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by Alexander Billet / April 26th, 2007
Dissident Voice
It’s hard to know what to think about Russell Simmons’ recent
announcement about checking the content of hip-hop. There is no denying
that most of us would like the words “bitch,” “ho,” and “nigger” to
disappear from the English lexicon entirely. But alas, the situation
is much more complicated than that. On the one hand, it is true that
sexism and homophobia abound in not just rap but popular culture as
a whole. On the other, there is a need to defend the music against
those who denounce it for political gain.
And on yet a third hand (or maybe a foot), we have the context of
the announcement: in midst of a backlash against the glorious sacking
of Don Imus.
Apples and Oranges
To be clear, Imus’ supposed defense that he was merely repeating
the “language” in hip-hop is the biggest pile of crap
since… well, his show. Hip-hop is a response to the long-term
degradation of blacks and other oppressed peoples in the United States.
Like all music it is flawed, but like no other genre it remains a mirror
held up to the worst ills in American society. Imus, on the other hand,
is a mouthpiece for maintaining those ills. A well-paid veteran broadcaster,
he has spent the past twenty-plus years calling Arabs rag-heads, gay
men faggots, and black women “cleaning ladies.” He brought
his producer on board because he liked “nigger jokes.” And
all the while he has interviewed the most high-profile politicians,
media moguls and millionaires on his show. Imus and hip-hop are in
completely different leagues.
Furthermore, to say that sexism is somehow unique to rap is laughable.
Listen to anything by Merle Haggard or Ted Nugent, the Rolling Stones’ “Cat
Scratch Fever,” or the hit from Fountains of Wayne “Stacy’s
Mom” (whose video featured a stereotypical “MILF” parading
around in stripper gear) and one might get a good idea of how rife
so-called “white” music is with misogyny.
But the twisted logic of this defense seems to have soaked well past
Imus himself. Barack Obama (whose own role in assuaging white liberal
guilt becomes bigger and bigger every day) made it clear which side
he stood on with his comments last week: “We’ve got to
admit to ourselves that it was not the first time that we heard the
word ‘ho.’ Turn on the radio station. There are a whole
lot of songs that use the same language and we’ve been permitting
it in our homes, in our schools, and on iPods.” So, Barack, how
long until you revive the PMRC?
It is the same kind of bootstrap rhetoric we’ve been hearing
from Obama since day one. It’s the kind of talk that bolsters
the idea that racism doesn’t exist, and blacks are only poor
because they’re lazy and self-loathing. When Obama spends more
time talking about “getting Uncle Jethro off the couch” than
he does about Hurricane Katrina, any criticism he may have of hip-hop
should be put on mute.
Muddying the Message
Enter Russell Simmons. At times, his own defense of hip-hop has been
eloquent and prescient. His response to Obama provided a glimpse into
the nature of this debate: “People who are angry… and
come from tremendous struggle; they have poetic license, and when they
say things that offend you, you have to talk about the conditions that
create those kinds of lyrics. When you are talking about a privileged
man who has a mainstream vehicle and mainstream support and is on a
radio station like that you have to deal with them differently.”
Yet less than a week later, Simmons and his Hip-hop Summit Action
Network announces it is launching a campaign to better the content
of Simmons’ own Def Jam recordings. In particular, he wants to
crack down on the use of the words “ho,” “bitch,” and “nigger.” Though
a dialogue about such a thing is welcome, it should be initiated by
the artists themselves, not by a label owner. When it is initiated
by someone in Simmons’ position, and at a time such as this,
one wonders if this “discussion” is happening because
of a genuine need, or rather because of pressure from the same people
who are threatened by hip-hop’s very existence.
First of all, neither Obama, Oprah, or any of the more right wing
figures diverting the issue seem to know anything about hip-hop. One
wonders why there is no mention of the socially hard-hitting rhymes
of The Roots, Common or Talib Kweli. Or even some of the more conscious
(if still contradictory) mainstream joints coming from the likes of
Nas or Kanye West.
Perhaps it’s because there are those who have made billions
off marketing rap’s worst elements, while downplaying its long
history of being a forum to speak out on inequality and poverty. Ever
since Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message” first hit
the airwaves, the likes of MTV, BET and Clear Channel have sought ever
more effective methods of making rap marketable by dumbing it down.
That’s called exploitation.
Hip-hop historian Jeff Chang illustrated such marketing patterns with
the example of Nas’ Stillmatic in a 2002 article. Though
the album was full of protests against war and racism in the post-9/11
world, it also included songs with homophobic language chronicling
his beef with Jay-Z. Needless to say, the latter got the airplay, but
the former was ignored.
It’s All About the Cheddar
Given this, it is questionable how much Simmons himself will actually
be able to change. He may have direct control over the content that
his own label puts out, but Def Jam is still subject to the same market
principles as any other major record label. With Clear Channel having
a strangle-hold on radio airplay, and likewise with MTV on television,
will Simmons’ efforts make a difference?
An MC friend of mine from Baltimore recently pointed out that Simmons
lives in a very different world than most of the acts on his label.
Despite his admirable record on civil rights issues, Simmons’ more
recent behavior may indicate somewhat of a shift. Many progressive
hip-hop fans were dismayed when he endorsed Maryland’s Republican
Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele for Senate last election. When he
received criticism for organizing a tour through Africa with DeBeers
Jewelers, Simmons responded that there is too much focus on conflict
diamonds.
Might his endorsement of Steele be just the beginning? Might this
announcement be more than a publicity stunt, but a concession to Obama
and the likes? Is it possible that beneath his progressive image, Simmons
is attempting to buddy up to this country’s heavy-hitting politicos?
Only time will tell, but there is a bigger problem. In making this
announcement about hip-hop’s content now, in the context of a
backlash in response the Imus firing, Simmons’ concession seems
to say that the two are linked. They aren’t. Worse still, Simmons’ action
opens the door for those who want to do away with not just the “sexist” or “misogynistic” elements,
but hip-hop altogether. John McWhorter of the conservative Manhattan
Institute has stated he makes no distinction between “conscious” rap
and “gangsta” rap. He sees both as violent and depraved.
When it comes down to it he would also probably like to squash the
art form altogether. Simmons’ has now opened the door to McWhorter’s
arguments.
The Imus scandal should be an opportunity to talk about the very real
racial and gender inequality in this country. It should be the chance
to ask why women make 75 cents to men’s dollar. To ask why more
black men are in prison than college, and why the NYPD thought it necessary
to pump fifty rounds into Sean Bell’s car. Instead, the debate
has shifted to all the flaws in black culture, and has merely reinforced
the double standard that “white” culture simply isn’t
held up to. Where will Russell Simmons taken the debate? Only time
will tell, but it doesn’t look promising.
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