Vamping on violence
Things got a bit hot at the Washington Mystics Foundation’s Hip Hop Forum on Sunday, as the discussion on “Racism and the ‘N’ word” turned the lens on one of the most contentious social issues. Celebrities in town, including professor Cornel West and Malcolm-Jamal Warner (aka “Theo”) of “The Cosby Show” stardom, took hip-hop and rap music to task for too easily giving in to coarse language and violent imagery.
“The moment a white person calls you a [n-word], it’s on,” Warner said. “It’s definitely much more than just a word. … There’s just so much damage that it’s done.”
B-Sharp records President Bruce Walker took rappers to task for violent lyrics.
“When I used to leave concerts, I had listened to killin’ music for the past two hours,” Walker told Yeas & Nays. “If that’s what people are listening to, what do you expect to happen?”
Perhaps it was lyricist MC Lyte who best summarized things following the show: “These types of forums I take like church — there are some sermons you get something out of, and some you don’t.”
