"Bitch" + "Ho" + "Nigger" = ?

Posted Monday, April 23, 2007 @ 11:05 in Culture by Michael Vazquez

"Bitch" + "Ho" + "Nigger" = 3 words you shouldn't sing or rap, according to Russell Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, who holed up in NYC last week with several music biz titans promising to release a statement, which was delayed until this morning. Here's what URB got in our mailbox...

Recommendation to the Recording and Broadcast Industries:
A Statement by Russell Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis on behalf
of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network

April 23, 2007

The theme of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) is "Taking Back Responsibility." We are consistent in our strong affirmation, defense, and protection of the First Amendment right of free speech and artistic expression. We have recently been involved in a process of dialogue with recording and broadcast industry executives about issues concerning corporate social responsibility.

It is important to re-emphasize that our internal discussions with industry leaders are not about censorship. Our discussions are about the corporate social responsibility of the industry to voluntarily show respect to African Americans and other people of color, African American women and to all women in lyrics and images.

HSAN reaffirms, therefore, that there should not be any government regulation or public policy that should ever violate the First Amendment. With freedom of expression, however, comes responsibility. 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."

Going forward, these three words should be considered with the same objections to obscenity as "extreme curse words." The words "bitch" and "ho" are utterly derogatory and disrespectful of the painful, hurtful, misogyny that, in particular, African American women have experienced in the United States as part of the history of oppression, inequality, and suffering of women. The word "nigger" is a racially derogatory term that disrespects the pain, suffering, history of racial oppression, and multiple forms of racism against African Americans and other people of color.

In addition, we recommend the formation of a music industry Coalition on Broadcast Standards, consisting of leading executives from music, radio and television industries. The Coalition would recommend guidelines for lyrical and visual standards within the industries.

We also recommend that the recording industry establish artist mentoring programs and forums to stimulate effective dialogue between artists, hip-hop fans, industry leaders and others to promote better understanding and positive change. HSAN will help to coordinate these forums.

These issues are complex, but require creative voluntary actions exemplifying good corporate social responsibility. END OF STATEMENT

________________________

Like we said, it's an anticlimax.

But most anything expressed at this point in the "debate" is bound to be. What's this about again? Let's try and re-answer that question first.

As we've said before, let's, for the hell of it simply assess the present debate -- as it has been framed -- to be between notions of freedom of speech versus notions of sub-cultural complicity + demographic culpability...in other words, at what point do you -- or can you, without feeling like you've betrayed the vital dialogue which the first amendment uniquely but with surety, guarantees, modify your speech --- apparently localized to restricting three words, in this case "bitch", "ho", "nigger" -- if you become convinced that the art you create is more than a mirror of society (not to mention a massive profit center) but rather a tool on par with statecraft, in its proven potential to move individuals and masses to act, and in some cases in a way that some within different communities claim as directly related to harm?

Apparently the debate, for some -- and we express no opinion here, nor above -- has distilled to a recognition that there is an extent to which the big business elements of hip-hop should factor in the voices of opponents of the mirror-making machinery -- especially those from within the communities which natively birthed the culture. And they've arrived at the statement above and it's relativistic if declaredly non-censorious rejection of three little words.

Cultural relativism? Popular will? Act of solidarity? Self-censorship? Lip Service? Certainly not representing all of hip-hop (but what single entity can at this point?) tho interesting nonetheless? So "nigger" is still bad, but "nigga" is still OK sometimes?

All of the above and more? Let us know your thoughts.

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