Objectionable lyrics and music videos

musicismylife78

It kind of bugs me. I am talking mostly hip hop here. But all genres apply. Anyways, many times for hip hop music videos you will see them bleep out objectionable lyrics. What I dont get, is why do the artists even make the video for it then? I am one of those people who thinks it shouldnt be bleeped at all, even on tv, but thats obviously not the world we live in. Why even go though the trouble of making a video, an expensive video, when you know, especially for hip hop videos, alot of it is going to be bleeped out?

I know some of it, has to do obviously with wanting to get the music out there, so they compromise, bleeped out lyrics, for worldwide air time play on Vh1 or MTV. But why even bother?

As a teen, I remember buying a clean version of a hip hop record. I think they are stupid. Its not the same. Either you sell ONLY copies of your record with explicit content left in, or you sell ONLY copies of the clean version.
Same with the videos.

Its especially bad in early 90's hip hop videos. Like Nuthin But a G Thang, you have the lids of ballcaps blurred, shirts are blurred, and lyrics bleeped.

Why even go through all the trouble? Bleeped versions of songs are never as good as the real thing?

Why not in this day and age, refuse to cow tow to any demands the tv stations make, and release dvd's of uncut uncensored videos, ONLY?

I dont get it

soulsinging

musicismylife78 wrote:

Why not in this day and age, refuse to cow tow to any demands the tv stations make, and release dvd's of uncut uncensored videos, ONLY?

$

If you've listened to hip hop, surely you've heard of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6jooKWe ... re=related

evenflow

I actually read some interesting articles about this a few years ago. I don't remember where I read them, but it basically talked about how the beeps and editing give "street cred" to the artist. It talked about how when younger listeners hear a song on the radio or TV that has been heavily edited it makes them more interested in the artist. It attributed it to a rebellious attituide by the kids to listen to music that they know their parents wouldn't approve of.

The funny part of the article was how it was now not only acceptable to have beeps all over your songs, but it's kind of expected and urged by labels to help sell albums. Some took it so far that they would beep out words that wasn't even considered curse words or words that would normally be edited. They also blurred out images that normally they would show, just to make the artist appear more dangerous.

Now it's considered a marketing tool to have beeps in your song. Go figure .

mookeywrench

swearing and cursing is also a tool for hip hop artists to use when they need to fill in a beat, but don't have enough syllables in their original writings to do so.

IMO gimicky cursing is a red flag to not buy that person's album because it shows that they're more interested in $ than art.

and cursing should be bleeped as a social responsibility, and people aren't going to avoid television all together and go straight to dvd because TV is the number one way to gain exposure to an untapped market in mainstream/ hip hop music.

people don't surf youtube to browse for new artists nor do they buy dvd's for unknown artists.

musicismylife78

mookeywrench wrote:

swearing and cursing is also a tool for hip hop artists to use when they need to fill in a beat, but don't have enough syllables in their original writings to do so.

IMO gimicky cursing is a red flag to not buy that person's album because it shows that they're more interested in $ than art.

and cursing should be bleeped as a social responsibility, and people aren't going to avoid television all together and go straight to dvd because TV is the number one way to gain exposure to an untapped market in mainstream/ hip hop music.

people don't surf youtube to browse for new artists nor do they buy dvd's for unknown artists.

wow do you really believe this?

So a musician that uses curse words is more interested in money than art? Really? As far as hip hop goes, I think its just the way people talk. I may expose myself as an arrogant white person here, but, I think I am typing soundly and wisely here. In the inner cities, I dont think curse words are uncommon. I think its the way people talk. Its common and normal. So, for hip hop to include alot of these same phrases is not all that odd.

How do folks talk in The Wire? Do they talk the Kings english?

I disagree about cursing being bleeped out of social responsibility. No one cares about it. The radio doesnt. The tv doesnt. Our presidents dont. And our congress doesnt. I am speaking of social responsibility. If people were really interested in social repsonsibility, our tv's would be filled with informative shows about the truth of what we are doing in iraq, and we would be bombarded with images of the 20 year old next door, who shipped off to iraq and had his head blown off yesterday. Instead, we have road rules marathons and videos and shows with half naked girls in bikini's running around, sipping champagne, in some wealthy locale.

Is that socially responsible?

Fine, hip hop can be crude sometimes, but unless I hear you calling out other genres for their excess and gross behavior, you are engaging in hypocrisy.

I dont think the radio or tv should bleep anything out. Do they blur half naked girls in bikini's on MTV?

Instead of worrying about censoring hip hop artists and how you feel their music is only about money, maybe our energies would be better spent on looking at the disturbing and gross behavior exhibited by people in everyday life.

People, including myself, wake up, go to work, and come home. All the while, 2 wars are going on, that is killing young kids, not our parents ages, not 50 year old people, but kids 18 year olds, 20 year olds. These kids are never coming back. Or the fact that in inner cities across america, african american males are brutalized and murdered by wanton police, who are bloodthirsty and are all too willing to shoot or arrest. Or lets think about the fact that people seem more into American Idol and Paula Abduls departure, than the fact that salmon are going extinct, and our polar icecaps are melting.

Ruminate on that little thought, then lets discuss whats socially responsible, and who is the real culprit in the race for more cash versus making some kind of difference....

I've never understood those moralists who cringe at course language. I think sadly, our children and our society have better and more pressing things to worry about than our 4 year old turning on a Jay-Z record and hearing him say the f word.

But maybe thats just me...

musicismylife78

mookeywrench wrote:

swearing and cursing is also a tool for hip hop artists to use when they need to fill in a beat, but don't have enough syllables in their original writings to do so.

IMO gimicky cursing is a red flag to not buy that person's album because it shows that they're more interested in $ than art.

and cursing should be bleeped as a social responsibility, and people aren't going to avoid television all together and go straight to dvd because TV is the number one way to gain exposure to an untapped market in mainstream/ hip hop music.

people don't surf youtube to browse for new artists nor do they buy dvd's for unknown artists.

I disagree about the last part too.

Pick or name a big name show. The Hills. Scrubs. Lost. House. Greys Anatomy. etc... Any of those shows, or most, use music to soundtrack the scenes. Check out a you tube video for an artist, immediately after a show like the ones i listed uses them for a scene. You have hundreds of people say, "i just heard this on Scrubs" or "I just heard this on the show and went looking on here for it".

So that would seem to negate your final sentence there pal.

So a band cant be known if they dont have mainstream exposure? You cant put out a DVD unless you are well known? This is news to me buddy!

mookeywrench

:roll:

I guess all I have to say to your rants is that Summer is ready when you are.

Wobbie

mookeywrench wrote:

:roll:

I guess all I have to say to your rants is that Summer is ready when you are.

Ready to what? Leave? Cause if that's your point, I like that line.

mookeywrench

nope, it means that the world is not some cold, dark, lonely place where everyone is against you. If you want to fight the fight, and get hellbent over every minute, random, issue that you come across and turn molehills into mountains....go ahead. But it's going to turn you into a bitter shitty person.

But if you want to pick and choose your battles, listen to other people's opinions, rather than hoping that people will just validate your own, and see things as A way rather than THE way, the world will become a brighter warmer place when you stop carrying it on your shoulders.

So... Summer is ready when you are; feel free to join it.

Wobbie

mookeywrench wrote:

nope, it means that the world is not some cold, dark, lonely place where everyone is against you. If you want to fight the fight, and get hellbent over every minute, random, issue that you come across and turn molehills into mountains....go ahead. But it's going to turn you into a bitter shitty person.

But if you want to pick and choose your battles, listen to other people's opinions, rather than hoping that people will just validate your own, and see things as A way rather than THE way, the world will become a brighter warmer place when you stop carrying it on your shoulders.

So... Summer is ready when you are; feel free to join it.

I like that...................but I also like it as in "summer's leaving; why don't you leave with it?" :shock:

Truly though, Mookie, I appreciate your outlook.