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The N-Word Debate—Is There a Double Standard?
The fallout from the tempest Don
Imus created when the words "nappy-headed hos" spewed from his mouth continued
yesterday when hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons called for the recording industry
to eliminate the words bitch, ho and the N-word from future
recordings. "There should not be any
government regulation or public policy that should ever violate the First
Amendment. With freedom of expression, however, comes responsibility," reads a statement released
by Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN). "With that said, HSAN is
concerned about the growing public outrage concerning the use of the words
'bitch' 'ho,' and 'nigger.' We recommend that the recording and broadcast
industries voluntarily remove/bleep/delete the misogynistic words 'bitch' and
'ho' and the racially offensive word 'nigger.'"
This is the second attempt in the
last few months to eliminate the N-word from the public lexicon. In
But the fact that it's Simmons
this time calling for a ban may carry some weight. Revered in the music
industry, Simmons is the cofounder of Def Jam Records and brother to Joseph "DJ"
Simmons, who partnered with Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and the late Jason
"Jam-Master Jay" Kizell in the early '80s to form the pioneering rap trio Run
DMC. That group, along with trailblazers like Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash and
Africa Bambaataa, is largely responsible for the evolution of rap/hip hop as a
music genre. I'm not an apologist for the rap
community. Too many of the lyrics are misogynist and/or violent in nature.
Perhaps even worse, too many of today's rappers are simply uncreative and
uninspired, blaring out repetitive lines over uninventive beats (or perhaps
that's my nostalgia for old-school hip-hop rearing its head). But I was amused
and dismayed at the number of Imus supporters who came out of the woodwork as
the former radio host's ship went aground. Why should Imus take the fall, many
argued, when rappers daily say similarly vile things about black
women? One prominent black columnist,
Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star, went as far as to paint Imus as a
victim, caught up in a racial storm not of his own making. "We are our own worst enemies," wrote Whitlock. "We
have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted,
corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior
expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning,
self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent." I can agree with Whitlock to a
point. Yes, rappers must take responsibility for the lyrics they write and the
lines they perform on recordings—just as the women that often are portrayed as
the objects of desire for these rappers must take accountability for the images
they project when appearing barely clothed in the latest rump-shaker video.
But rap music as the real culprit? I think not.
Imus as victim?
Please. Keith Clinkscales, general manager
of ESPN the Magazine, had it right
when he slammed Whitlock in
his own commentary on sports.aol.com, saying the columnist was misdirecting attention from the
real offender. "Instead of
taking this watershed moment in media and culture and honing in on the true
cause of the Imus situation, we are now discussing 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Young
Jeezy," Clinkscales wrote. "Your misdirection has given the mainstream media a
pair of dancing shoes. For one of the first times in history, black people
mattered. Not to the media, but to the advertisers - the true invisible hand of
the media marketplace - who spoke loudly and clearly. Procter and Gamble said
'no.' Then Staples said 'no.' Then several others followed their
lead." Imus was canned because he became
radioactive to sponsors of his show on MSNBC and CBS Radio. He was tossed
overboard not because he was a good guy who said a stupid thing, which was the
oft-offered "apology" he and his defenders presented. Rather, he was fired
because he had a history of contemptible language targeted at blacks, GLBTs and
other groups that spread out over decades. But if Imus' ultimate legacy is
that he unintentionally drew attention to the demeaning language in rap music
and it's the first step toward cleaning up the genre then maybe I owe him a
thank you. Although my first instinct when anyone talks about banning words is
to get on my First Amendment high horse, I find myself applauding Simmons'
effort. Because truly, what value does a hate-filled word like the N-word have
except to denigrate and degrade? Is there any value at all in calling a woman,
black or white, a bitch or ho? I hope we've heard the last of Imus and the resulting fallout. I'm sick of him, as well as his various supporters who were quick to accept apologies for insults not levied against them. Besides, Imus seems so small today, just a week after real-life tragic events touched so many lives. More from Today's Diversity News |