Time to Bring Back a Positive Vibe in Hip Hop

Don Imus calling The Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy headed hos" has started a debate that it is time for some hip hop artists to change their negative rap lyrics toward women. Will the negative press that some of these artists are receiving right now, cause them to come out with more positive music? Only time will tell.

Even though many rappers have use derogatory lyrics toward women, that still gave Imus no right to use a derogatory term to describe The Rutgers women's basketball team, and he deserved to be fired. This was not the first time Imus has said something that could be considered racist and sexist, and had he been allowed to stay on the air it probably would not have been the last. Never the less, it is time for the hip hop community to do some soul searching and realize the impact that their music has on society.

I grew up as a hip hop head during the Golden Era of hip hop, which was during the late 80s and early 90s. Back then, there was a lot more variety in the type of music that was being played. There was everything from party songs, conscious songs to gansta rap and everything in between. There was something for everybody to enjoy. Now a lot of the songs sound the same, the music videos are practically identical and there is no real creativity coming out.

I definitely believe in freedom of speech and that censorship can stifle creativity, but with freedom of speech also comes responsibility. There is no reason that women should be called the b-word, ho, and other derogatory terms on every other record. There is also no reason that in a lot of these videos women are seen as nothing more than a sexual object for these men. The real problem with the images that are being conveyed by some of these artists are young girls actually start to believe that they are nothing more than sexual objects and it can really have an impact on their self-esteem.

There are quite a few hip hop artists out now who have positive lyrics and avoid using derogatory lyrics against women. It seems like most of these artists do not receive the same type of promotion as hip hop artists who have negative lyrics. The major record companies, radio stations, and video channels seem to prefer to promote artists who glamorize misogyny and violence in their music, than artists who are trying to create positive music. The record companies try to say that positive hip hop won't sell, but the main reason that it doesn't sell as well is because the record companies refuse to promote it.

The time has come for hip hop artists to start showing respect to women, especially black women. I am sure these artists would not want anyone to talk about their mothers, sisters, or daughters the way they have talk about other women in their lyrics. I think it is time for those who disagree with the sexist lyrics to stop supporting artists who write them. If we continue to support hip hop artists who degrade women, than we will have no right to complain when another idiot like Imus makes a sexist or racist joke.