Rev. Al to Rappers: Stop Romanticizing Violence

Rev. Al to Rappers: Stop Romanticizing Violence

Compiled by the DiversityInc staff
© 2005 DiversityInc.com
March 07, 2005

Analysis of today’s diversity news from Automotive News, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Times and more:

The Rev. Al Sharpton wants to silence performers involved in violence and those who fill their rhymes with threats against other artists. Sharpton is asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the country's major radio broadcasters to back his plan to ban performers who "romanticize urban violence" from radio and TV for 90 days. "There has to be a way to step in and regulate what's going on with the airwaves and with violence," Sharpton told the New York Daily News. "We may not be able to stop people from shooting, but we can stop people from profiting from the violence."

Sharpton's call comes a week after a shooting occurred outside the Manhattan studios of hip-hop radio station Hot 97. A member of The Game's entourage took a hit in the buttocks after 50 Cent dissed the rapper during an interview at the radio station.

Sharpton isn't interested in playing the role of peace maker between the two rappers. "You can't deal with this on an artist-by-artist basis," he said. But

Sharpton is hoping he can persuade influential bodies such as the FCC to try to curb violence on the airwaves.

"I recall the outrage that the FCC and others displayed in response to the Super Bowl performance of Janet Jackson," Sharpton wrote in a letter he plans to send to commissioners and broadcasters. "Yet, when acts of violence happen around radio stations that actually have caused bloodshed, there has been a strange and disturbing silence from all quarters."

-http://www.diversityinc.com/public/12599.cfm