Speaking out ... Russell Simmons
The hostile reaction to a call from the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network for the industry to delete the words "bitch", "ho" and "nigger" from future records was no surprise. The appeal from an organisation founded by Russell Simmons - co-founder of Def Jam records and one of the influential figures in hip-hop history - has been condemned across the hip-hop world as both a self-serving bit of grandstanding from someone who no longer depends on rap records for his income, and for doing the right's bidding, by attacking rappers for problems they did not create.
The debate is not new. Hip-hop tends to see anyone attempting moves that imply censorship as an enemy, whether it's an outsider like Barack Obama, or someone as intertwined with hip-hop culture as Simmons (never mind that the latter has been outspokenly critical of the former's recent statements on rap lyrics). Chuck D (who, as the leader of Public Enemy, perhaps Def Jam's most important act ever, certainly knows how Simmons' mind works) thinks the move has little chance of success and is deeply suspicious of Simmons' motives. The rap activist, actor, author and poet Saul Williams, responding to Simmons' appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, is another powerful voice who argues that rap's language problem is a result of social, political and historical factors, and that criticism of artists misses the point.
It is not the first time Simmons has been accused of naivety bordering on cynicism. But if anyone has a right to speak out about what the rap industry has become, it is Simmons. As someone who has played such a pivotal role in its commodification - as the middleman who helped the music mortgage its soul - he has a duty to help put hip-hop's house in order. Some commentators feel his sins are unforgivable, and that his comments are merely further examples of him selling out. But, if anything, his statement does not go far enough.
The idea that these three words' meanings can be nullified through reclamation is an argument two decades past its sell-by date, and the suggestion that the reflexive, lazy, commercially advantageous use of them on records is some sort of free speech issue is risible. The only excuse for their widespread use today - at least, in the unthinking contexts they are most usually employed - is the moral and artistic bankruptcy of the individuals spouting them. The cynicism of an industry which is content to market records containing them is chilling, if unsurprising.
Rap still remains a vital mirror to an imperfect world. Simmons is not calling for artists to hold their tongues, but surely great art is about movement, growth, about transcending an environment and an upbringing and a set of inescapable accidents of birth? The music of Chuck D, Saul Williams and the thousands of rappers like them is all about striving for a better future, but if mainstream rap doesn't recognise the need to change course, it doesn't have much of a future at all. Simmons is absolutely correct to target the multinational companies that manufacture the music and the media corporations who profit from its popularity. Whatever his motives, and despite his inglorious role in creating the present malaise, at least he is trying to drag the rap business in the right direction.
