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Thoughts on Race, Rap, Duke, Imus, and Rev. Al
By Jeremy | April 12, 2007
First, the disclaimers.
1. I am not an Imus fan. 2. His comments last week were racist, sexist, and typical of his show. 3. He should have been fired a long time ago.Next, the ironies (hypocrisies).
1. MSNBC fired Imus the same day last year's rush-to-judgment, race-fueled charges against the Duke lacrosse players were completely dropped. 2. CBS/Westwood One Radio fired Imus the same day the disgraced, rush-to-judgment Duke prosecutor publicly apologized for an overzealous persecution. 3. The firestorm surrounding Imus' remarks came the same week that the top songs on Billboard's rap charts are Mims' "This is Why I'm Hot" and Bow Wow's "I'm a Flirt," featuring alleged child pornographer R. Kelly. Sample Mims lyric: "Every other day / Another bitch another drop ... / See my pimping never dragged / Find me wit different women that you niggas never had / For those who say they know me know I'm focused on ma cream / player you come between you'd better focus on the beam / I keep it so mean the way you see me lean / And when say I'm hot my nigga dis is what I mean." Sample Bow Wow lyric: "Ima b pimpin / I dont be slippin / When it come down to these hoez / I dont love em / We dont cuff em / Man thats just the way it goes." 4. When the disgraced Duke accuser cried race rape, Rev. Al Sharpton led marches in North Carolina and demanded a rush to judgment. 5. When the Duke accusations were discredited, Rev. Al stayed silent. 6. When misogynistic hip hop heads degrade and demean women generally and black women specifically, Rev. Al stays silent. 7. When CBS/Westwood One radio stations broadcast and (NBC) Universal Music Group produces misogynistic music by black men against black women, Rev. Al stays silent. 8. When Rev. Al stays silent, CBS radio continues to broadcast and and (NBC) Universal Music Group continues to produce misogynistic messages and music.Lastly, some wonderings.
1. If Imus' comments were a fireable offense (given that similar remarks have been a staple of his show for decades) why not fire him before giving Rev. Al so much face time? 2. For someone who always has so much to say, how is it that Rev. Al can be silent so often? 3. Why is Rev. Al so quick to accuse but so slow to apologize? 4. How long before Imus gets hired by someone else? 5. Tomorrow, how big a nonfactor will the Imus firing be to shock jock radio programming? Next month? Next Year? 6. Tomorrow, how many hip hop stations will broadcast black rap artists spewing worse garbage about black women than Imus ever did? Next month? Next Year? 7. Tomorrow, how many music producers/artists will alter projects based on the Imus outcry? Next month? Next year? 8. Tomorrow, what are the odds that Rev. Al remains silent towards misogynistic music and culture? Next month? Next Year?Topics: al sharpton, culture, don imus, hip hop, music, race, racism, rap | 1 Comment »
April 14th, 2007 at 12:41 am
Well said, Jeremy. And I think a lot of people are asking the same questions, which leads me to another question: Why aren’t these exact questions more prominent in the marketplace of ideas?