The other day, one of the morning DJs at Hunters Bay Radio played a
controversial hip hop song that prompted a complaint from one of our listeners.
The song was a request, and it is in fact a mainstream song by a mainstream
artist. Nevertheless, the language is offensive, and there is talk of drugs and
sex. Some would argue that the song also deals with the sublimation of women, and
this is a legitimate gripe. To the offended listener’s defense, the song was
aired on a prime time morning show, there was no warning about the explicit
language in the song, and it probably should not have been aired in the time
slot it was. Call it an error in judgment; the DJ apologized, and it probably won’t
happen again. That said, I’m one of those that is inclined to err on the side
of free speech. Art is a reflection of our culture, and I like to think that
that reflection is all encompassing. Don’t shoot the messenger.
I’m not a fan of rap music, although I do like some of the hip hop I’ve
heard. I may be a racist – I probably am - I have few black friends and I don’t
know much about African American culture. I fear what I don’t understand. Even
though I grew up in downtown Buffalo, which has a large African American population,
I am just as ignorant of that culture as the next white man. One need look no
further than the news to see that racism is a huge problem in our society. The
recent findings in Baltimore about systemic racism in the Baltimore police
department is just one of a thousand examples of how far we have NOT come. I
talk a lot about love and acceptance in this report, and I should take my own
self-righteous advice. I actually liked this song in question, and I see why it
is popular. The rhythm is inescapable and the lyrics deal with a culture about
which I know very little. It is offensive to some, maybe many, but I suppose not
to the large audience for whom the song was written. When I write a song, I
write about what I know. For a rich white boy, this is light years away from the
life about which Snoop Dogg knows. Hunters Bay Radio is a community radio
station, and one of its many directives is to play a wide variety of music. It’s
not all going to be easy listening. DJs air all sorts of music that is not for
everyone. I’ve played a more than a few offensive songs on my show ( Jon Brooks’
Song entitled “The Only Good Thing Is An Old Dog” comes to mind, written from
the point of view of a serial killer). Fortunately my show airs at a more
acceptable time slot. Language changes over the year, morals and the concept of
decency have changed as well. The argument that children are listening is a legitimate
one, and maybe the timing was bad, and of course, we need to be mindful of what
crosses the line. My line might be different from yours, but these days I don’t
know how you keep your kids away from offensive material; it’s everywhere we
look. Try as you might, you will likely never keep your kids away from the
internet or its influences. Anyone with a cell phone has access to a surprising
amount of bad things. I’m not a parent and sympathize with those trying to make
sense of our increasingly messed up society to their kids. I will say that
censorship never worked for me and only served to make the offending “art” more
intriguing.
I hope Hunters Bay Radio does not lose listeners because of one or two
offensive songs. The station plays some of the most interesting music I have
heard in a long time, on any radio station. Personally, I would rather err on
the side of diversity than to completely sanitize our programming.
- Written by Jamie Oppenheimer
c2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No comments:
Post a Comment