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Is Russell Simmons A Hypocrite?
Posted by Brian
Since the Don Imus mess took place and is now over, everyone has now turned their attention towards the lyrics of rap music. Russell Simmons has been the most vocal, appearing on every show from Oprah to Bill O’Reilly, calling for rappers to stop using “ho,” “bitch” and “nigger” in their songs.
I wholeheartedly agree with the need to tone down some of the words and lyrics that are used in music(not just rap), movies, television, newspapers, and even blogs for that matter. There has been a constant decay of a moral value system for a long time that continues to get worst. That part I agree with.
What I am not so sure about is the motive of the people that are pushing for the change in only rap music and if rap music is the main problem. It kind of irks me to see Russell Simmons beating the pavement about the lyrics of rap music, when most of his fortune was made due to rap music and the widespread financial reach of the hip hop culture. Only a few years ago, Russell was defending the lyrics of rap music as rappers telling the story of what they see everyday. That they are just talking about the life that they live. Now he is saying that the lyrics need to be changed. To watch the video of Russell contradict himself, go here. Why the change of heart?
Maybe it is just a coincidence that Russell Simmons just released a book, “Do You!: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success” on April 24th and a coast to coast tour with every notable television host discussing rap music gives him a reason to be a guess on the show which probably would not have happened just because he published a book. Let’s see how hard he pushes his message in about a month.
I also wonder if the push for the change in rap lyrics were to change, what would be next? Making rap music the scapegoat for a much larger social issue is not the answer. The fight to improve our societal norms must start somewhere, but I don’t think starting with rap music is the answer. At the end of the day, Don Imus did not lose his job for what he said, he lost his job for where he said it, Public television. Had he said the same thing on cable or satellite radio, he would have his job today. The only reason he lost his job was due to CBS and MSNBC concerns about advertiser impact. If they truly believed it was inappropriate, he would have been fired within hours and it would not have taken over a week.
With rap music, in theory, the explicit lyrics are labeled on the album at the time of purchase which then places the responsibility into the hands of the consumer, buy or not to buy. I understand that you can easily hear songs without buying them, but the system is set up to stop inappropriate lyrics from being heard by those who do not choose to. If this is not working, then change the system that distributes, publishes, and sales the music, not the music itself.
Maybe I am missing Russell’s point, but do you think that the changes he is calling for are the main problem? How can the problem be fixed without singling out rap music and maintaining the right to free speech?
Russell to me is doing the same thing that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson do. Take full advantage of any opportunity for delf promotion and finicial gain. Its really a shame that Russell has chosen to take this route. Due to his time in the rap game he has become somewhat of Godfather to hip-hop, definitely an icon, and now he is using his position to further sensor the game that made him rich. Before his recently action I put in the group with the likes of KRS-1 who really wanted to spread the word of hip-hop not sensor it.
Come on home russell.
I wholeheartedly agree with you both. Though I acknowledge and admire Russell Simmons for his impact, vision, and business savvy, I don’t believe in artistic censorship, and Mr. Simmons is TOTALLY contradicting himself because last time he was speaking on Hip-Hop music he held the same stance. Now I am an NOT one of those people who say “oh it’s just a song,” on the contrary I do believe what we listen to, view, inbibe/ingest, etc., really do affect us concsciously and subconsciously on a pyschological level. Therefore, we should be more discerning about what we put into our spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical systems…but to guard what we let into our lives (and our CHILDREN’S LIVES) is our job. NO DOUBT - ARTISTS DEFINITELY DO SHAPE SOCIETY & CULTURE w/ their songs, images, and messages, but they also reflect it, and are entitled to do so…if we don’t like it, we don’t have to support it.
It’s all about consciousness really - the consciousness of the artist,and the consciousness of the consumer. I like Mr. Simmons, am a proponent for more conscious emcees, lyricists, songwriters, producers, and executives in Hip-Hop. I think all artists (and ALL PEOPLE) should aspire to raise their consciousness levels, but a ban on a certain word isn’t going to do that. The word is just the physical manifestation of what’s going on in a person’s Spirit. Just like the whole Kramer incident and people wanting to take “the N-word” out of the dictionary (I say leave it in their as a historical testament to the TRUE brutal, opportunistic history of this country), erradicating a word is not going to erradicate the consciousness beind its use…a new word will simply take it’s place because those feelings which support the word still exist. “Grape” could just as easily become the next “N-word” and “Space Shuttle” could become the new “Ho”…whatever, the word is not the issue. I think what happened with the Kramer and Imus incidents is that a lot of Black people said to themselves “They (other cultures/races/ethnicities) are degrading us because we degrade ourselves w/ our own popular culture.” In a way I agree with that, but honestly, I feel like racist mindsets have never gone away, though they may not be as prevelant as, let’s say in the 1950’s and 1960’s. So when I hear of incidents like Kramer and Imus, I’m not surprised at all, and rather than blame it on myself (meaning Hip-Hop Culture, which let’s face it IS Black Popular Culture, in America at least), I know that the real culprit are these old racist mindsets coming to the surface, so I’m not gonna jump on the “BLAME IT ON HIP-HOP” bandwagon. Although not to be mistaken, I am a proponent of personal accountability/responsibility, and agree with Mr. Simmons on many issues, but in light of these recent events, I think there is a lot more, namely good old fashioned racism, going on.
~B-RAE~
p.s. - Even if artistic censorship is something he truly
believes in, which I doubt, Russell Simmons is
ABSOLUTELY garnering media attention for his book.
I don’t think that Russell is being hypocritical. Rap music made Russell, not cursing, degrading women, or violence. Rap AND cursing & degrading women & violence or NOT synonymous. People seem to forget that. Snoop dog can still flow just as tight without yelling out Hoe and Bitch and Nigga every other line. That man has skills!
Here is a very important concept…The human mind is the most powerful thing on earth. Videos like the “SECRET” and books like “Think and Grow Rich” are examples of this concept. What the mind believes becomes our reality. Deviance and degrading language are so common place now it is accepted and promoted in our society. The more the human mind hears over and over again a concept or idea the more the mind believes it. If all of your life you are told that you are fat, trust me your brain will believe that. The brain doesn’t know any better. The more we are inundated with “hoe” and “bitch” and brothas getting shot hour after hour and we walk down the street chanting the lyrics the brain makes that your reality. Trust me life will imitate art.
Russell doesn’t curse nor does he degrade women (publicly at least) so I think that the man is sticking to his guns.
I agree I think Russ is being hypocritical in that
if this Imus fiasco wouldnt have went down he wouldnt
be vocal about this. I dont mind when people change
their minds about stuff but what I watch for is why?
Is it genuine and sincere change or is it motivated by
pressure or political reasons. I never really cared
for dude anyway cause I felt on one hand what he says
about economic empowerment is good and we need that
power in our communities but on the other hand I think
he says and does stuff for the spotlight and aint
really sincere with it. Most of the guys he signed to
Def Jam werent super vulgar though ( LL, Beastie Boys,
EPMD, Method Man, and Jay-Z to name a few). Rap was
definitely a scapegoat in this. It reminded me of the
times as a kid we got in trouble and instead of
accepting the blame we say well so and so did it too
and that’s what I saw mainstream white America doin.
Yes I feel we need to cleanup this crap we listen to I
been feeling that way for a long time but…there are
ho’s out there we know some, there are ignorant drug
dealin niggas we know some, there are men and women
who act like bitches we know a few. What I’m sayin
is that rap is a form of entertainment and this form
of entertainment has always been a reflecton of
society. We see things on regular TV that we wouldnt
have believed possible when we were young from partial
nudity to adult language. The sad part is that the
rap that gets publicized and played only reflects the
negative part of that society. Where were the calls
from white America when we were callin each other
bitches, niggas, and ho’s 2 months ago, 2 weeks ago,
or 20 years ago? Who signed these acts to begin with?
Who writes Jay-z and Puffy’s checks? For too long
older white men (Jimmy Iovine, Jerry Heller, Clive
Davis to name a few) have capitilized off our misery
and made tens of millions of dollars by dictating to
labels what the sound of our culture is going to be.
It’s long over due that we change the options of what
we listen to as far as rap goes on tv and radio.
There are so many other good artist who make good
music who dont promote that.
Truthfully I don’t think what Simmons is saying is really an issue of hyprocrisy, as much as it is an issue of relevance. There is very little relevance to the dicussion of the appropriate or inappropriate lyrics that come from our music, television shows, movies etc., when the topic is approached from this non-embracing standpoint. This whole “which came first the chicken or the egg” quandary is futile in determining responsibility for societies problems of violence, sexism, racism, clasism, etc. As always, our society of late irresponsibly plays follow-the-leader with whatever the media dictates to be the problem or social issues of our day. When the media promotes something, we make a choice to react or not to, this is not how things ought to be. And although I can see clear instances of life immitating art ( just look at our teenagers and what they try to immulate for example) I do not for a milasecond condone that. Art as well as the media’s voice should be a reflection of a responsible society, not the deflection of one. When society remains in control of what is relevant and what is not, art and media follow suite, art was meant to immitate life, not the other way around. If an artist creates what he see’s in the world around him, his art is a clear expression of himself and how he effects/ influences everyone else. In this way an artist both reflects and molds, as pointed out by another commentator. But what we reflect will always determine what we mold. If we perfect our craft what we create and mold should then create and mold and so on. However, it seems to be all but forgotten, that art and music are meant to inspire, and as the question was once posed by the musically gifted and legendary Lauryn Hill, “then how come we aint gettin no higher?” Too many people want to slap the lable art on what is in reality trash. If what you expressed creates choas, promotes self hatred, etc, you need to check the source of your Self-expression. Cause the right expression of self will bring everyone up, and visa versa. Trash should not be censored it should be thrown away! This uncovers the broader issue of why we as a society can’t agree on what is inappropriate expression. Although I don’t believe in private censorship, I do believe in public censoring. On some platforms people indeed have freedom of speech, but lets keep it rational, okay? We need to re-define the areas of public and private domain. I can’t just walk into somebody’s house,look at a man and tell him his wife and daughter are nappy headed hoes, but infact through television, radio,and movies that is what people can now express–Imus is not the first and he won’t be the last. The funnier and wittier they are at doing it, the more tolerant we are of their degrading expressions. People are not willing to say that because no one wants to be responsible for putting censors on the “THE STANDARD” of what we (collectively) use to define our moral compass in society. Eeryone wants morality to be a private issue, but as in the issue of Imus, we see why it shouldn’t be. However, overall Morality has become an issue of personal preference rather than public concern, so in this case life follows after whatever someone else promotes as life. But if the “artist” and I use that term loosley, does a innaccurate portrayal of life, then were does that leave the veiwers? The media should not determine what we allow, we should. And I partially disagree with the commentator who says that if we don’t like the art then don’t endorse it, that is only part of the problem–we have to oppose it collectively, (just like people did with Imus, not just individually)-I’ve said this before in previous blogs–you can’t identify a problem and then just try to protect you and yours. You can build a wall around your self to keep others out, but as the problem outside your wall grows bigger, the more pressure that wall is taking and eventually, it’s coming down and the problem is coming in, that’s just commen sense. I can teach my daughters that they are not hoes, but what happens if they are at school, or in the mall or anywhere and someone violates them by treating them as such. I can teach my sons that they shouldn’t steal, but what happens when he gets robbed or shot for his wallet/clothes/etc? The problem is, like I said before, no one wants to be accountable to anyone in this society, we all want to do what makes us happy, we’ve replace accountability and love, with indifference and personal preference on too many issues. Rules and too much focus on morality is a restriction for people, so it seems better to allow every man to be an island, and set up places for people to express their individual veiws, as long as the veiws are not expressed outside these designated areas, the person is not held accountible for the way they are impacting society (ie., strip clubs, gentlemen’s clubs, rap videos, music, movies, etc.) What we see on television or hear on the radio, is a direct result of our collective moral neglegence. The real hypocrisy is that we don’t care about what the next man is doing until it hit close to home, but by then it could be too late.
first of all, i believe Russell has no other choice but to take this action due to the pressure and brutal punishment the Oprah show gave him and the three other members of the hip hop industry that joined him on the pannel. whether he wants a cure for what ever the real problem is or not, a man at his statue and position must speak on this topic in this manner.
i don’t care if rap is entertainment or the experiences of someone’s life. the message can be delivered intelligently which is the basis of hip hop which is something that offends me. hip hop and rap are not the same so when people refer to them as such it shows me that they are confused about the subject. hip hop is a movement for the advancement of the people, art, and culture. rapping is the ability to deliver lyrics in a rhyme form or poetry set to music. hip hop artist are “judged” by thier lyrical ability and message as are rappers. but the subject matter is what makes the difference. for example…”NAS” = Hip Hop … “Too Short”….Rapper any questions?
It’s weird the way all of this went from Don Imus making the comment to everyone blaming the hip hop community or black people. How did the fingers get pointed back toward us. First i dont blame Rap, or radio for the comment somebody else made cause 1st and formost he is a grown man. Nobody made him say that. 2nd when songs are played on the radio they are already sensored. Then when you go purchase cd they have a clean version of the cd and an explict version. My point is if you dont want to hear it don’t by it. Then retailers are not supposed to sell the explicit version of Cd’s to young people. Who’s buying them. And who’s allowing them to sell them. When I was growing up my grandmother always taught me not to point my finger. And that’s exactly what’s going on. And Oprah I have no comment on her because I watched the show and she really didnt want to let people speak their mind if it wasn’t what she wanted to here. I am Black and i don’t blame the Hip hop community or anybody else for his comment I blame him and only him. We are all guilty of calling somebody out there name.
PEOPLE ARE NOT AWARE THAT DON IMAS GOT INTO ALL THAT TROUBLES IS NOT BECAUSE HE CALLED THEM HOES IT IS BECAUSE HE CALLED THEM NAPPY HEADED!!! WITCH MAD HIM COME OFF AS RACIST!!! PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE THE TIME OUT AND LOOK AT WHATS REALLY BEHIND THAT MATTER! AS FOR RUSSELL MAN HE DID WHAT HE FELT HE HAD TO DO BECAUSE HE IS WHO HE IS!!! NOT SAYING ITS RIGHT NOT SAYING IT WRONG!!!
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Hey! Interesting insight into s Really Going On. I have often thought about this myself. I think listen to rap music is somewhat related. On Sunday I have the day off, so will look more into it.