The Music Biz Truth, Vol. 2, Issue 3
Aural Sex
By "The Truth"
June 20, 2005
Rap music is usually attacked for promoting violent acts and excessively violent lyrics. I do believe that violence is still glorified in rap, but there is now a larger issue at hand. The bigger problem now facing our nation's impressionable youth is rappers pushing porn. I know this is not a new topic, but it is now becoming an all too common topic. Rap videos regularly feature half naked women bouncing and bending over for the camera but that point has been disputed enough. The difference now is that MCs are making sure that just in case you didn't know what kind of point they were trying to make with that visual offense, you now also get a lyrical description of exactly what they want to do to these women (and others they meet in clubs, backstage at concerts, and on the street (literally)) while you are watching the amusing acts performed on screen.
Rappers like Akinyele, Too Short, and the godfather of debauchery - Luke, have been doing this for years. Songs like "Put It In Your Mouth", "Blowjob Betty" and "Me So Horny" are considered classics to some. The difference is that these artists were typically kept underground when they first came out in the early 90s. Their songs would receive club play, late-night radio show play, or background music play on porno movies or pay-per-view specials. Other than that, they did not receive much mainstream shine. Each of those artists had more of a cult following that would attend their shows and buy their new CDs once they hit the stores regardless, but they were not waiting with baited breath to see their new video premiere on MTV. If so, they'd be waiting a long time. Now there is definitely a niche market for this type of music and I don't have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with however, is the fact that this type of music has now received a rebirth of sorts in the mainstream media. I understand rappers adding one or two "sex tracks" to their albums to spice it up knowing full well that they will not be released as singles. But when these tracks are serviced to radio, attached to a promo video, and given extensive radio play, I shudder.
Chris Rock spoke of the trend in his 2004 HBO comedy special "Never Scared". He made fun of women openly dancing to and celebrating songs like Lil' Jon's "Get Low" without even paying attention to the X-rated lyrics. "To the window to the wall…to the sweat drip down my balls…to all these bit*hes crawl…to all skeet skeet skeet skeet mutha**ck**" is the hook to this popular song. Mind you, the "skeet" quoted in this song is a slang term for a man relieving himself sexually. How beautiful. Chris was absolutely right. The danger was not necessarily in the lyrics themselves but instead lies in the influence it has on our women and children. Mr. Rock made a joke out of women nonchalantly shaking their groove thang like they were dancing to Kool and the Gang's "Celebration". Either the women themselves don't understand the lyrics or they have no self-respect, because to dance with a smile on our face and your hand in the air to "all these bitc*es crawl" is an embarrassment to females everywhere. Nonetheless, "Get Low" became a huge mainstream hit. And that was only the beginning.
About six months ago, a good friend of mine told me he had a great new track to send me. It turned out to be Ying Yang Twins "Wait (The Whisper Song)". I can't lie, I thought the beat was hot and I thought it was an interesting element to have the rappers whisper through the whole song rather than scream or ramble, but I was completely taken aback. The hook to this gem in case you haven't heard it is "Ay bit*h! Wait til you see my d*ck…Ima beat that pu*sy up" over and over again. Once again, a beautiful rap ditty represented a beautiful relationship between a man and a woman. And just like "Get Low" was a smash hit almost two years ago, "Wait (The Whisper Song)" easily became this year's smash hit.
It doesn't stop there. Due to the success of Ying Yang Twins' lyrical poetry, remixes and answer songs (recorded replies from other artists) have been popping up like crazy. The original song has not only received frequent airplay all over the nation, but now the remix featuring Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, and BET personality Free has also been receiving attention. And just this morning I heard a female version of the song recorded by the songstress Kelis with her own batch of XXX lyrics. I can't even bring myself to quote them here but let's just say her version focuses on informing a man how good she tastes.
In a recent CBS interview, musical artist Prince was asked what he now thought of his older lyrics and how they were billed as being "explicit" and "racy". Prince replied that he never thought his lyrics were that sexual to begin with but instead could be considered sensual. He went on to explain that when he turns on the radio or TV and hears what is actually considered music now, he cannot believe that he is even still questioned about his art in the 80s and 90s when straight up pornography is now broadcast through the airwaves morning noon and night. It is true. Prince did say some crazy things, but they were nowhere near as bad as "Play", a new song by the Southern rapper David Banner. Also produced by DJ Smurf (the same producer that cooked up "Wait (The Whisper Song)", "Play" finds David Banner whispering instructions to a woman on just how he wants to see her "play" with herself. Do not get it twisted. This is not for the children. The difference between what Prince did and what David Banner does is imagination. Prince left something to your imagination. Sure he might have told you to take your clothes off or let him lick you but he wasn't telling you exactly which finger to place inside yourself and to which hole he wanted to see it thrust.
Another superstar who hit it big in the 80s, Madonna, recently denounced her sexier past saying she made herself believe she was making a statement with her raunchy behavior when in fact she realizes she was just looking for attention. Will the rappers of today ever come to that realization? Or do they even think they are making a statement at all in the first place? I don't think so. Unfortunately, I believe these "artists" only care about the here and now and not the effect these lyrics have on the future of America. Each rapper is trying to outdo the one before them by getting nastier and more explicit each time a new track is recorded. And instead of bringing attention to the issue, magazine articles and industry watchers have actually referred to this as nothing more than a new trend. Wow, public pornography as a trend, that's nice.
As always, the rappers themselves will most likely say things like "I didn't ask to be a role model" or "it's not my job to raise someone else's kids" or "that's the parents' responsibility to make sure their child doesn't listen to that song" when questioned about this nonsense. If their songs weren't particularly marketed to the mainstream by being sent to radio and MTV with the corresponding videos, I wouldn't mind as much. Maybe they're right. Maybe it is the parents' job to make sure their child doesn't purchase the new Ying Yang Twins CD, but I believe it's the radio and video programmers' job to make sure these kinds of songs aren't just accepted as the norm and innocently placed on rotation. These sex songs should stay in their niche. Leave them as album tracks. Don't publicize them to the point where they are played on Top 40 radio and Kindergarteners are singing along to "Wait til you see my dick". Please people, work it out.
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Posted at 12:25 pm by MusicBizTruth
