Rap has a date with death. The U.S. Congress will hold a hearing regarding "stereotypes and degradation" of women in hip hop lyrics and videos on September 25.
Bobby Rush, a Democratic Representative from Illinois, is looking to get together with label executives and major players in hip hop to look for a ... solution?
"I want to engage not just the music industry, but the entertainment industry at large to be part of a solution. I want to talk to executives at these conglomerates who've never taken a public position on what they produce," Rush said.
But a solution to what? Radio hosts slurring on air or rappers using street lingo?
Executives expected to attend the meeting include people from Viacom, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and, the lone representative from hip hop, Master P. You may remember P from the video game industry, which he recently entered with Seth Green at his side.
The September 25 discussion should raise quite a few eyebrows to the underbelly of hip hop, which often evades language regulations in its persistent use of new slang. As Dave Chappelle once said, "white people are going to freak out when they find out what ‘skeet' means." Real talk, I'd love to hear Rush and co. sitting around dissecting the word. Also, what's this "Laffy Taffy" single all about?
Whether or not Rush will get to that remains to be seen, but he did express concern over First Amendment rights.
"I want to look at not only the problem caused by misogynistic content in some hip-hop music but also some of the pain that emanates form this degradation. I respect the First Amendment, but rights without responsibility is anarchy, and that's much of what we have now. It's time for responsible people to stand up and accept responsibility," Rush said.
And with that, the grim reaper has knocked on the door of hip hop. Raise your glass of sizzurp to 2 Live Crew, the fight rages on.
