Newspapers / East Wind (Asian Students … / April 1, 2001, edition 1 / Page 20
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One Man’s Perspective On Rap Stephen Sy, Senior Let’s face it. Many Asians living in America enjoy listening to rap and hip-hop music. You may ask, “So? Is there a problem with that?” Well, there just may be. In the last three months or so, rap/hip- hop music and its effect on society has become a national issue. Congress has examined the issue. Newsweek made the issue its cover story back in October. Even the French and Canadians have got ten involved in the fight against rap. It’s apparent to me that these proceedings against rap are completely justified. Let me rephrase that. Rap music, as an industry, deserves all the criticism against it. I came to that conclusion after looking at this past summer’s biggest rap hits. Nelly’s “Country Grammar,” Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’,” and Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady” were unarguably three of the summer’s most popu lar rap songs. And what were they about? Practically nothing! They were essentially nothing more than four-minute rants of profanity. Nelly and Jay-Z rapped about the “virtues” of materialism and sex, whereas Eminem’s song, if you can even call it a song, was no more than a personal tirade about himself Now hold on, wait a second. Perhaps I spoke too hastily, right? Those songs had a deeper meaning, especially the Eminem one. That song in particular provided witty commentary on modem society. But come on. Are the teenagers who con stantly watch MTV or BET smart enough to look deeper in the lyrics? Yeah, right. Lucky for us, though, that it was “The Real Slim Shady” that mled the airwaves this summer. Some of Eminem’s songs on his latest album strayed towards a more graphic and violent content. EW More specifically, his songs “Kim,” “Kill You,” and his latest single “Stan,” which incidentally ranks high consistently on MTV’s “Total Request Live,” all describe a man killing a woman. In “Stan,” a man drives himself and his pregnant girlfriend off a bridge. In “Kill You,” Eminem raps about the mock murder of his wife. “Kim” was the worst of all. Listening to the song made me sick to my stomach. It was about a man slitting the throat of his four-year old son and then doing the same to his wife. No wonder Congress got in Eminem’s face about his songs. In fact, Eminem has spent the past few months under a shroud of controversy. The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing in September where Lynne Cheney, none other than the wife of vice-presi dent Dick Cheney, testified to the hateful lyrics of Eminem. Earlier, I mentioned the French and Canadians becoming involved in the rap issue. In October, a contingent of French delegates conduct ed a round-table discussion on hip-hop music. Later in October, a woman in Toronto filed a complaint with the police that Eminem’s lyrics promote hatred and violence against women, and is therefore, under Canadian law, a crime. This claim was also a bid to prevent an Eminem concert in Toronto. She wasn’t alone. Canadian politicians also sought to prevent Eminem from performing in Toronto, but they were unable to prevent the show because Canadian hate
East Wind (Asian Students Association, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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April 1, 2001, edition 1
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