Censorship of Rap Music

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Censorship of Rap Music America, land of the free or home of the enslaved? The First Amendment states congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion on prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the light of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (Quoted from http://pacific.discover.net/~dansyr/billrigh.html) This amendment includes anything that allows people to express themselves freely in any shape or form. By censoring rap music the government is violating the artists’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Censorship is the examining of material and suppressing all or part if considered morally or otherwise unacceptable. (Webster’s Dictionary, 87) Censorship of rap music is a way to limit the exposure of what is going on in the world today. Gangster rap, the most popular, but most controversial music today, is a depiction of the lives of a large group of people. When rappers speak, they are just telling about the lives that they live day to day. “If you think this reality is positive then you're wrong,” says rap artist DMX, “because there are not too many communities in the hood. There's just a bunch of individuals. But all that matters to me is if niggas know I'm speaking for them - because I am them.(D.M.X…The Dog Bites, www.TheSource.com.) The government cannot censor what these artists speak of (i.e. poverty, welfare, and police brutality) because they are the truth. “You might catch me walkin with my head down in the pouring rain Trying hard to find answers to questions no one can seem to explain I coulda been born son of a king Instead I was born son of a killa surrounded by fiends and drug dealers Dear God I got some questions that maybe you can answer Why my brother got shot and my grandmother died of cancer Now through it all I try to ball and keep it real They say they don't feel what I feel, I guess cause they don't live where I live Now see my mom tried to be strong, my brother died, didn't wanna see her cry But I seen her through the reflection of the mirror wipin tears from her eyes And my next door neighbor committed suicide, Was it cause of stress And if it was, Was it that bad that he had to choose death?” (verse by Silkk the Shocker, “Take my Pain”, There’s one in every family, Fiend)

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