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Explicit Lyrics: freedom of speech or a dangerous precedent?

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Today’s modern music is often laced with material that was not so long ago considered taboo. Profanity, sexual content and racial slurs have become widely accepted. And contrary to popular opinion, usage is not limited to Rap or Hip hop music either.

Pop artists such as Maroon 5 and Katy Perry and soulful crooner Brian McKnight have been prone to use explicit lyrics as well as Hip Hop acts such as Lil Wayne, Eminem and 2 Chainz.

Are these artists just expressing themselves, or has what they are saying become a deeper issue that is negatively impacting our society?

There are studies that claim profane and sexually overt lyrics do have an impact on young people (more on that later). But where does the responsibility lie to shield kids and society? Who would serve as police? Radio? Record labels? Artists? Parents?

An even bigger question may be: Is it even necessary?

Kendall Minter (32793)

Let’s get to the legalities first. “There is no regularity limitations on music,” declares Kendall Minter, renowned entertainment attorney (JadaKiss, Ashanti, Backstreet Boys, Goodie Mob, etc.) and founder of BESLA (Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association). “It’s a wide-open and an artistic decision. The artist has to make the conscious decision to find a balance between art and responsibility.”

However, the signal is mixed, as FCC regulations indicate otherwise, specifically for commercial radio, differentiating what is “indecent” and what is “obscene.”

According to FCC regulations for radio: “Obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution and cannot be broadcast at any time. The Supreme Court has established that, to be obscene, material must meet a three-pronged test:

  • An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
  • The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and
  • The material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

In contrast, material that is deemed “indecent” comes with a different set of rules. According to the FCC, “The courts have held that indecent material is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be banned entirely. It may, however, be restricted in order to avoid its broadcast during times of the day when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience.”

The FCC has defined “profanity” as music “including language so grossly offensive to members of the public who actually hear it as to amount to a nuisance.” Like indecency, profane speech is prohibited on broadcast radio and television between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Commercial radio has a responsibility via the above FCC standards to police language, if stations want to keep their licenses. But the pressure is on to be competitive against the Internet and satellite radio, both of which basically go unregulated.

The heat is on for advertising dollars, and those come about through a ratings system for commercial radio and a “hits” system for the Internet. They are all competing for listeners.

Radio programmers, though, are moms and dads, too, and the choice between playing a song with nasty lyrics or not is an issue that goes beyond ratings for many. Some programmers have to find a balance between playing what is popular, being responsible yet not letting outsiders dictate song choice. Indeed, they walk a fine line.

Cedric Hollywood (32791)

“The real challenge in programming current music is to make sure that the profane lyrics have been taken out by the record company before the song gets on the radio. So you have to listen to every song you want to play,” reveals Cedric Hollywood, former programmer of WEDR-FM (99 Jamz) in Miami. “Sometimes you do get calls from parents and you have to make a judgment call, because sometimes they have a point, but you can’t let them program your station.”

Hollywood adds that profanity in songs does seem to make them more popular. “Young people love to say and hear bad or profane words.”

Don Cody (32792)

Don Cody, CEO of Moses Media Inc., which produces multi-media campaigns aimed at radio programmers to get them to play songs, is also a former commercial radio programmer.

“No it’s not too nasty,” he says. “This is 2013, soon to be 2014. We don’t live in the ‘Leave It To Beaver’ days anymore. Do we need to draw the line? Not really. People have a choice. If you don’t like what’s on the radio, you can switch stations or subscribe to satellite radio and get exactly what you want, or play your own CDs in your car.”

For a lot of music and radio industry executives, though, the issue is as much about creativity as it is about profane lyrics.

“A lot of today’s product simply isn’t worthy of Black radio’s former greatness,” says Mark Gunn, who has programmed multiple musical formats. “As a musician and producer, however, I’m more offended by the sheer lack of creativity. The fact that so-called beat makers have the nerve to call themselves producers is also part of the problem. In short, it’s not the obscenities that make the music profane, it’s the entire process.”

Aundrae Russell (31669)

Aundrae Russell, who programs KJLH-FM (102.3) in Los Angeles, says no one seems to be policing today’s music. “Lyrics have gone too far. When you talk about commercial radio, the FCC was handling it. But now it seems it’s not being policed. We hear lyrics on the radio now and go, ‘Wow. Did he really say that in a song?’ I don’t understand why music has to have all the cuss words in it. It’s gone way too far.”

Adds Russell: “The creativity is gone. Some of these so-called artists are sampling great songs from the ‘70s and ‘80s and destroying them with the blatant lyrics and cussing. It’s going to get worse before it’s going to get better.”

Bobby Holiday (32796)

Bobby Holiday, longtime Black radio personality (now in Philadelphia) and former program director, thinks much of today’s music does go too far. He also agrees with Gunn and Russell that a real creative process is missing in today’s tracks.

“Music lyrics are supposed to say something and have some meaning. A curse word in lyrics used to be the exception. Now it’s the rule. In comedy, good comedians use curse words to set up a joke. Only a crappy comedian uses curse words as their act. A lot of the cursing going on in lyrics has no meaning or purpose to it … except to just allow curse words to be exposed in a song.”

Blatant cursing takes away from the meaning of the song, adds Holiday. “If you’re writing a song about being hurt by love or being abused, I get a curse word or two. But when it seems like there’s a curse word every third or fourth word … then you’ve lost me because I want to hear a good song and good lyrics that tell a story.”

Obviously, there seems to be a fine line between art, freedom of expression and profanity.

“I don’t have a problem with the vulgarity,” says singer/songwriter Durrell Coleman. “To me music is art, and art is an expression of emotion. Now, some of it is just tasteless in my opinion, and that’s where I have an issue. To me, music can be vulgar and tasteful at the same time. When I write, I’m releasing aggression, and when I’m in an aggressive mood, I may curse. Look at the statue of David. Its nudity can be considered vulgar, but it’s still great art.”

Brandon Moore, aka Bee Moe Slim, a Hip Hop artist out of Atlanta signed to Lawless Entertainment, concurs with the radio execs. But he also goes so far as to say the impact of explicit lyrics is being reflected in society.

“R&B has become more vulgar, in my opinion. Used to be the idea of being in love was more prevalent. Now it’s all about blatant sex. You can’t tell me that there is not a direct connect to current music and the rise of premarital sex and more babies being born (out of wedlock) each year.”

Actually, the point Moore is making isn’t so far from the truth. A study, “Tuning in to Psychological Change: Linguistics and Emotions Over Time in Popular Song Lyrics,” that appeared in the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and The Arts, a journal of the American Psychological Association, examined lyrics from the top 10 most popular songs in the U.S. from 1980 to 2007.

According to the study, “… songs have become more self-focused over the last 27 years. Additionally, words associated with social interaction and community values diminished over the same period.”

In addition, researchers said that: “… simply tuning in to the most popular songs on the radio may provide people with increased understanding of their generation’s current psychological characteristics.”

In another study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics called “Impact of Music, Music Lyrics and Music Videos on Children and Youth,” researchers felt there is a correlation between the song lyrics young people listen to and their ensuing behaviors.

“A teenager’s preference for certain types of music could be correlated or associated with certain behaviors,” reads the study. “As with popular music, the perception and the effect of music-video messages are important, because research has reported that exposure to violence, sexual messages, sexual stereotypes and substance abuse in music videos might produce significant changes in behaviors and attitudes of young viewers. Pediatricians and parents should be aware of this information. Furthermore, with the evidence portrayed in these studies, it is essential for pediatricians and parents to take a stand regarding music lyrics.”

Another study by the Rand Corp. released in 2006 found that “Music that portrays women as sex objects and men as sexy studs are more likely to trigger early sexual behavior than those where sexual references are more veiled and relationships appear more committed.”

Hollywood also believes music does have an impact on young people. “Currently radio seems to not care and the result is that all over the country you have kids singing lyrics that are borderline criminal. After so many years of this, the kids are numb to what is right and what is wrong in society. We see the result of this in the streets everyday.”

Shanti Das (32794)

Shanti Das is a longtime music industry executive who has worked with artists such as Outkast, Goodie Mob, TLC and Usher, talks about what’s next. “I am all for freedom of speech, but some artists should use more social responsibility,” she says. “Yes, it is up to the parents to teach their children right from wrong, but it takes a community to raise a child. We live in different times where everything goes, and something about that does not sit well with me. So yes, some of our lyrics now should have a balance. But that is up to the artist to want to do that. We all share in this responsibility; no one is excluded just as no one person or entity is solely responsible.”

“I think we have a generation of young people who don’t even believe there are explicit words,” declares David Mitchell, publisher of Amalgamation, a music industry publication highlighting the entertainment industry and the professionals who run it. “If it’s more prevalent, it’s simply because the Internet and social media and loosening standards and values has allowed it this way.”

Janet Wade, who is vice president of Music Licensing at Turner Broadcasting, says she has also noticed a trend of more racy lyrics in Country and Pop.

She warns artists, though, that they limit their salability by including profane or vulgar lyrics. “It’s not really all modern music, just some styles that are too profane, negative and derogatory,” she says. “I have noticed the rising popularity in the last few years with Country and crossover, which tends to be more about love and romance. I think that with all the negativity in the world, people are tired of violence in the music world.”

Wade adds, “we don’t license songs with cursing.”

It’s clear there is no clear answer to this issue. Parents, artists, radio, TV, the Internet, satellite radio, videos and even pediatricians are all in on the process that young people are exposed to.

“This is a very deep issue. I’m on the side that an artist has the right to make any song they want to. This is America,” chides Hollywood. “… what’s really important is to make sure these songs with hurtful and harmful lyrics don’t get on the radio.”

Hollywood adds, “the artists have a right to make the songs they want to make. It’s radio’s job to not play lyrics that demean the public. If radio does its job, the artists will eventually make better songs after realizing they aren’t making any money because no one will play the songs they’re making. And to be honest, it wouldn’t take that long. Artists can make great songs and still have social value. It’s not censorship; this is common sense!”

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