by DM Zwack

Created on: June 18, 2009

There is no denying censorship has affected rap music over the past two and a half decades, but precisely how much and in what way cannot be easily described. On one hand, the reality of Parental Advisory stickers and similar tactics to warn listeners of the graphic nature of the music has provided rap with a great deal of negative publicity and contributed to broad, stereotypical, and not invariably accurate, images. However, such controversy also drives curiosity and interest in the music, sometimes boosting sales when the intent has been to quell them, or at least keep the product out of the hands of children.

Warning labels intended to alert parents of objectionable content fail utterly to capture the spirit of particular artists. Therefore, A Tribe Called Quest's smattering of foul language and mild sex chatter received the same treatment as the grotesque and misogynistic material offered up by the Geto Boyz. Little has changed since then; Lupe Fiasco, a relatively tame artist who takes frequent stabs at depth and meaning, gets lumped into the same category as the typically sex-obsessed Akon. This is not to disparage artists whose material is explicit-indeed, the Geto Boyz delivered some very gripping tracks-but merely to point out that when a thumb-sized sticker is used to characterize an artist's work, it is bound to fall short in the realm of nuance.

Neither NWA's appearance on an FBI watch list nor the arrest of the Two Live Crew in Florida could derail rap's popularity. Indeed, the music remains very popular today with some very explicit rap songs seeing chart success, though typically in sanitized, somewhat radio friendly versions. Unfortunately, this success along with the presence of a segment of harsh and vocal critics has contributed to a kind of polarization within the world of hip-hop. Many artists embrace the over-the-top images of scantily clad women, gaudy jewelry and tricked out cars and become cartoon gangstas while others eschew this approach and go completely in the direction of innocuous pop. Some even attempt both at the same time (see Chingy).

It would be difficult to argue that these attempts at censorship have hampered record sales, given the astonishing success of Kanye West, Ludacris, Outkast, and many others during the past decade. But it does appear the combination of a wider audience and vociferous attacks on the music has rendered rap a little simplistic. Historic examples of censorship backfiring are numerous, making efforts to cripple rap music by restricting access all the more puzzling. However, most censorship advocates are unmoved by the lessons of history.

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