Black Owned Broadcasting Company Bans Offensive Music From Hip-Hop Radio Station

A St. Louis based broadcasting company announced this week it’s taking a stand against music and lyrics it deems offensive to African-Americans in response to the recent firing of radio host Don Imus over racist remarks. Roberts Broadcasting Company is a Black owned business that operates four TV stations and a Jackson, Miss based hip-hop radio station, WRBJ-FM/Hot 97.7. Under the ban, any content found to be violent, sexist or racist will be immediately removed from rotation on WRBJ according to the Associated Press. "We're going to ban them altogether, which is a hard move for a hip-hop station. If it's offensive in any way toward women, toward African-Americans, it's not going to be played on Hot 97.7." says Roberts spokeswoman Keesha Dhaene. The station’s general manager, Terrill Weiss, and his staff will be responsible for reviewing all musical content and removing anything offensive. "There's probably a higher incidence of derogatory language in general in hip-hop music because it's a language of the street," Weiss said. "It reflects life, and their art involves a lot of language that could be deemed objectionable." The company’s four TV stations will not be immediately affected by the ban, although that may change in the near future according to Dhaene. "We take tremendous pride in being African-American and refuse to let anyone, white or Black, strip us of that pride," says company President and CEO Steven Roberts.