T.I., Fat Joe, Common & Others address attack on Hip Hop

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

Following Don Imus'firing for making racially derogatory comments about the Rutgers female basketball team, the focus has been shifted to rap music and its usage of derogatory words. Oprah Winfrey hosted a town hall meeting where she discussed the topic with several panelists, and Russell Simmons and the Hip Hop Summit Action Network have issued a call to voluntarily remove the words b***ch, ho, and n***er, from the clean versions of songs. Now rappers like T.I., Fat Joe, Snoop Dogg, and others are weighing in on the discussion.

T.I. told MTV.com, "I honestly feel it's a lot more important things (to worry about). If you want to fix America, you have to start at George Bush and work your way down -- you can't start at hip-hop and work your way up. Me, I got children and I'm with my children every day I can be there. They know if they call somebody out there a name, if they disrespect a woman, if they do anything to imitate a 50 Cent or a Snoop Dogg or a T.I. or what they see on MTV -- they can't blame that on hip-hop. They gonna have to deal with Daddy. (Some) parents let their children blame it on hip-hop. I think that's the beginning of the problem, personally. I think hip-hop is being used as the scapegoat."

Fat Joe weighed in, "I know that Don Imus did not disrespect those young ladies because of hip-hop music. I'm 99 percent sure that he doesn't even listen to hip-hop like that. Everybody who's taking on hip-hop music are the same people who are just looking for a moment or window of opportunity. This is their moment to say, 'F**k hip-hop.'I don't know how a 60-year-old white dude has any relation to hip-hop music. What we need to know is there is freedom of speech: That's the biggest thing. My kids listen to hip-hop, they love Dipset, they love gangsta rap. But they also do great in school."

The Terror Squad rapper added, "Being that I'm a father and I take great pride in having a relationship with my kids. They can listen to hip-hop and understand the difference between reality and entertainment. Some of these parents, if they don't want their kids to listen to hip-hop, tell them to listen to gospel (music). Play some other kind of music! It ain't like anybody is forcing people to listen to hip-hop."

Common, who was one of the guest on Oprah Winfrey's show that dealt with the topic, said, "Oprah said that she was really open to hearing what we had to say as voices in hip-hop and also (whether we are) willing to grow and show change. I can't speak for her, but maybe she didn't listen to hip-hop as much before, and she's entitled to that. We're all people -- we like what we like. The fact is, she's open enough to say, 'It may have been something I wasn't aware of all the way, but I'm going to give it a chance. I understand it's a voice of different people.'"

Snoop Dogg has been the poster child for reform because of his misogynistic lyrics and Winfrey and others have called him on his lyrics. The rapper has taken it all in stride. He said, "I'm a fan of Oprah. I love what she does. I feel like whatever they're saying about me, negative or positive, I appreciate it. I thank you, Oprah. I'm Snoop Dogg -- you can't (badmouth) me because I do so much right and I'm the person who represents me the best. Snoop Dogg is a father, he's a coach, he's a teacher. I'm a man, and I do make mistakes and I'm willing to listen and learn. But a lot of times, they don't know me, so they have to speak on what they feel. But it is what it is. I appreciate you, Oprah. I've never been on your show, so thank you for bringing my name up on your show. I'm sure that'll mean another million record sales. Thank you."