SPELMAN "TAKE BACK THE MUSIC" AP REPORTS

Spelman continues its war on hip hop, its misogynistic lyricsThe Associated Press - ATLANTA
TVT Records and Black Entertainment Television never had a chance.
What Essence magazine billed Friday as a Spelman College "panel discussion" about hip-hop's portrayal of women quickly turned into a slamfest on BET spokesman Michael Lewellen and TVT Records exec Bryan Leach.
Before the discussion even began, speakers took the microphone to call rap music hypersexual and hypercriminal. When Leach's turn came to make opening comments, moderator Michaela Davis stopped him to show a collage of videos from artists like Trick Daddy and 50 Cent that mostly consisted of women's jiggling backsides.
When the boos died and Leach was allowed to speak uninterrupted _ a rare occurrence _ he explained that the videos clips selected were largely from BET's show "Uncut," which airs at 3 a.m.
Later in the discussion, when Leach tried to explain that the market was dictating what record companies produced and that the arguments otherwise were devoid of economic considerations, Davis _ the Essence fashion editor charged with mediating the discussion _ barked at him, "Crack sells, too."
Leach and Lewellen acknowledged afterward they knew they were walking into the lion's den.
Likely the most famous black women's college in the country, Spelman has been on a mission since last April to make the music industry look at itself and what it produces. Rap superstar Nelly canceled a charity event at the school last year when he learned the students were planning a protest.
"Spelman is 10 blocks from a strip club. You're not out in front of the strip club picketing," an incensed Nelly told The Associated Press after the event was nixed.
The forum's fulcrum was more problem than solution. As the almost 500 attendees reeled off question after question about women being deemed sex objects, not one reference was made to the super-sized Essence cover on the stage that read, "Bedroom secrets he wishes you knew."
Rapper MC Lyte, a panel member, essentially concurred with Lewellen and Leach that it was a matter of supply and demand, but added that after a rapper sells 500,000 albums, it becomes a matter of race _ the music no longer represents the black community, she said.
"It's not us that's making the demand. It's the white boys. It's the little white boys," she said.
To the question of how women in these videos are exploited if they agree to perform lewd acts on camera, student Moya Bailey and Spelman assistant professor Tarshia Stanley said that women are falsely given the idea that this behavior will make them rich or make men think they're beautiful.
Though Lewellen clung to the mantra that consumers are ultimately empowered to avoid music they deem offensive, he said afterward that misogynistic lyrics could eventually pose a roadblock for rap.
"There is a groundswell. There is a movement at the grassroots level," he said. "If the industries _ industries _ don't take it seriously now, they may have to take it seriously later."
There are many rappers that don't rely on degrading women to sell wax _ Mos Def, Common and Talib Kweli among them _ but they don't have the same appeal as the guys who do, said Leach, who is credited with signing the Ying Yang Twins and Lil Jon.
Following the discussion, Essence Editor Diane Weathers defended the session's lack of balance and her moderator's taking sides.
"What's happening is so offensive and so ugly and we've got to stop pretending it isn't," she said. "Women have been very nice. We've been very tolerant. If Michaela got carried away a little bit, she's entitled. Everybody's fed up."
Essence will continue its battle against derogatory depictions of women in rap through articles and a letter-writing campaign aimed at MTV, BET and the individual artists, Weathers said.
___