2008 Woodie Awards
Eliminate the double standard
Megan Keller
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Opinion
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Many students probably heard about the Don Imus case no less than 500 times in the last few weeks from various news sources. After being fired April 12 from his weekday morning radio show for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos," everyone, including Imus, probably expected the case to slide into history, quickly forgotten until someone else makes a racial slur in the media.
Regardless, there's a silver lining to this intolerant cloud. Many critics of Imus's firing referenced rap lyrics that were much more insulting than Imus's gaffe. In fact, this was his main point when he attempted to defend himself. What Imus did was wrong -- but our culture celebrates this language in rap lyrics, which are just as offensive.
Consequently, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons called a summit meeting April 18 with other hip-hop music executives to discuss offensive rap lyrics. Attendees included L.A. Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group; Sylvia Rhone, president of Motown Records and executive vice president of Universal Music Group; Lyor Cohen, chairman and chief executive of U.S. music at Warner Music Group; Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America; and rapper T.I.
It's ironic that T.I. was invited, since his Grammy-nominated single, "What You Know?" contains lyrics such as "I be on dro I'm buzzed/Give every ho a hug/Niggaz don't show me mugs." L.A. Reid's label, Island Def Jam, is chock-full of artists who use abusive language such as Nas and Ludacris. Rap music has used this kind of language for years, and it's periodically blamed for various verbal faux pas, but nothing is ever done about it. Remember the uproar when Michael Richards used the n-word onstage last year? It ruined his career, but rappers get away with it every day on the airwaves.
While some make the argument that black people can use this kind of language, while whites cannot, the debate is absurd. I doubt black women appreciate being called "hos" regardless of the speaker's color. There are better ways to celebrate our differences than categorizing who can call whom what epithet.
Regardless, there's a silver lining to this intolerant cloud. Many critics of Imus's firing referenced rap lyrics that were much more insulting than Imus's gaffe. In fact, this was his main point when he attempted to defend himself. What Imus did was wrong -- but our culture celebrates this language in rap lyrics, which are just as offensive.
Consequently, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons called a summit meeting April 18 with other hip-hop music executives to discuss offensive rap lyrics. Attendees included L.A. Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group; Sylvia Rhone, president of Motown Records and executive vice president of Universal Music Group; Lyor Cohen, chairman and chief executive of U.S. music at Warner Music Group; Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America; and rapper T.I.
It's ironic that T.I. was invited, since his Grammy-nominated single, "What You Know?" contains lyrics such as "I be on dro I'm buzzed/Give every ho a hug/Niggaz don't show me mugs." L.A. Reid's label, Island Def Jam, is chock-full of artists who use abusive language such as Nas and Ludacris. Rap music has used this kind of language for years, and it's periodically blamed for various verbal faux pas, but nothing is ever done about it. Remember the uproar when Michael Richards used the n-word onstage last year? It ruined his career, but rappers get away with it every day on the airwaves.
While some make the argument that black people can use this kind of language, while whites cannot, the debate is absurd. I doubt black women appreciate being called "hos" regardless of the speaker's color. There are better ways to celebrate our differences than categorizing who can call whom what epithet.
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