BILLBOARD MONITOR "Hip Hop's Explicit Lyric's"

Hip Hop's Explicit Lyrics - Who's Responsible?Aug. 26, 2005By Ivory M. JonesYing Yang Twins. David Banner. Trillville. Pretty Ricky.The list reads like a who's who of acts topping the playlists of R&B/hip-hop stations across the country. These artists are also drawing heat for their sexually suggestive lyrics.Ying Yang Twins' "Wait (The Whisper Song)," Banner's "Play," Trillville's "Some Cut" and Pretty Ricky's "Grind With Me" all contain racy lyrics, and although the versions heard over the airwaves are often edited, critics say the songs still leave little to the imagination.Lisa Fager, co-founder of media watch group Industry Ears, compares radio edits to CliffsNotes guides, which offer shortened versions of books typically studied in schools."Sure, you get the abridged version, but does that change the meaning of the text? No. [Students] told me that they still know what the original book is about. I asked them about the edited versions of songs, and they said they already know what the real lyrics are, so they just sing the real words along to the edited versions," Fager says.This detail has not escaped R&B/hip-hop WEDR (99 Jamz) Miami's DJ Irie. "Some of the time, playing 'clean' radio edits isn't even enough, because the lyrics make it obvious enough that the song is about sex and violence," he says.Though labels are responsible for editing the material, the question of who monitors the final product is open-ended. Is it the station's duty to screen the songs before they hit the airwaves, or does that job fall on the labels that promote the songs? Or does the responsibility, ultimately, rest with listeners or their guardians?Jive Records national director of urban promotions Samantha Selolwane believes all these parties share responsibility."If an artist submits something to the label and it's overtly offensive, I think it's up to the label to monitor it. But the station does have a responsibility to the community. I think [the duty] falls on a number of people," she tells Billboard Radio Monitor.Patrick Lagreid, PD at rhythmic top 40 KMIH Mercer Island, Wash., a station owned by the local school district, echoes her sentiment."In theory," he says, "artists have responsibilities for what they put out there and labels have responsibilities for what they promote. But it's their right to put out what they want. Ultimately, I think it's the responsibility of the radio station. We have the ability to control what goes out over the airwaves."Fager thinks it goes beyond the PDs, however. Senior leadership at such broadcast giants as Emmis, Clear Channel and Radio One have the final say, she says. "Generally, it's not the program directors these days, though some of them have a little bit of power. It's about the broadcasters' accountability. I think that's where the audiences have gone awry—by thinking that the artists or the individual stations have some type of power."Industry Ears co-founder Paul Porter says he blames radio "for not having any guts. It's all corporate. It's all linked to the corporate structure these days."Porter, a former on-air personality, says his experience is proof that stations and local staff often take the fall for content despite their lack of control over it. While working at Emmis adult R&B WRKS (Kiss-FM) New York, he complained about a song that was airing on sister station WQHT. "Party and Bullshit" by rapper Rah Digga included the lyrics "beat that bitch with a bat."Porter says a 12-year-old student brought the song to his attention after she was teased by her peers."Her father had beaten her mother with a bat," he says. "When the students found out, they would taunt her with those lyrics. I was shocked and saddened because I had no answer for her."Porter says he took his concern to Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan, and a memo was issued that detailed a new zero-tolerance policy for on-air profanity. However, Porter alleges that the memo also fingered him as a whistle-blower."Some of the DJs sided with me, but others were upset because all they had to play was music that contained explicit lyrics," he says.After leaving the station, Porter became an advocate for removing what he says is indecent content plaguing radio.Some good has come out of radio's current state, Fager says. She points to a group of Dorchester, Mass., teens who, weary of the lyrics on radio, founded a low-power station (Radio LOG 540 AM) that specializes in playing "positive music." Although it reaches a very small area, the station has generated international attention.While Fager believes that watchdog organizations like hers act as a voice for the public, WQHT assistant PD E-Bro warns people to pay attention to the intentions of such groups."It's case by case," he says. "Some organizations and organizers use young hip-hop stations and the 'edgy content' issue as a way to gain campaign support. If you notice, most of these issues really get flared around voting time. Also, note that news media outlets and talk show hosts use what's controversial and popular as a way to generate their own ratings under the guise of being responsible and taking a stance against the ills of our society."Indeed, many acknowledge that there is a thin line between monitoring inappropriate content and infringing on a station's or artist's freedom of speech."I understand where [media watchdogs] are coming from and don't have any objection," Lagreid says. "But at the same time, it's like they are trying to impede on a certain level of free speech. It's a fine line, and that's what's tough—that fine line seems to change without a lot of notice.""I don't feel that restricting an artist is healthy for their development," Selolwane says. "If an artist wants to have the freedom of expression, then they should be allowed to do that."DJ Irie adds, "In defense of the labels and the artists, they should be able to speak freely and record or release anything that the consenting public has an appetite for. Any adult that wants to hear that musical content should be able to access it. That's the beauty of free speech in a free country."Lagreid believes that there are adults who want to hear such content and that they are driving the multiple spins. On the flip side, however, he maintains that listeners can only request what is made available to them."People won't request what they don't know is out there," he says. "As programmers, we try to take the best educated guess on what we think people will like based on past performances and experiences. It's kind of a self-perpetuating thing. Songs like 'Wait' would have never made it if there hadn't already been songs out there with the same content. I've never had a listener call and say, 'I really like that song, [but] can you play something raunchier?' "In the end, E-Bro says, it is cyclical: "If the artists didn't make the product, then the consumer wouldn't look for it. If the label didn't promote it, the artists would change their direction. If everyone stopped playing it, the impressionable young consumer wouldn't have any outlet to get questionable content."Selolwane believes a simple balancing act by radio could improve the situation. "They have the power to pick what they play. If you're going to play 10 songs about ass, you should be playing 10 great songs to give that balance. I think when the balance is offset, that's when we have the cycle that we're in."E-Bro also points out that "parents can ultimately turn off what they don't like." And from DJ Irie's viewpoint, they can do even more."Parents need to educate their children about such music and make sure their kids are not naive to its existence. Nowadays, unless you can be with your kid 100% of the time, they will be subject to such music. Parents need to remove the shock value of such music and show their children how to make the right choice of what they listen to—and if they are going to listen to it, not to take it literally."Fager hopes a happy medium can be found. "Radio's supposed to be safe, but there are rules and regulations that are supposed to be enforced. Parents can only do so much . . . I'm not saying don't play the music, but put [it] on at times that are appropriate. People make porn, but they don't put it on NBC at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. So I don't understand why [the Ying Yang Twins lyric] 'Wait till you see my dick' gets played in the morning while kids are getting ready for school."-------Ivory M. JonesManaging Editor, R&B/Hip-Hop - Billboard Radio MonitorStaff Writer - Billboard Magazine770 Broadway, 6th FloorNew York, NY 10003(646) 654-4647 - direct line(646) 654-4681 - fax