiss’ “Why?” When did “Why did Bush knock down the towers?” become more offensive in the media than a very graphic “c” word that was heard on the radio edition of “Grind With Me” by Pretty Ricky? Why is “slander against a figure-head” worse than sex, violence and threats, and why do people who belittle hip-hop culture site “protecting our youth” as their reason instead of just admitting certain subjects make them uncomfortable?
Check back in January where we will conclude this topic in “Put It To A Beat-Part II”
Sources:
www.britannica.com
www.m-w.com/dictionary
www.wikepedia.com
www.wiktionary.com