According to Variety.com, The United States Congress is looking to hold its first hearing regarding “stereotypes and degradation” of woman in hip-hop lyrics and videos. While the hearing has not been officially announced, it’s tentatively scheduled to take place on September 25. Democratic Representative Bobby Rush of Illinois, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, is organizing the meeting in order to hear from record executives and companies that release rap music. “I want to engage not just the music industry, but the entertainment industry at large to be part of a solution,” Rush said. “I want to talk to executives at these conglomerates who’ve never taken a public position on what they produce.” Among the industry executives scheduled to attend the hearing are Philippe Dauman of Viacom, Doug Morris of Universal Music Group and Edgar Bronfman Jr. of Warner Music Group. The only hip-hop artist who has agreed to attending the hearing is Master P, who recently took a vow to release “clean” hip-hop music without any cursing. “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,” says Rush. “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.”
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September 5th, 2007
at 10:49 am
ipopXusemagnumXLandreadXXL says:
Master P is a Real Dude…he just dropped a book yesterday called “Guaranteed Success: When you Never Give Up”
Salute this Man…
http://www.thewealthyson.com
Reply
September 5th, 2007
at 11:13 am
Around and Around says:
The real hearing should be at the Hague and focus on the illegal war and war crimes.
Reply
September 5th, 2007
at 11:58 am
N.PIMPIN says:
Why the fuck isn’t KANYE WEST, 50 CENT, JAY-Z,
P-DIDDY, DAVID BANNER, SNOOP DOGG,TWISTA, CAMRON, T.I. not attending???? ALL THESE rappers can go on the radio stations and youtube speaking about the state of hip hop but can’t go in front of CONGRESS and defend themselves. THESE ARE A BUNCH OF FAKE ASS NIGGAZ, MASTER P DON’T MAKE RECORDS ANYMORE, BUT HE’S GOING THERE AND DEFEND THESE BITCH MADE ASS RAPPERS….SHIT IS PISSING ME OFF!!! CONNGRESS ON THE OTHER NEEDS TO BE FOCUSING ON GETTING OUR TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ, INSTEAD OF WORRYING ABOUT HIP-HOP…THEY’RE SEEING HOW MUCH HIP-HOP HAS GROWN AND WANT 2 PUT A CEILING ON IT SO IT CAN’T GROW, BUT THESE BUSTA ASS RAPPERS CAN’T DEFEND HOW THEY GET THERE “BREAD & BUTTER”….SHIT IS DISGUSTING MAN!!!!
Reply
September 5th, 2007
at 12:29 pm
LOL says:
THIS HEARING IS CO-SIGNED BY BILLY X SUNDAY AND BOL.
ITS AMAZING HOW BLACK PEOPLE AND ‘BLACK LEADERS’ ARE CO-SIGNING RACISTS LIKE BILL O’RIELLY AND CONGRESS. CAUSE THEY BELINVE SOME BULLSHIT CINSPIRACY ABOUT MUSIC ‘CORPORATIONS’ TRYING TO BRAIN WASH THE BLACK PEOPLE.
SMH.
DUMB ASS.
THIS IS WHAT YOU CO-SIGNED.
Reply
September 5th, 2007
at 1:33 pm
Fire says:
Congressional hearings on hip hop lyrics? How ill conceived and ill thought out. People in America are really trying their hardest to blame hip hop for everything. Sure, it’s an issue, but it’s not as big of an issue as fighting povety, education, or the war. Guess our inept officials don’t want to tackle worthwhile problems. They’re not even making any effort to hide their anti-hip hop agenda. We need to stop these people. “Rules without responsibility”? Complete BS! Scapegoat for real US problems? Absolutely. Let’s focus on real problems instead of entertainment that doesn’t really influence people one way or the other (i.e. living positive or negative).
Reply
September 5th, 2007
at 2:27 pm
O.J. Simpson says:
These females are degrading themselves. No one is putting a gun to their heads any making them look like whores.
Reply
September 5th, 2007
at 3:20 pm
Worley says:
What is Congress going to do about the conditions that create pimps and hoes? Although most of the cats talking about it ain’t involved, their vocabulary comes from the lexicon of pimping and prostitution. So again, what is Congress going to do about the conditions fostering pimping and prostitution? Nothing. They just want rappers to stop talking about it.
Reply
September 5th, 2007
at 4:38 pm
Dr Flav says:
Real spit LOL, if folk would have laughed at Imus like the silly plea coppin ass he is, when he blamed our music, instead of taking personal responsibility for his ignorance all this tax payer waste (congressional hearing) would not be occuring and Al would be looking for another way to get money for his slickback touchup. Cosign to the multiple responses on this topic.
Reply
September 5th, 2007
at 6:00 pm
TonyBee says:
I know if I’m debating all these talk radio host(especially Rev. Al)and other people, I know these rappers can start speaking up.I’m getting tired of these old bastards.
Reply
September 5th, 2007
at 7:03 pm
BklynBandette says:
It’s like this Fam: Imagine having leftover garbage in your kitchen, that eventually spills into the other rooms of your home. Then, because you’ve ignored it, it has made it’s way into your next door neighbor’s apartment. And NOW, they’re complaining and you’re MAD!? Come on Y’all … this was bound to happen. If you’ve been a faithful supporter of HipHop and Rap for as long as I have, you too saw the bad moon rising. There is no balance in the Rap Music that passes itself off as HipHop. We have allowed any and everyone to be a part of our culture, and in turn, they’ve made a mockery of it.
As a Woman and a life-long citizen of the HipHop Community Of Course I support Free Speech. I may not like what you’re saying but I Will Defend your right to Say It!- Within Reason. Just because you can say or do something doesn’t mean you should. It’s one thing to use certain words to prove a point and drive a message. But what happens when Dudes & Dudettes are just talking wreckless? What happens when they are forced to believe that This is the only story they can tell? We have the mess that we must now clean up. And that’s because they know we’ll defend them. We love them, and what they do, and what they have so much we are going to bat for them. And how do they re-pay us? They cut and run instead of standing up and speaking out on their own behalf. They can “Kill A Nigga” and “Fuck That Bitch”, and “Not Love Them Hoes”, but can’t stand up against a bunch of Ol’ Crotchity White folks and defend what made them rich to begin with. Passing this stuff off as Real HipHop and Authentic Black Culture, not only have they degraded Sisters, but they’ve degraded themselves and our people as a whole. And we STILL show them love. I don’t know who I’m more mad at: Them or US.
We all recognize and agree there’s a problem. We’ve spoke about it before. But Congress SHOULD NOT be the self appointed Catalyst for Change. This should be taken care of In House. I personally went to the meeting Rev. Sharpton had right after the Imus fiasco. And the only people who showed up that you would recognize was Ed Lover & Li’l Mo. Everyone else was invited- THEY decided NOT to come. Instead, they had a private meeting to regroup, but nothing productive really came from it. I then wrote several letters to Russell Simmons’ HipHop Summit Action Network asking how I- as a Woman- can be of help to the cause. NO RESPONSE.
As the OutSiders looking in, WE gotta step up to the plate and make our voices heard. For 1) let congress know that we will NOT allow them to make HipHop out to be a modern day “White Man’s Burden”. AND 2), we gotta let these rappers know that we will no longer support anything that makes Us look stupid. Support the Real M.C.s, not the Paper Gangstas. The ones who only think about where they come from when they want to pimp negative images; which will earn them enough money to stay OUT of the ‘hood. We Co-Sign. But in the end … we’re still there. So we Do look stupid.
What Y’all Wanna Do With This One?
Just A Woman’s Perspective.
Holla If Ya Hear Me …
Reply
September 6th, 2007
at 12:26 am
joeg says:
The artists need to say something, if master p is already goint to straight clean music he’s not really going to say anything to defend the artists, he’s going to adhere and point out the positives of making clean music. You can talk about rights with responsibility all you want, but if you try to control speech and have consequences then its mostly definitely time for a change, but not a change in the way artists express themselves.
Reply
September 6th, 2007
at 5:10 am
Chemical Ali says:
Well if you have ever been to a nightclub, you know that it’s not just stereotypes about girls, it’s TRUE!! At least the rappers are honest. If a girl wants to be passed around like disposable trash, LET HER, she deserves the treatment.. Nobody is forcing these girls to open their legs to everybody with a gold chain, and the girls not involved with that scene aren’t affected by the lyrics
Reply
September 6th, 2007
at 6:52 am
loony T says:
WOW, Congress aint got shit better to do then meet up about this? War in Iraq, Gas High as Hell, People on Drugs, Homicide going up, Schools suffering, and all we concerned about Hip Hop lyrics. Why they always single out hip hop, lets single out all these serial killer horror movies and bullshit reality shows, they also promote violence and degragation of women. At the end of the day who gives a shit cause people go put out what they want to anyway
Reply
September 6th, 2007
at 8:13 am
MAMA said "Youz a HOE"! says:
Tell the dumb females to stop dating drug dealers and these fools will stop glorifying it.
Bragging to your friends about a passenger seat (in someone else’s car). When the fool gets locked up (or shot),
You got grandma raising the kids and got the nerve to be hollering for a good man.
Nobody wants your sloppy seconds.
Except old men and xcons.
My son left his cpu on. He’s at college right now.
If I see one of you Bum bitches in his car.
Its on!!!!!!!!!!
Reply
September 6th, 2007
at 2:30 pm
Creative Loafing Atlanta » Crib Notes » Blog Archive » Congress to hold hearing on rap’s lyrical content says:
[...] Sounds like the big music lobby didn’t pay its monthly tab. Read the full story in XXL magazine here. [...]
Reply
September 6th, 2007
at 6:46 pm
IC says:
Master P is a clown. He turned to a house Ni#@!
Reply
September 6th, 2007
at 7:34 pm
BklynBandette says:
Alright Fam, I have some new information:
The whole purpose of this meeting is to make the record execs take accountability. And by record execs I mean the major dudes you don’t see, but they get the major dough. They are the ones who determine who gets record deals, what their image will be, and what type of content they will manufacture. These are the dudes that Jay, Diddy, and 50 answer to. The Real Big Wigs, not the little puppets who run around crying they have a label. And Master P IS defending other rappers. He just want them to help turn negatives into positives instead of selling negativity as a permanent situation. He’s also defending those M.C.s who represent another side of the game. The Dudes and Dudettes who have different stories to tell, but ain’t gettin’ that support ’cause they ain’t following the same ol’ okey doke. We all have spoken about it before. Now there’s going to be a hearing. I just hate that congress is involved. We could have done this ourselves. We still can. The problem is … we’re not listening to one another. We can’t co-sign on what suits us, but disregard what we don’t like. A lot of the above comments I agree with- a lot I don’t. But I do Overstand them all and that’s what’s necessary. OVERSTANDING!!!
Just A Woman’s Perspective.
Holla If Ya Hear Me …
Reply
September 11th, 2007
at 9:15 pm
gotchoass says:
fuck rappers
Reply
September 12th, 2007
at 5:56 am
TripleX says:
I believe Master Pee only when he donates all the money he made stereotyping and degrading women (which is probably all of his money) to charity…dude isn’t relevant anymore
Reply
September 25th, 2007
at 2:33 pm
XXLmag.com | Hip-Hop On A Higher Level | » David Banner Defends Hip-Hop in Congressional Hearing says:
[...] Earlier today (September 25), the United States House Energy and Commerce subcommittee in Washington, D.C. held a hearing to discuss sexist, violent and degrading lyrics in hip-hop music. Entitled “From Imus to Industry: The Business of Stereotypes and Degrading Images,” the hearing was spearheaded by Democratic Representative Bobby Rush of Illinois, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. Rush organized the meeting to hear from record executives, artists and companies that release hip-hop music. “I want to talk to executives at these conglomerates who’ve never taken a public position on what they produce,” Rush previously stated. “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 from 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.” [...]
Reply